Chris Parker

Bringerer’s time has come. Saturday the band releases its debut EP, Trink! Sink! Tanz! marking the band’s graduation to the next phase of that strange Chutes and Ladders game we call the music business. Recorded with Chuck Johnson at his home studio, Cirrus Oxide, in July of last year (and mastered by Jerry Kee at […]

Alison Krauss‘ blend of traditional bluegrass and bright folk has brought surprising commercial success–first for her 1995 collection Now That I’ve Found You, and again five years later with her contributions to the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack. Krauss and her band, Union Station, just keep doing what they always have. If it’s a […]

The rap duo of Urban Myth and Chip transplanted from the Triangle to NYC in search of careers in film production and photography, but ended up making music. When they returned home, these one-time punkers were packing a goofy lyrical vibe reminiscent of the Beastie Boys. Over haunting, gothic synth fills and basic beats, they […]

Echoing a ’70s singer/songwriter rock style, Eric Roehrig’s bright acoustic strum, gentle tenor croon and spare, airy arrangements meld the confessional style with a touch of ’80s new wave and jangle. The former Sorry About Dresden frontman fashioned some pretty bittersweet numbers, but this isn’t as much the tortured croak of a Saddle Creek singer […]

John Darnielle is an astounding writer. This fact becomes abundantly clear as you wind your way through his autobiographical ode colored by the tender rebellious hues of adolescence. Within this standard trope hides a secret of abuse, which in lesser hands could seem manipulative and exploitive. But despite the tough subject matter and generally grim […]

One wonders if STRANGE occupy the same headspace as their music. If so, they have my condolences, because while an intriguing place to visit, it might be tough as day-to-day existence. STRANGE’s world has a shadowy, echo-driven aesthetic that sounds like a less oppressive relative of The Fall. The band opened for Mission of Burma […]

Thad and Caitlin, Roman Candle By chris parker “We met because he came up to me while I was waiting tables and handed me a tape and said ‘listen to this,’ and I thought [sarcastically], ‘Oh, yeah, I’ll be sure to do that.’ But I did listen to it and I was impressed right away. […]

Occupying a space somewhere between geek and prog rock, Eyes to Space’s nearly obsessively quirky music is richly gilded and yet somehow straightforward. This may be counter-intuitive because while devoted to bouncy riffs, the band’s arrangements have more turns than a NASCAR race. It’s that these musical digressions usually aren’t discursive, but rather form a […]

The Cherry Valence, Mountain Goats, The Old Ceremony After a break of more than 18 months, The Cherry Valence has returned to the stage with a new lineup and album in tow. The rugged Raleigh garage rock quintet had to weather the departure of guitarist Cheetie Kumar and bassist Paul Siler, who were replaced by […]