Okay, to suggest that Brooklyn band Sharkmuffin has their sights on total world domination may be a stretch. However, their recently released EP, She-Gods of the Champagne Valley, IS the perfect summertime album for girls who dreamed of being Tura Santana when they were little. And whether they're dedicating a single to Pussy Riot, or playing at feminist art houses (hauses?) guitarist Tarra Thiessen and bassist Natalie Kirch have developed ... Read More

You know your secret dark place you go to in your mind that feels all comfy and shit despite the cold puddles of despair and dark hallways of longing? (Whoa, Mr. Dramatic.) You know you shouldn’t be lingering there, but like picking a scab or cracking your knuckles, the hurt is just too good. Nadine Shah’s new single “To Be a Young Man” from her forthcoming album Love Your Dum and Mad has received quite the bit of ... Read More

Any music fan worth her salt has a well-worn copy of the Breeders' Last Splash on her shelf. It defies classification--not quite punk, not quite riot grrrl--but it is, without question, iconic. Packed with delightfully off-kilter noise pop gems, it's an all-time classic of alternative rock. Even the notoriously picky taste arbiters at Pitchfork agree--it's ranked (a shockingly low) 64 on their list of Top 100 Albums of the ... Read More

I was lucky enough to catch the sold-out Little Boots show this past Tuesday night (in my business clothes, no less) , and lemme tell ya, good night, nurse! I strolled into the Music Hall of Williamsburg just as first opening band, Feathers, took the stage. All hail Feathers! They played the hell out of the best songs on their debut album, If All Now Here, filling the hall with their ominous, dance-y sound. I didn’t want it to ... Read More

Going to an Akron/Family show is like attending a hipster tent revival, so it’s fitting that the band’s sixth album is full of psychedelic hymns for its flannel-clad brethren. Mixing folk-y melodies with strange rhythms and switching time signatures and tempos constantly, the band has fully realized its signature genre on Sub Verses: prog folk. Expansive opener “No Room” is a primal waltz with a grinding, repetitive ... Read More