The Internet is the fastest way to get what you want and expose yourself to music you would never have heard otherwise. Anthony Fantano Read Quote
Formerly known as The Muslims, The Soft Pack brings a lot of swagger to its garage-rock sound. There’s a load of gimmick-free confidence in the band’s hooks, as its distorted guitars and driving drums demonstrate that less can be more. Anthony Fantano Read Quote
After a casual listen, it might be easy to lump Rocky Votolato in with the downtrodden likes of Conor Oberst and Elliott Smith. But his songwriting is a bit more triumphant than theirs: Votolato would rather pull himself out of a gutter than wallow in it, focusing instead on the victory before the misery. Anthony Fantano Read Quote
Lion Face Boy’ is the first single from Seabear’s sophomore album, ‘We Built a Fire,’ and it’s a perfect display of the band’s knack for constructing mountains of instrumentation on a simple idea. Anthony Fantano Read Quote
We’re muddying the waters when we are having a discussion about what’s going on on YouTube and Twitter and whether that’s a matter of free speech. These are private platforms and they’re allowed to decide what should and should not be on its platforms. It’s not an issue of free speech. Anthony Fantano Read Quote
The group disbanded prematurely in 1983, but its records made a sizable mark: Mission of Burma became a band’s band; leaving noticeable impressions on the likes of Pearl Jam, R.E.M., Sonic Youth and Yo La Tengo. Anthony Fantano Read Quote
With its breezy guitars and sweet backing vocals, ‘Norway’ blows away any semblance of Beach House’s previously bleak approach to pop. Anthony Fantano Read Quote
For more than 15 years, Mogwai has built a reputation on its monstrous ambitions for rock music. Anthony Fantano Read Quote
Jesu’s walls of distortion are uplifting in comparison to those of its doom-driven contemporaries. The band’s 2009 album ‘Infinity’ has its bleak moments, but that album’s single 49-minute song resolves into something inspirational and grandiose by the time it’s over. Anthony Fantano Read Quote
Cryptic messages and abstract statements are littered throughout the music of Happy Birthday, but it hasn’t made the band’s sun-baked pop-rock any less infectious. Anthony Fantano Read Quote
