Like any longtime fan of pop music, David Bazan has experienced falling out of love with songs and bands that used to totally light his fire. Granted, some music ages poorly, but he’s mostly talking about how personal tastes shift over time. “You know how you change and mature, and you’re like ‘Yeah, that’s still […]
Howard Hardee
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Through Multilayered Electronic Instrumentals, Nym Mixes Magic Into His Music
NYM Friday, Jan. 26, 8 p.m., free Arcana, Durham www.arcanadurham.com Some visual artists find it difficult to start with a blank canvas, so they’ll make a quick squiggle or splatter some paint to get things moving. The down-tempo trip-hop artist Nymreal name Lewis Scaifefeels similarly about making beats: He needs something to build upon, like […]
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Cults Aren’t the Best at Their Instruments, but Their Polished Pop Formula Still Shines
CULTS Saturday, Nov. 18, 8 p.m., $19–$21 Cat’s Cradle, Carrboro www.catscradle.com For some music fans, a band intentionally shooting for catchiness is, on principle, a cheap move. But another school of thought holds that producing a truly original, memorable melody can be just as challengingand worthwhileas composing some crazy prog-rock symphony. Brian Oblivion subscribes to […]
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The Once-Heavy Wand Gets in Tune With Its Melodic Side on Its New Album, Plum
WAND Tuesday, October 10, 9 p.m., $10–$12 Kings, Raleigh www.kingsraleigh.com Cory Hanson doesn’t have perfect pitchthe rare ability to hear a random noise like a car horn, and identify it as, say, a B flatbut he is uncommonly attuned to tiny differences in tone. If he picks up the slightest disharmony while he’s singing, everything […]