Exploratorium and Savage Republic Are In The Pipeline
Pipeline Instrumental Review, a print magazine, has reviews of the new Independent Project Records releases from Bruce Licher – Exploratorium, an ambient solo work recorded in 1997 and originally released in 2006, and Savage Republic‘s Africa Corps Live at the Whisky A Go-Go 30th December 1981. On Exploratorium, the zine writes, “Licher stretches the roles of guitars and bass to create an a […]
Q104.3 Interviews Pluralone
As Q104.3 New York notes, “Josh Klinghoffer has been more than a little busy since leaving the Red Hot Chili Peppers in late-2019.” In addition to being the man behind Pluralone, Kinghoffer has helped Eddie Vedder write and record his solo album, toured as part of Pearl Jam and Jane’s Addiction, and collaborated with Morrissey and Iggy Pop. In a recent interview with the station, Klinghoffer spoke about all […]
New Music From James Yorkston, Nina Persson, and The Second Hand Orchestra
On January 13, 2023, James Yorkston, Nina Persson and The Second Hand Orchestra will release The Great White Sea Eagle, the follow up to James Yorkston and The Second Hand Orchestra’s The Wide, Wide River – a Guardian Top 10 Folk Album of 2021. The record didn’t start life as a follow up; in early 2021, Yorkston began visiting his studio […]
Westword Tips Its Hat To Savage Republic
Westword has a review of the new Savage Republic live album, along with some shade for people whose 80s alternative library is limited to a couple of tee-shirt bands. Africa Corps Live At The Whisky A Go-Go 30th December 1981 is “noisy, minimalist, and percussive as hell. The guitar melodies are reminiscent of East Bay Ray’s spacey surf-music contributions to […]
The Guardian Gives Mary Halvorson Five Stars
In a five-star review, The Guardian writes that Amaryllis and Belladonna are “new landmarks in Mary Halvorson’s already inimitable discography.” Both are at radio now from Nonesuch Records. According to the Guardian, the Macarthur Foundation “Genius” grantee is a “singleminded original.” Amaryllis “exposes avant-funk, fast bass-walking jazz, jubilant brass choruses and slow-sighing rumination to eloquent improvising… Belladonna is quieter, but it still buzzes with contrasts. […]
Razorcake Reviews Four IPR Releases
Razorcake has reviewed a grip of Independent Project Records releases, including the Source compilation. Razorcake says that “any fan of interesting art and music would find a lot to love here.” Read that review here. The zine has also reviewed the label’s recent re-releases by the “blissfully hard to categorize” Shiva Burlesque, here; Half String, “sounding like a precursor to the majority […]
American Pancake Says Gus Englehorn’s “Tarantula” Is An Earworm
According to American Pancake, “‘Tarantula’ by divergent artist, singer-songwriter and world class snowboarder Gus Englehorn feels like a punching forward amalgam of The Pixies, spaghetti western soundtracks by Ennio Morricone, Wall of Voodoo and maybe even a Paul Reubens incarnation. The thick palm mutes, the perfectly cajoling drum moves courtesy of Gus’s sig-other Estée Preda, the quirky vocal aesthetics and the B-movie feel sits perfectly […]
June McDoom Plots Early 2023 Tour
June McDoom is going on tour next year in support of the self-titled EP she released this year. McDoom has been hyped by the likes of Aquarium Drunkard, Flood, Grimy Goods, and Higher Plain Music, and her EP currently at radio from Temporary Residence Ltd. On tour, she’ll be opening for fellow Brooklynite Nick Hakim. See them live: 1/20 – Boston, MA – […]
Trouser Press Tells Savage Republic’s Story
Trouser Press – the original bible of the undergound rock and punk scenes – has an overview of Savage Republic‘s career. The seminal band has two records at radio right now – Africa Corps Live at the Whisky 30th December 1981, which was just released by Independent Project Records, and the 40th anniversary edition of their debut album Tragic Figures, put […]
Creature Canyon Plays Pioneertown For New Years
Creature Canyon has announced a New Year’s Eve show at Pappy & Harriet’s, the venerable performance space in the heart of Pioneertown, California, just north of Joshua Tree National Park. The band says, “Hang with us as we bring in the new year at one of our favorite venues.” If you’re in Southern California and looking for […]
New Music From Mary Halvorson
Nonesuch Records presents Belladonna, the second of two twin label debut albums (preceded by Amaryllis), from Brooklyn-based guitarist, composer, and MacArthur fellow Mary Halvorson. The two suites, which Halvorson describes as “modular and interlocking,” were produced and mixed by John Dieterich of Deerhoof. Belladonna is a set of five compositions written for Halvorson on guitar plus The Mivos Quartet: Olivia De Prato (violin), Maya Bennardo (violin), Victor Lowrie Tafoya (viola), and Tyler J. […]
MXDWN Reveres Alex Lilly’s “Remarkable” Songwriting
About the new Alex Lilly LP Repetition Is A Sin, MXDWN writes: “The siren of avant-pop strikes again… Inspired by predecessors Kate Bush and XTC, the album fuses familiar organic instruments like piano, acoustic guitar, and horns with a surreal universe of synthesizers, drum machines and warped samples. Lilly’s love of music theory certainly shines through in unorthodox note choices, harmonies and […]
Cult MTL Compares Gus Englehorn To Black Francis and The White Stripes
Cult MTL is out with a review of Gus Englehorn‘s final performance of the year at the M For Montreal festival. The site writes, “Quebec-via-Alaska oddball Gus Englehorn closed the Cléopâtre showcase with a short set full of his trademark quirkiness, simple-yet-hypnotic instrumentation and Black Francis-like spoken word sections. Playing a number of tunes from his album Dungeon Master, released back […]
Closed Captioned Cites The Magical Softness Of Jason Bajada’s “Walt Disney”
Closed Captioned has a feature on Jason Bajada‘s “Walt Disney,” among the standout tracks on his most recent LP Crushed Grapes. “The song,” according to the site, “has a numbness to it in its honesty. The softness in how the song plays out is magical while the realness of the video can’t be taken away. There’s a sweetness to […]
Pitchfork Gives The Nod To Mary Halvorson’s Two New LPs
Pitchfork has a glowing dual review of Amaryllis and Belladonna, the two 2022 albums from Mary Halvorson that are at radio now from Nonesuch. According to the review, “The most important thing is to find your own voice. More than perhaps any other guitarist working today, in jazz or elsewhere, she has succeeded at that deceptively simple aspiration. Hear her play […]
David Fricke Reviews Exploratorium In Rolling Stone
Upon its initial release in 2007, Bruce Licher‘s Exploratorium was reviewed in Rolling Stone by none other than David Fricke. According to the venerable scribe, the EP presents “billowing minimalism… ‘Peak,’ ‘Going Home’ and ‘The Penstome Field’ [sic] total twenty-two minutes and are four-track home recordings from 1997 — overdubbed guitars, bass and Martian-ocean echo — that combine the industrial ghost […]
Exclaim Says Better In The Shade Offers Great Additions to Patrick Watson’s Catalog
Exclaim! has a review of the new Patrick Watson album, Better in The Shade, which opens by noting that “more than 15 years after releasing his breakthrough record Close to Paradise (2006), Watson remains an important figure in the Montreal indie scene. Like others, he has enjoyed a significant amount of international success, but it’s his ability to embody the culture […]
New Music From Mary Halvorson
Nonesuch Records presents Amaryllis, the first of two twin label debut albums (to be followed by Belladonna), from Brooklyn-based guitarist, composer, and MacArthur fellow Mary Halvorson. The two suites, which Halvorson describes as “modular and interlocking,” were produced and mixed by John Dieterich of Deerhoof. Amaryllis is a six-song suite performed by a newly formed sextet of master improvisers, including Halvorson, Patricia Brennan (vibraphone), Nick Dunston (bass), Tomas Fujiwara (drums), Jacob Garchik (trombone), and Adam […]
The Guardian Profiles Tyondai Braxton’s Telekinesis
Telekinesis – Tyondai Braxton‘s epic work for an 87-piece orchestra – was just recorded in a studio in collaboration with The Metropolis Ensemble conducted by Andrew Cyr, the Brooklyn Youth Chorus conducted by Dianne Berkun Menaker, and chamber choir The Crossing conducted by Donald Nally. While this is the first studio recording of the piece, it’s not the first time it’s been heard – that […]
The Big Takeover Recommends Savage Republic and Exploratorium
The Big Takeover has reviewed both Independent Project Records releases that went for NACC Adds this week. About Savage Republic‘s Africa Corps Live at the Whisky A Go-Go 30th Dec 1981, the site says, “it’s easy to hear how songs like ‘Real Men,’ ‘Mobilization’ and ‘When All Else Fails’ would’ve blown minds and shattered eardrums back in the day… given a life-enhancing […]
