Durham painter and musician Letha Rodman Melchior died last night, following a four-year battle with cancer. She was 55. On his personal Facebook page, Dan Melchior, Letha’s husband, wrote, “My darling Letha passed away tonight at approximately 9.05. Obviously, I am heartbroken, as I’m sure many others will be. She was the best.” Letha played […]
Jordan Lawrence
Bio: After seven years in the Triangle, Jordan Lawrence followed his fiancée and their fluffy cat to Greensboro. He has written about music for the INDY since 2010.Twitter: http://twitter.com/JordanLawrence
Posted inMusic
Octopus Jones’ Phantasmagoria
The Raleigh band Octopus Jones hasn’t broken up, exactly, but they’re ready to be mourned. Their Phantasmagoria is one of the year’s best local records, its colorful art-rock sprawl spawned by two distinct songwriters fighting to fill the same space. But Tyler Morris, the guitarist who joined Octopus Jones shortly before they left South Carolina […]
Posted inMusic
Can Last Year’s Men regain momentum with Underwhelmed?
Underwhelmed, the sophomore album released last week by the Carrboro garage-rock outfit Last Year’s Men, is good, very good. But I won’t say that it was worth the four-year wait since Sunny Down Snuff, the group’s locally lauded 2010 debut. Recorded with Oblivian and Reigning Sound leader Greg Cartwright back in January 2013, these cuts […]
Posted inMusic
Is a show at Hopscotch a national gateway for locals, or just another gig?
Must-see N.C. With all the talk about the impact Hopscotch can have on locals, or how the festival can chart a band’s national rise, which area acts are most worth your time this weekend? Here are three locals (or, as it were, sets of them) not to miss. DENIRO FARRAR Based in Charlotte, Deniro Farrar […]
Posted inMusic
The Pinkerton Raid’s A Beautiful World
The ambition of A Beautiful World, the second album from Durham’s The Pinkerton Raid, doesn’t hide. Its seven songs range from twee charms to pop-rock grandiosity, from doleful dirges that suggest The National to tender folk-rock that recalls Lambchop. Most of these sounds remain just beyond the young band’s mastery. “Just a Boy,” for instance, […]
Posted inMusic
Sylvan Esso hit the The Tonight Show last night
Photo courtesy of Martin Anderson Its hard to say exactly how much Questlove brought to Sylvan Esso’s performance last night. During the Durham duo’s turn on NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, the drummer sat in—as he has done many times for musical guests since The Roots hit the late night circuit a few […]
Posted inMusic
The Rosebuds announce new LP—due Aug. 5—with a video teaser
Six years ago, The Rosebuds—the pop duo of Ivan Howard and Kelly Crisp—seemed insistent on doing everything at once. 2008’s Life Like, the group’s fourth LP, struck out in a variety of directions. There were flashes of the chilly synth hooks from the previous year’s Night of the Furies, sweeping folk sing-alongs and sleekly propulsive […]
Posted inMusic
Morning Brigade’s Grow Around the Bones
Morning Brigade @ The Pour House Saturday, May 24, at 9 p.m. $5–$7 Rebekah Todd & the Odyssey headline. Matt Phillips & the Philharmonic open. It’s tempting to pin the budding renown of Chapel Hill’s Morning Brigade to Lost in the Trees’ nationally lauded coattails. They emerged from the same town, of course, both offering […]
Posted inMusic
Interview: After nearly 50 years, The Standells return to the road
Photo courtesy of the band The Standells Rock ’n’ roll can be a cruel mistress. Innovations take a while to gain traction. Trailblazers often burn out. They watch as the groups they inspired ascend to fame and glory. Just ask The Standells: More than 50 years after the California garage-rock crew first emerged, they arrive […]
Posted inMusic
The General: Improvisation and a silent-film classic
The General Improvisation can be difficult. For a group to respond to off-the-cuff ideas from its members without spiraling into chaos requires a chemistry and familiarity that is simply beyond most bands. Tonight, tenured Triangle musicians Dale Baker and Tim Carless will complicate things even further, leading a four-piece ensemble in soundtracking the Buster Keaton-starring […]
