Blanck Mass’s Brash Aggression Thursday, 11:30 p.m., Kings Update: Due to a visa problem, Blanck Mass is not performing at Hopscotch. Boulevards will replace the band in its 11:30 slot Thursday night at Kings, and Pharmakon has been added to perform at 12:30. On the sleeve of the vinyl release of World Eater, the new […]
David Ford Smith
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Mount Eerie’s Phil Elverum Reflects on Recent Grief, Relative Success, and the Power of Cosmic Forces
Phil Elverum has to take a moment to pause our interview. “I have to put on Pee-wee’s Playhouse, give me a second,” he says as he attempts to distract his young daughter. The thirty-nine-year-old musician is calling from his home in Anacortes, Washington, and, parental duties aside, he sounds in good spirits. We talk about […]
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David Liebe Hart’s Comedy and Music Is Far, Far Out—But His Approach Is Delightfully Sincere
DAVID LIEBE HART Sunday, September 3, 7:30 p.m., $10–$12 Kings, Raleigh www.kingsraleigh.com At sixty-two years old, cult puppeteer, actor, and musician David Liebe Hart has inspired and frustrated his fan base for years. His personal mythology runs detailed and deep, and he’s a walking compendium of incredible and bizarre stories. That said, getting the famed […]
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With a Month-Long Residency at The Cave, MAKE’s Spencer Lee Expands Upon His Beloved Metal Foundations
SPENCER LEE Wednesday, August 16, 9 p.m., $5 The Cave, Chapel Hill www.caverntavern.com Chapel Hill post-metal monoliths MAKE can safely be categorized as lifers. After more than a decade of consistent releases and gloriously chaotic shows, it feels difficult to imagine a Triangle where guitarist Scott Endres, bassist Spencer Lee, and drummer Luke Herbst aren’t […]
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Two Decades In, Scotland’s Belle and Sebastian Keeps Flipping the Indie Rock Script
Monday, July 31, 7:30 p.m., $34–$50 N.C. Museum of Art, Raleigh www.ncartmuseum.org “Museums are traditionally places you get dragged to by girlfriends,” cracks Stevie Jackson, longtime lead guitarist and cosongwriter for the legendary Scottish indie-pop iconoclasts Belle and Sebastian. Reached by phone on a late July day, he’s in good spirits and is playing a […]
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Record Review: GNØER’s Precepts 1-12 Is Strong, Straightforward Electronica
GNØER Precepts 1-12 Self-released Rock isn’t dead, but as trends go, traditional guitar rock is in a downswing, commercially comatose in the shadow of tastemaking hip-hop and dance acts that have co-opted rock’s swagger and youthful energy. History tells us that the pendulum will inevitably swing back, but for now, we all know at least […]
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Record Review: RGB Creates Vibrant Worlds in Burgeoning’s Rich Songs
RGB Burgeoning Self-released Pranesh Kamalakanthan has long had a touch for gorgeous sounds. As one-half of the Raleigh synth-pop duo Faux Fleurs, the young producer first hit with an airy, luxurious production style, immeasurably rich in balmy texture and inventive small touches. The excellent LP Higher Delight, from 2015, felt like the sonic equivalent of […]
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Car Seat Headrest Has Buzzed Toward Moderate Millennial Acclaim, But Is it Interesting?
CAR SEAT HEADREST Monday, June 5, 8 p.m., $17–$20 Cat’s Cradle, Carrboro www.catscradle.com Diss tracks aren’t quite as storied in indie rock as in hip-hop (remember Pavement’s R.E.M analysis on “Shady Lane” B-side “Unseen Power of the Picket Fence?” No?) but they crop up here and there. Car Seat Headrest’s Will Toledo knows a thing […]
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Moogfest, Night Three: Crossing the Finish Line with Octo Octa, Pharmakon, and Flying Lotus
Moogfest Downtown Durham Saturday, May 20, 2017 Festivals are a marathon, not a sprint. This year marks my fifth Moogfest, and experience has shown that the third day is usually when my music festival morale starts to crumble. My left foot will suddenly develop strange blisters. Cheap beer and food truck dining, great for the […]
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Moogfest, Day Two: Exploring Ambient Beauty, the Depths of Dark Noise, and a Children’s Book
Moogfest, Day Two Downtown Durham Friday, May 19, 2017 As someone who has helped start fake celebrity sighting rumors at music festivals, Hannibal Buress is ruining our gag. Everywhere I went Friday at Moogfest, someone had a story about seeing him. They spotted him in an elevator, or walking down the street. Pictures of him […]
