Between preparing two solo LPs for release, maintaining a month-long residency at the Raleigh cocktail bar Common 414 and juggling a load of side projects, Jon Lindsay has kept a blistering pace this year. Appropriately enough, “All Them Houses”—the lead single from the upcoming Cities and Schools, out in early 2016—is a sugar rush of […]
David Klein
Bio: David Klein lives in Chapel Hill with his wife and two sons. His first book, If 6 Was 9 and Other Assorted Number Songs, is available at his website.Link: http://www.if6was9thebook.com/Twitter: http://twitter.com/DKleinandFall
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Everything is open to change: an interview with Yo La Tengo’s James McNew
A quarter-century ago, the roughly five-year-old Yo La Tengo switched gears from feedback-laced indie rock to issue a gentle, stripped-down set called Fakebook. Consisting mainly of cover songs along with a few new tracks and some retooled numbers from the band’s own catalog, the record was an unexpected success and remains loved among the YLT […]
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The blues of Randall Bramblett’s career-long cult status—and the promise of his new Devil Music
Randall Bramblett would rather talk about Howlin’ Wolf than Mark Knopfler. Both men figure on Bramblett’s new record, Devil Music—the bluesman in spirit, the Dire Straits guitarist as a guest on the dire swamp rocker “Dead in the Water.” Bramblett would be well within his rights to casually mention the presence of Knopfler. But the […]
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Live: XTC comes to the Cat’s Cradle Back Room, kind of
Vagabond Saints’ Society Play XTC’s Skylarking Cat’s Cradle (Back Room), Carrboro Saturday, September 5, 2015 Serious lovers of XTC have been carrying the torch for the Swindon, England, foursome since the band emerged at the height of new wave with an angular style that soon morphed into something richer and stranger. Few American fans ever […]
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Listen to “Boundless Love,” the sweet new single from Jeanne Jolly
“Boundless Love,” the first single from Jeanne Jolly’s upcoming A Place to Run, is a gorgeous slab of Americana and a showcase of a versatile Raleigh singer coming into her own. Co-written with Chris Boerner, who also plays guitar and handles production duties, the soulfully swaying “Boundless Love” shifts from country crooning to blues belting, […]
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The Vagabond Saints’ Society recruits Chapel Hill to revisit XTC
The Vagabond Saints’ Society Saturday, Sept. 5, 9 p.m., $8–$10 Cat’s Cradle Back Room, 300 E. Main St., Carrboro 919-967-9053 www.catscradle.com Don’t call The Vagabond Saints’ Society a tribute band. The niche the Winston-Salem trio occupies is far more rarified. “When bands are sitting around having a beer late at night, saying wouldn’t it be […]
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Before their second benefit concert, Be Loud! Sophie’s founders discuss the positive impact of their daughter’s death
When Niklaus and Lucy Steiner’s 14-year-old daughter, Sophie, underwent treatment for germ-cell cancer at UNC Hospitals, they discovered a system that, despite the best intentions, was woefully unprepared to meet the needs of a teenage patient. After Sophie’s death two years ago, they formed Be Loud! Sophie, a start-up fund that kept growing. This weekend, […]
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PopUp Chorus’ new fragments prepare to launch
Call it PopUp Chorus 2.0. At the end of May, the group’s conductor and co-founder, Seamus Kenney, announced that he was leaving to start a choir of his own. The split wasn’t entirely unexpected: PopUp Chorus became a hit despite the competing aesthetics of its founders. Lauren Bromley Hodge, the group’s owner and co-founder, wanted […]
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Record review: The Old Ceremony’s Sprinter
The Old Ceremony begins Sprinter, the Durham band’s second album for the venerable local label Yep Roc, in a fit of anxiety. On the unnerved opener and title track, the sprinter in question is the racing heart of a man in the grips of a panic attack. The music seethes and retreats, offering an arresting […]
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Yankee Doodle Weirdo: A far-out Fourth of July YouTube mix
Once you’ve muddled through your cavalcade of Petty and Katy and Miley and the Boss, the offerings for Independence Day-themed songs can get intriguing fast. At least that’s what I discovered after seeking out the less-explored corners of YouTube for rarified offerings in a patriotic spirit. [jump] Independence Day, 4th of July, 1940 Promotion Brass, […]