Collectors of music are often compelled to exist in paradox. On the one hand, there’s the drive to hearto amassas much music as possible. On the other, the compulsion to narrow vast stores of records and songs into finite lists: albums of the year, songs of the decade, even the true crucible of music fandom, […]
Bryan C. Reed
Bio: Bryan Reed lives in Raleigh, where he nerds out about punk rock and comic books. He's written about music for INDY Week since 2008.Twitter: http://twitter.com/BryanCReed
Posted inMusic
Record Review: Django Haskins Leans Into Intimacy on His Solo Shadowlawn
Shadowlawn Self-released As frontman for The Old Ceremony, a role he’s filled for well over a decade, Django Haskins has effectively established himself as a thoughtful songwriter with a knack for pop-rock traditions. Side gigs in Au Pair (with The Jayhawks’ Gary Louris) and the touring ensemble behind Big Star’s Third only reinforce those classicist […]
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Record Review: No Love’s Explosive Debut Is One of This Year’s Best LPs
NO LOVE Choke On it Sorry State Records With their full-length debut, Choke On It, Raleigh’s No Love has grown into a formidable outfit with a strong contender for the year’s best punk record. At first blush, Choke On It is a caffeinated rush of sharply barked vocals and surging guitars punctuated by potent hooks. […]
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Record Review: On The Silence, Durham’s Horizontal Hold Stakes Out Knotty New Ground
HORIZONTAL HOLD The Silence PotLuck It’s risky to read into a band’s name, but few feel as apt as Horizontal Hold’s. The Durham quartet shares its handle with a skronky and groovy track by the British experimentalists This Heat, as well as an adjustment control for analog televisions. The name points precisely to the band’s […]
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Record Review: Hardcore Titans Corrosion of Conformity Bring Pepper Keenan Back Into the Fold
CORROSION OF CONFORMITY No Cross No Crown Nuclear Blast That Corrosion of Conformity’s tenth album, No Cross No Crown, would mark another distinct chapter in the band’s catalog was a foregone conclusion. The band has spent more than three decades shifting its roster and its sound to the point where listening to any two albums […]
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Suppressive Fire Brings Brutality Back to Local Metal on Its New Record, Nature of War
SUPPRESSIVE FIRE Saturday, Jan. 14, 8:30 p.m., $8 The Maywood, Raleigh www.themaywoodraleigh.com The garage of Joseph Valhal’s home in southeast Durham is insulated with extra layers of Sheetrock and wallpapered with gig posters and flags. Between amps and a PA system, boxes of merchandise emblazoned with his band’s logo await the next show. And on […]
Posted inSports
A Free Self-Defense Camp in Durham Empowers LGBTQ Youth to Stand Up to Oppression
FIGHTING BACK 2:30–4:30 p.m. Sundays through Sept. 4, free (ages 13–18) Squad! Self Defense @ United Thai Boxing and MMA, Durham Martial arts and political resistance have a long, complicated relationship. Slaves in Brazil, forbidden from training in any style of combat, masked powerful kicks in the dance-like movements of capoeira. British suffragettes employed jiu-jitsu […]
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The Regeneration of D Generation
Richard Bacchus is bound for Philadelphia. The night before, Bacchus and his bandmates in the recently reunited D Generation debuted new songs for a small audience at a secret show at a friend’s house in New Jersey. But Philly is the band’s official unveiling; D Generation will take the stage at roughly the same time […]
Posted inFood & Drink
This Week, Erik Lars Myers and Sarah H. Ficke Bring a Second Edition of North Carolina Craft Beer & Breweries to Chapel Hill and Raleigh
In 2012, Erik Lars Myers and Sarah H. Ficke published North Carolina Craft Beer & Breweries, a loving portrait of the state’s then-emerging beer culture, its history, and profiles of its major players. Back then, the book included only 45 breweries. Since it was published, the number of breweries in the state has grown more […]
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Record Review: Blackball’s Delightful Hardcore Distillations
It takes only seconds for Blackball’s self-titled EP to show its power. After a brief feedback bleat, a wall of dense guitars pours forth. This minute-and-fifteen-second opener, “Bone to Pick,” revolves around a stubborn riff that barrels ahead like an avalanche. It’s a short, shocking way to set the tone for the rest of the […]