King Crimson: Adrian Belew (vocals, guitar, drums); Robert Fripp (guitar); Tony Levin (synthesizers, bass, stick, background vocals); Bill Bruford (drums, percussion). Recorded live at the Spectrum, Montreal, Canada on July 11, 1984. When Robert Fripp recreated King Crimson in the early ’80s, he started with a blank slate. The new order of the day was funky, circular patterns …
BATTLES is John Stanier (TOMAHAWK, THE MARK OF CAIN), Ian Williams (Don Caballero) and Dave Konopka (LYNX, TYONDAI BRAXTON). 2006 saw the release of ‘EP C/ B EP’, a uniquely packaged collection of two previous EP’s. The sheer musical breadth of their first three EP’s, and the lasting impact of their live shows have left fans in …
To celebrate Minus the Bear’s 10th anniversary, Suicide Squeeze will issue the band’s earliest recordings on vinyl. Highly Refined Pirates is Minus the Bear’s first proper album. Originally released in 2002, this edition is being remastered from the original tapes, for vinyl, by the legendary Bernie Grundman, the Hollywood-based legend behind many of the industry’s landmark recordings. A …
The Collectable King Crimson, Vol. 3: Live at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London, 1996
Crimson capped a six-week tour with this 1996 concert at London’s Shepherds Bush Empire-it was the last European show by their so-called “double trio” lineup (Fripp/Levin/Belew/Bruford/Gunn/Mastelotto). 21st Century Schizoid Man (first London performance since ’73) joins Conundrum; Dinosaur; Red; Neurotica; Elephant Talk; Larks Tongues in Aspic ; a solo Fripp soundscape, and more! …
We versus the shark has already built a well-deserved reputation for attacking the stylistic boundaries that have fenced in less brave indie artists. Objectively though, having genre-hopping influences and a creativity-first ideology is not necessarily a unique notion amongst the independent rock community at large. What makes we versus the shark unique is their commitment to …
The End build their stinking abilities and unique vision to astonishing new heights on its brand-new album Elementary. An incredible listen, Elementary sees The End fin its own unique balancing world-class musicianship with fiery songs that bare the soul and expose the essence of what it means to be real/human. The impassioned vocals of Aaron Wolf lead a …
Good Luck is, without hesitation, the most positive group of people in one band possible. This exuberant wellspring is tapped on each and every song, even the heartfelt and downtrodden ones. In any other hands, the noodling would be too noodley. The sugar would be too delicious. Somehow the intricacy and curious time signatures melt away, taking a …
Maybe Bedhead never broke up after all; maybe they just got up on a different side of the bed for the New Year. It takes a little while, but after some intensive listening, Newness Ends, the debut album from Bubba and Matt Kadane’s post-Bedhead New Year, isn’t quite reducible to a new lineup of an old band. It …
At this point, Gastr del Sol was pretty much just David Grubbs and Jim O’Rourke, though John McEntire was still around here and there on a couple of songs. There are a few other guests at points — percussion from Steve Butters and clarinet from Gene Coleman, both on the lengthy, mysterious “Work From Smoke” — but otherwise …
After the somewhat disappointing Acre Thrills, U.S. Maple got a new drummer and, as Purple on Time reveals, a new sound. Coherence isn’t necessarily the first word that comes to mind when describing albums like Talker and Long Hair in Three Stages, but it does apply to this collection of songs, particularly the album opener, “My Lil’ Shocker.” …