Sylvan Esso‘s new supplemental website, hskt.co, has one function—to remix “H.S.K.T.,” a track from the voguish Durham dance-pop duo’s self-titled 2014 debut. The site is minimal; what little text appears instructs you to use the space bar to start the beat and then to explore the keyboard to find other instrument and vocal tracks. You […]
Corbie Hill
Bio: Corbie Hill lives on three wooded acres in Pittsboro, where he is a writer, musician, dad of two and community college English instructor. He is a regular contributor to INDY Week's music section.Twitter: http://twitter.com/afraidofthebear
Record review: Lilac Shadows’ Brutalism
Lilac Shadows record release show The Pinhook Saturday, Feb. 28. With Nest Egg, Silent Lunch and Less Western 9 p.m. Tickets cost $6. From the start, Durham’s Lilac Shadows skewed toward moody psych-rock, but they never surrendered to the sullen. Their 2012 debut, A Shallow Madness, nodded to The Cure and The The, but the […]
Sober, married and successful, American Aquarium’s B.J. Barham has grown up
Barham knew he wasn’t strong enough to sustain such games of self-destruction. He realized he could die; he’d seen it happen in his own family. So, on Aug. 31, 2014, during an end-of-tour bender in Forth Worth, Texas, he took his last drink—most likely a shot of Irish whiskey, he thinks.
Mastodon, Clutch to co-headline outdoor show at Lincoln Theatre May 9
Travis Shinn Mastodon: Get a bigger tour vehicle, guys In September, Atlanta metal act Mastodon headlined Hopscotch with a fantastic City Plaza set. Like a goofy Southern version of Metallica, their balance between radio-ready accessibility and pummeling crunch was a proper fit—celebratory and loud, like a headliner should be. Sure, there were more “metal” bands […]
Flocking to See Gulls
You Can’t See Me by See Gulls Sarah Fuller didn’t set out to be a songwriter. Unlike the other members of her See Gulls, she had only been in one other group when she launched this band. And in that last outfit, she alternated between the fun of performance and the anxiety of evaluating it. […]
Derek Torres hopes you never notice T0W3RS’ missing members
T0W3RS With Dad & Dad, Josh Moore Friday, Nov. 21, 9:30 p.m. $7 Cat’s Cradle Back Room 300 E. Main St., Carrboro 919-967-9053 catscradle.com T0W3RS With Ghostt Bllonde, Daddy Issues Saturday, Nov. 22, 9:30 p.m. $7 Kings 14 W. Martin St., Raleigh 919-833-1091 kingsbarcade.com Record review: T0W3RS’ TL;DR In this instant, and on this stage, […]
My Body Politic: NC Music Love Army’s Caitlin Cary and Alex Kotch talk October releases
Justin Cook Caitlin Cary and members of The Love Army in 2013 Earlier this week, The NC Music Love Army released My Body Politic, the second of four releases this activist collective has prepped for the weeks leading up to the election on Nov. 4. It’s centered around a track by that name, a collaboration […]
Guitarist Steve Gunn talks new album, his transition to songwriting
For much of Steve Gunn‘s career, he’s been the guitarist. In Gunn-Truscinski Duo, his playing was long, mantric, immersive. Even on solo albums, a rambling, raga-like style was key. But with the new LP, Way Out Weather, available through Chapel Hill label Paradise of Bachelors, the Brooklyn musician make his second foray into proper bandleader […]
Party time: Jamnesia 2014 to take place Saturday in Hillsborough
D.L. AndersonCome on, ride the gator: Hammer no More the Fingers in 2011 As if Saturday wasn’t busyenoughalready, the 6th Jamnesia takes place Saturday in rural Hillsborough. It’s a festival in a field, one with 11 acts and bring-your-own-tent camping, hosted by Durty Durham Art Collective. And some musicians’ bios list their set times as […]
Girls Rock NC celebrates a decade with an enormous rock-show rally on Saturday
When Amelia Shull moved to Carrboro midway through high school, she met a friend who changed her musical outlook. Shull had been into Siouxsie and the Banshees and The Cure, nothing that unusual or adventurous for an 11th grader in 1992. But this new friend, Nora Rogers, gave her mix tapes of riot grrrl bands. […]

