The Chicago Underground Duo packs a surprising amount of sound

When the Chicago Underground Duo plays jazz, what's important is not the number of musicians, but the sound they create. And the duo—Rob Mazurek on cornet and keyboards, and Chad Taylor on drums and vibraphone—make some serious sound.

"Some people ha… Continue

CALM BEFORE THE STORM

After an unusually fertile January—that saw the first local appearance by the Residents; Sonic Youth's first visit to Tucson in decades; and a victory lap for Girls, who, in my opinion, released the best album of 2009—February gets off to a rather slow start regarding big-name shows.

It w… Continue

Music about life's pains and sorrows is nothing new, but rarely is it presented so directly.

Largely shunning metaphor and other songwriting veils, Charlotte Gainsbourg delivers an album that unravels the fear, disorientation and panic she felt in suffering and recovering from a brain hemorrhage in 2007. From the album… Continue

The Magnetic Fields bandleader Stephin Merritt has always been invested in gimmickry and guiding concepts, and Realism is being billed as the group's "folk album."

To review a Magnetic Fields album feels almost like a perfunctory act: Point out the brilliance of the songcraft and lyrical bon mots; call at… Continue

Been waiting for that ideal combination of garage and Southern rock? Then the third album by this maverick Washington state band, released last June, might fit the bill. Combining reckless power-chording and Allman Brothers-style roadhouse blues, The Lonely H seems to want to revive classic rock. Just don't tell 'em the Black… Continue

If you're wondering what kids are listening to these days ... this is it. And if you're not right in there with them, you're missing out on more than just uncontrollable energy and killer skin tone.

Saturday's foursome of upbeat-sounding bands made the future look a whole lot better—a sorely needed bright spot in a… Continue

1. Cannabis Corpse

The Weeding (Tankcrimes)

2. Fluke No. 8 Fanzine

(self-published)

3. Bouncing Souls

Ghosts on the Boardwalk (Chunksaah)

4. The Band Crime: Punk77 Revisited (book)

James Stark (Last Gasp)

5. The American Black

… Continue

Eric Holland is a local singer-songwriter who specializes in story songs. His excellent third album, Borders, Battles and Beers (self-released), will be feted at a CD-release performance from 4 to 8 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 6, at Vila Thai Cuisine, 972 E. Broadway Blvd. One-quarter of the profits from the CD will

… Continue

HELPING HAITI

Even in the worst economy in years, people have been more generous than ever in donating to help the victims of the Haiti earthquake.

That star-studded Hope for Haiti Now telethon—regardless of what you thought of it—raised an initial $58 million, a record amount for a disaster-relief telethon. An… Continue

A darker side of hippie folk grows into Girls' optimistic and spiritual pop

In the era of Google as a standard research tool, naming your band Girls and your album Album seems almost like a protest against the specificity required by metacrawlers: You can't type "Girls" into Google, hit "I'm feeling lucky," and… Continue