Indie Rock
HAP Combines British Invasion Vibe With Indie Rock Sounds on Debut Album “Corners”
April 22, 2013 | Eric ShapiroOn their debut album, Corners, indie band HAP possesses a wonderfully cheerful quality, which shines through in guitarist and lead vocalist Ned Porter’s bubbly streams of consciousness and even more so in the band’s quirky, carnivalesque arrangements.
Music Review: With Self-Titled 2013 Album, Paramore & Hayley Williams Reshape Alternative Rock In Their Own Image
April 11, 2013 | Eric ShapiroOriginally published on indieshuffle
You hear that? That’s the sound of indie rock band Paramore tearing apart the vague entity that we call “punk rock” apart, only to stitch itself back together into something familiar, yet utterly unique. Nowhere … Read More
Slim Charles – Versus Fatso Jr EP – “Triangulate” Review
April 2, 2013 | Eric ShapiroOriginally published on indieshuffle
Representing a synthesis of disparate musical forms, Slim Charles wears their influences proudly, even as they carve out a sound that is distinctively their own. Traces of math rock, indie, space rock and funk are all … Read More
“Drink Another Bottle” with Indie Rock Duo Pretty in Blue
March 21, 2013 | Eric Shapiro
A music critic walks by an Irish pub called Paddy Reilly’s Music Bar on Second Avenue and 29th Street when something catches his ear. It’s jarring, immediate, clearly live. Bare bones, just guitar and vocals. A sign on a chalkboard next to the entrance reads “Pretty in Blue.”
Indie Rock Review: Above The Fold Band – Deep End of Down – “Press On” Review
March 11, 2013 | Eric ShapiroOriginally published on indieshuffle
In an album loaded with angst and heartache, “Press On” provides a much-needed dose of unrestrained optimism.
From its opening drum roll to its final chorus, this standout track exudes positive energy, suggesting that for all the sorrows chronicled throughout Above the Fold’s debut album, Deep End of Down, guitarist/vocalist Sean Gibson sees a light at the end of the tunnel.
American Idol Star Phillip Phillips Plays JFK Airport Terminal 5
February 18, 2013 | Eric ShapiroMost would not count waiting for plane flights as among life’s most pleasant activities. However, flyers lucky enough to be present at New York JFK Airport’s Terminal 5 (not to be confused with the concert venue) at 3:00 PM today … Read More
Music Monday: Grouper – The Man Who Died in His Boat – “Vital” Review
February 11, 2013 | Eric ShapiroOriginally Published on indie shuffle
Many artists, spurred by critical acclaim for an album, feel compelled to subvert listeners’ expectations with a radical departure from their sound, whether because they are emboldened by lavish praise or because they are determined to avoid being pigeonholed.
Music Monday: My Bloody Valentine – MBV – “Only Tomorrow” Review
February 11, 2013 | Eric ShapiroOriginally published on indie shuffle
Twenty-two years after the release of My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless, cited by critics as one of the finest albums of the 1990s, the band’s new LP, humbly titled MBV, has finally arrived. Those expecting the band’s songwriter, Kevin Shields, to single-handedly change the direction of music like he did in 1991 will be surprised to find that the album picks up pretty much where its predecessor left off. That’s not to say it’s by any means disappointing.
The Joy Formidable: Wolf’s Law “This Ladder is Ours” Review
January 31, 2013 | Eric Shapiro“This Ladder is Ours” Review Originally Published on indie shuffle
Alternative rock seems to be making a comeback. With releases like Cloud Nothings’ Wasted Days and the Menzingers’ On The Impossible Past (both released to much acclaim in 2012), a genre that discredited itself with endless sub-par Nirvana and Pearl Jam ripoffs is sailing onto the indie rock radar with the winds of 1990s nostalgia at its back. Read More
Flatiron Hot! Review: “Stoned and Starving” off Parquet Courts Light up Gold
January 17, 2013 | Eric ShapiroOriginally published on indie shuffle
Brooklynites by way of Texas (hence their self-proclaimed label of “Americana Punk”), Parquet Courts fit right in among their noise rock neighbors. Nowhere is this more apparent than on the track “Stoned & Starving.” The subject matter is exactly what it sounds like, but somehow the music is exhilarating where it should be mundane.