Jun 05, 2018 By Charles Steinberg Issue #63 - Courtney Barnett

Preoccupations' drummer Mike Wallace once grimaced at the suggestion that the Calgary, Alberta band was part of a new guard in the post-punk/New Wave sound. Lead vocalist, bassist, and songwriter Matt Flegel finds this amusing but doesn't mind the association. More

Jun 04, 2018 By Charles Steinberg Issue #63 - Courtney Barnett

Listening to Yo La Tengo has always felt like coming home to a warm house in the country, filled with memories. A safe place to go, where variables don't enter. Ira Kaplan, Georgia Hubley, and James McNew are fabricators of music that makes it feel as if you're walking next to or sitting beside them.  More

Jun 01, 2018 By Mark Redfern Web Exclusive

To end out the week, we ask Devlin Rice, bassist of Ed Schrader's Music Beat, some questions about endings and death. Rice is one half of the post-punk duo with vocalist Ed Schrader.  More

May 31, 2018 By Austin Trunick Issue #63 - Courtney Barnett

For a creative person, a shift in medium can open new channels of thinking. When Belle and Sebastian leader Stuart Murdoch temporarily stepped away from music to write and direct the 2014 film musical, God Help the Girl, the experience forever left a mark on the way he would approach composing. More

May 30, 2018 By Kyle Mullin Issue #63 - Courtney Barnett

Sons of an Illustrious Father's 2017 single "U.S.Gay" may sound like an anthem for young, marginalized queer Americans. After all, the track (which is featured on their new sophomore album, Deus Sex Machina; or, MovingSlowly Beyond Nikola Tesla), sports triumphant lyrics about having "a revolution in my bed." More

May 29, 2018 By Lee Adcock Issue #63 - Courtney Barnett

first time I try to call Ezra Furman in Belgium, I'm greeted by his voicemail: "This is Ezra, leave a message. Don't be shy, it's just you and me." I was, in fact, hella nervous: the gender-fluid frontman had directed several incarnations of his backing band for 11 years before I'd stumbled into his sphere. More

May 25, 2018 By Mike Hilleary Issue #63 - Courtney Barnett

One hundred and twenty miles north of New York City, Hudson, NY, sits quietly alongside the river with which it shares its name. Established in the late 1700s by merchants from Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard who needed an inland port for their whaling ships, the historic upstate locale has endured its equal share of anonymity and notoriety over the decades, at one point serving as a haven in the early 20th century for all manner of vice, including gambling, bootlegging, and an infamous red-light district. More

May 25, 2018 By Austin Trunick Web Exclusive

A blind pianist, Sofia (Natalie Dormer), lives alone in her London apartment. When the woman who lives above her – the daughter of an accused war criminal – is found dead in an apparent suicide, Sofia’s the only person who might be able to unveil the truth behind what happened. In Darkness was co-written by Dormer and director Anthony Byrne, who have been a longtime couple off-set. We spoke to the two about the collaborative process that went into the film.  More

May 24, 2018 By Laura Stanley Issue #63 - Courtney Barnett

New Zealand singer/songwriter Marlon Williams has no interest in being alone. While some long for solitude and the peace that it brings, it's an unnatural state for Williams. When I ask if being alone scares him, Williams is quick to confirm. "[It's] something that really terrifies me." More