Music

It’s Boobstock time

Plus, the Spot moves on and more
'Tis the Rocktober season, and the live music circuit is abuzz with quality shows, so let's dive in.

By: PROVIDENCE PHOENIX MUSIC STAFF | October 02, 2012

Flying Lotus | Until The Quiet Comes

Warp Records (2012)
On Until the Quiet Comes , his reliably solid fourth studio album, Flying Lotus's Steven Ellison continues to bang out mind-bending electro-donut jams for folks who don't quite "get" electronic music.

By: RYAN REED | October 03, 2012

Tame Impala | Lonerism

Modular Records (2012)
Australia's Tame Impala make music as the Lester Bangs character describes it in Almost Famous : if and when their psychedelic rock and roll "chooses you," it begs for intimate consumption.

By: ARIEL SHEARER | October 03, 2012

Old 97's | Too Far To Care [15th Anniversary Edition]

Omnivore Records (2012)
What if the Beatles didn't have an audience? That's a crude way of putting the seminal talent of Old 97's vs. the size of their cult, a small swatch of rock fans not put off by Rhett Miller's extra-Texan twang and country fans who could stomach Philip Peeples's steamroller rhythms in 1997, when they made this, their Rum Sodomy and the Lash .

By: DAN WEISS | October 03, 2012

Jared Mann and friends get Willow on the map

Blanketfort social scene
Twenty-three-year-old Jared Mann would be considered the old man among his mates in Willow, a melodic (and mostly instrumental) math-rock trio from the woods of North Smithfield.

By: CHRIS CONTI | September 25, 2012

Big Nazo get funky

Plus, the Midnight Creeps are back!
On FRIDAY (the 28th), look out for the BIG NAZO BAND hopping aboard the mothership when GEORGE CLINTON & PARLIAMENT FUNKADELIC return to Lupo's; Clinton walked into the Nazo Lab awhile back and eventually invited them to join the P-Funk party at various tour stops.

By: PROVIDENCE PHOENIX MUSIC STAFF | September 26, 2012

Bullfrog on the Moon

Or, how I trolled Walmart, exiled Pitbull, built my brand, and survived a gnat-filled trip to Kodiak, Alaska
When Pitbull invited me to Alaska, I started growing a beard.

By: DAVID THORPE | September 26, 2012

Dum Dum Girls | End of Daze

Sub Pop (2012)
More than an artistic evolution, End of Daze is a stylistic one.

By: DEVON MALONEY | September 25, 2012

Dark Dark Dark | Who Needs Who

Supply and Demand
Back in 2010, the loosely Minneapolis-based quirk-folk jamboree Dark Dark Dark wrote songs that felt like they were about being outside (even if they weren't).

By: BARRY THOMPSON | September 25, 2012

Mumford & Sons | Babel

Glassnote (2012)
Three years ago, London folk-rock quartet Mumford & Sons blew up in a major way with "The Cave," an angst-fueled, Grammy-nominated strummer built on quiet-loud dynamics, Country Marshall's propulsive banjo, and Marcus Mumford's gruff bellow, which churned like a locomotive in free-fall.

By: RYAN REED | September 25, 2012

Fall-Nat-Pop-Bat-for-lashes-slideshow_list

Ten national pop acts that will dominate fall charts

When working on a sophomore follow-up to a successful debut, most bands react to the extra dough and time-as-luxury bounty given to them by trying to cram as much as they can into the confines of their new grooves.

By: DANIEL BROCKMAN | September 19, 2012

Sweet Love gets the Motor revving

Fuzzed-up glory
Spark one up and dig on that Sweet Love.

By: CHRIS CONTI | September 18, 2012

Cool wave

Ladyfest, and ‘The Perfect Storm’
Girls Rock! RI and Machines with Magnets (401.475.2655) presents LADYFEST all weekend, with a couple of dozen bands slated to rock out, including GERTRUDE ATHERTON , LE FOMO , FAT CREEPS , WHORE PAINT , and plenty more.

By: PROVIDENCE PHOENIX MUSIC STAFF | September 19, 2012

Grizzly Bear | Shields

Warp (2012)
The initial moments of "Sleeping Ute" are so quintessentially Grizzly Bear, they almost have no impact — Daniel Rossen nurses jagged, staggering chords on an electric guitar likely purchased from a 12th-century pawn shop.

By: RYAN REED | September 19, 2012

R.E.M. | Document [25th Anniversary Edition]

Capitol/I.R.S. Records (2012)
Fans of R.E.M. enjoy arguing over which album was the band's true shark-jump, but 1987's Document was inarguably the end of a groundbreaking era.

By: ZETH LUNDY | September 19, 2012

Field Report | Field Report

Partisan (2012)
Just because Chris Porterfield recorded his debut solo record at ex-DeYarmond Edison bandmate Justin Vernon's April Base studio in Eau Claire does not mean it will break your heart like Vernon's mythic cabin in the woods.

By: DEVON MALONEY | September 25, 2012

Boo City and Fall & Bounce strut their stuff

Get into the groove
Fall & Bounce and Boo City are two bands catching a pretty good buzz from 2012 debut albums, as well as acclaimed live shows (e.g., Boo City's set at this year's Foo Fest).

By: CHRIS CONTI | September 12, 2012

Got live if you want it!

Night moves
Adios, Summer 2012 — it was a real hoot, but lest we forget Rocktober is just around the corner, and we have more than enough local (and low-dough) shows on the docket to keep you moving and grooving through that autumn chill.

By: CHRIS CONTI | September 12, 2012

Head to The ’Gansett Block Party

Hi, neighbor!
On FRIDAY (the 14th) enjoy a fistful of rock and roll at Nick-a-Nee's with the TEN FOOT POLECATS , FILTHY STILL , KING SICKABILLY & HIS FULL MOON BOYS , MOLLY GENE ONE WHOAMAN BAND , and THE CANNIBAL RAMBLERS ; 21+, call 401.861.7290 for details.

By: PROVIDENCE PHOENIX MUSIC STAFF | September 11, 2012

How To Dress Well | Total Loss

Acephale (2012)
To the casual ear, there might not be a dramatic difference between Tom Krell's debut album (2010's Love Remains) and Total Loss, his potent new collection of ethereal hymns.

By: ANDREW GRAHAM | September 12, 2012

Cat Power | Sun

Matador (2012)
Mental illness, bankruptcy, heartbreak, sonic impotence: Chan Marshall has suffered through her share of crises since her last album of original material, 2006's highly praised The Greatest .

By: RYAN REED | September 12, 2012