Peruse the YouTube comment sections for any Yelle video and you’ll read things like “No fucking clue what she is saying, but this shit is fire!!” to “I don’t even understand French, but I always get excited when there’s a new Yelle video—gives me life.” That vibe stood true at the French pop purveyors’ show at…
L7’s classic lineup is back in action. Singer and guitarist Donita Sparks, guitarist Suzi Gardner, bassist Jennifer Finch, and drummer Dee Plakas reunited in 2015—a full 14 years after the grunge-metal punks broke up. Now, the group has delivered its first single in almost 18 years, and as if that needed to get any…
After suffering from bouts of stomach and liver cancer, Charles Bradley, the Screaming Eagle of Soul, is dead at 68. A former James Brown impersonator and late-in-life star, Bradley quickly became renowned for his heartfelt vocals and lively performances, becoming both a festival favorite and mainstay. A rep for Bradley issued the following statement: “It is…
Before Diet Cig played a single lick, singer Alex Luciano made a few simple requests: give each other space and don’t touch anyone who doesn’t want to be touched. She briefly lectured about the importance of consent, before immediately segueing into the opening strums of “Sixteen.” Truth be told, it was an odd way to kick…
Back in March, Philadelphia’s Kurt Vile and Australia’s off-kilter songbird Courtney Barnett announced a joint album that might make the head, brain and minds of indie-rock lovers explode Scanners style. Details have emerged and the dry-humored duo’s collaboration, now titled Lotta Sea Lice, will debut in October via Matador Records, Marathon Artists, and Milk! Records. Vile described what…
The ska-punk, reggae blend that Sublime would later explode with in the mid- to late-’90s wasn’t quite what cool kids were listening to in 1992. Pantera, Beastie Boys, Sonic Youth, Alice in Chains, Stone Temple Pilots and even Megadeth were having memorable years with huge releases, but the third wave of ska, popularized in Orange…
Beck is (almost) back! The last time Beck was in the news, Prince was handing him an award for Album of the Year and Kanye West was showing the world what a douchebag he was. Oh, 2015. At the time of his win, the genre-bending artist was already two years into work on his next…
Have you ever met anyone who didn’t love Len’s “Steal My Sunshine,” as a guilty pleasure or otherwise? Me neither. It’s a universally accepted truth that the 90’s pop ditty is the musical equivalent of a warm, sunny, beer-soaked Californian day. Brooklyn-based bubblegrunge quartet Charly Bliss covered the tune for The AV Club’s AV Undercover,…
Prophets of Rage, the new supergroup featuring members of Rage Against the Machine/Audioslave, Public Enemy and Cypress Hill, have released another song ahead of their upcoming Sept. 15 eponymous debut album. Following the previously released “Unfuck the World” and “Living on the 110,” “Radical Eyes” dishes social commentary amid a bass-heavy alt-rock backdrop, reflecting on…
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones’ Ben Carr has the best gig in the universe. Having been with the Boston band since its inception in 1983, Carr is a jack of all trades. He’s a dancer, backing vocalist, the band’s sort-of tour manager, and an official Bosstone. On stage at New Haven’s College Street Music Hall, he was…