On the title track of 2011’s Is That You in the Blue?, Dex Romweber had a wish and a little evil in his eyes: “I hope you find loneliness within whatever dark night you’re in.” But the new Images 13 opens with “Roll On,” a glance in the rear view, his voice cutting over a […]
Chris Parker
Bio: After a fond stint in the Triangle, Chris Parker lives in Cleveland, Ohio, where he writes about music and politics for a variety of newspapers and magazines. He has written about music for INDY Week since 2002.
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Cousins’ Cousins EP
Cousins play Kings Friday, May 9, at 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $10. Benji Hughes headlines, and John Howie Jr. opens. Who knew that, when longtime Raleigh rocker Eddie Taylor finally shelved his grimy, dozen-years-old, garage-punk duo The Loners, he’d suddenly write some of the most interesting material of his career? Taylor’s new quintet, Cousins, harks […]
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North Elementary’s Honcho Poncho
North Elementary & Lud with lakes&woods Friday, April 11, 8:30 p.m., $6 Cat’s Cradle Elegant pop master or riff-herding rocker? North Elementary leader John Harrison has long played both roles. On album, they’re prone toward creamy textures and choreographed sonic bliss, a dot along a curve that bends from New Order to the Church to […]
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Nikki Hill’s long way home
Nikki Hill’s show at Local 506 this Thursday night is something of a homecoming. The soul singer and her Blues Music Award-winning husband, guitarist Matt Hill, met in the Triangle before migrating to St. Louis together more than two years ago. When they left, Nikki was a supportive wife and music addict, not a performer. […]
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Why the reunions of regional favorites matter
Weekend Excursion Thursday, Dec. 26, 8 p.m., Lincoln Theatre Nantucket Saturday, Dec. 28, 8 p.m., Lincoln Theatre Collapsis Saturday, Dec. 28, 9 p.m., Motorco Cravin’ Melon Friday, Dec. 27, 9 p.m., Southland Ballroom You can’t leave many professions simply to return in a decade and still find people clamoring for your arrival. But a musician […]
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By back road, Simon Joyner travels to the heart of dark matters
Simon Joyner Tuesday, Dec. 10 9 p.m., $15 Capital Club 16 If you’re making art anyway, don’t you want as many people as possible to appreciate it? This deceptively difficult question prompts another: At what cost? The intersection of art and commerce is compounded when the artist depends upon that output’s marketablity for sustenance. But […]
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I Was Totally Destroying It’s Blood on the Beach
Following the release of last year’s Vexations, I Was Totally Destroying It slowed down a bitfewer shows, less touring, more full-time jobs. But their record-and-release schedule hasn’t altogether slumped. After offering a single in July, they’ve returned with a stunning seven-song EP, called Blood on the Beach. If I Was Totally Destroying It didn’t seem […]
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Sarah Shook & the Devil’s Seven
Sarah Shook & the Devil with The Bo-Stevens The Station Thursday, Oct. 10 10 p.m., free Were a ministering wind to blow across a desolate dust bowl landscape on its way toward the promise of California, it might sound like Sarah Shook & the Devil. Her earthy alto possesses a raw-boned appeal that fits somewhere […]
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Why the Alabama Shakes could lead a new wave of rock ‘n’ soul music
Alabama Shakes with The Dexateens and Majestico Koka Booth Amphitheatre Friday, Sept. 20, 8 p.m. $30–$40 Time hasn’t been kind to soul’s raison d’être. The purpose of America’s tender music has slowly morphed from the heartfelt expression of those like Sam Cooke and Aretha Franklin to sheer lover-boy stuff, a flaccid hook in the middle […]
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Nuclear Honey’s Nobody Panic EP
Nuclear Honey with Valley Young and Pisces Rising Deep South the Bar Thursday, Aug. 15 8:30 p.m., $6 Dead-inspired guitar noodles? Check. Syncopated rhythms and greasy breaks? Check. Weighty meditations on life and love? Check. Reprises that recur with the frequency of Geico commercials? Check, check and check. The second EP by Raleigh septet Nuclear […]