Author Archives: Max Heilman
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Toronto’s Seaway out to prove pop-punk is alive and kicking
Even without taking Seaway‘s residence on Berkeley label Pure Noise into account, the Bay Area remains prominent to the band’s history. The punk rock tradition of brazen attitude over airtight performances keep the Toronto band enthused…
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ALBUM REVIEW: Cate Le Bon and Tim Presley ferment intimate discord on Hippo Lite as Drinks
When California garage rocker Tim Presley of White Fence joined forces with Welsh singer-songwriter Cate Le Bon, the results subverted everyone’s expectations not only of them but of music in general. Under the moniker…
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Tuesday Tracks: Your weekly new music discovery – April 17
Every week, there’s a plethora of new music at our fingertips. Artists on platforms such as Spotify and Bandcamp are plentiful, and the radio offers a steady deluge of new singles, but who has time…
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ALBUM REVIEW: Wrekmeister Harmonies grapple with grief on The Alone Rush
The brainchild of multi-instrumentalist J.R. Robinson, Chicago music collective Wrekmeister Harmonies‘ sprawling brand of “pastoral doom” has gained fame for its impressive roster of session musicians—including Leviathan mastermind Jef Whitehead and Bruce Lamont of avant-metal…
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ALBUM REVIEW: Wye Oak branches out with The Louder I Call…
Electronic duo Wye Oak has spent 12 years refining the its sweeping approach to indie folk. Its pleasant melodies, open chord progressions and dynamic shifts always kept one foot in staunch experimentalism. A willingness to…
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ALBUM REVIEW: The Family Crest reaches sublimity with The War: Act I
As the Bay Area’s vanguard baroque rock outfit, San Francisco’s The Family Crest’s symphonic approach to indie rock has captured the hearts of a growing fanbase. At once loftily cinematic and intimately communal, the group…
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Tuesday Tracks: Your weekly new music discovery – March 27
Every week, there’s a plethora of new music at our fingertips. Artists on platforms such as Spotify and Bandcamp are plentiful, and the radio offers a steady deluge of new singles, but who has time to…
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Tuesday Tracks: Your weekly new music discovery – March 13
Every week, there’s a plethora of new music at our fingertips. Artists on platforms such as Spotify and Bandcamp are plentiful, and the radio offers a steady deluge of new singles, but who has time to…
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ALBUM REVIEW: Young Fathers shed inhibitions and make a joyful noise on Cocoa Sugar
To label Young Fathers as a pop band may seem like a lazy cop out, but it’s also the best way to describe the Scottish trio’s eclectic styles. The self-described “psychedelic hip-hop electro boy band,” consisting…
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RECAP: Air + Style offers the formula for world peace
LOS ANGELES — “How is our sound still working?” Cut Copy frontman Dan Whitford joked after a brief downpour interrupted the Aussie trio’s ’80s-inspired synth-pop set Saturday during the Air & Style festival at Exposition Park, near…