I was a wee lad with little journalism experience in 1998, when I interviewed German guitar god Michael Rother, who’d cofounded pioneering experimental rock outfits Neu! and Harmonia in the 70s. Not only did I hit him with a cliched question about his biggest influences, but I also pressed him when he said that no […]
Tag: Krautrock
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Chilean psych group Vuelveteloca highlight the beauty of resistance on Contra
American news media can be frustratingly myopic. But even when mainstream reporting fails to deliver the goods from outside our bubble, the simple act of listening to an album can remind us that we’re part of a global community of people who share more common interests—and face more common threats—than our leaders would have us […]
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Norwegian shapeshifters Ulver remain as literary, elusive, and dark as ever on Flowers of Evil
Norway’s Ulver debuted in 1993 as a howling black-metal outfit, but since then front man and composer Kristoffer Rygg has steered his ship into such different waters you can hardly say it’s going a-Viking anymore. (If you want to hear Ulver at their heaviest since their early days, I’d recommend their collaborations with Sunn O))), […]
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Asheville trio Nest Egg smashes psychedelic sounds into postpunk oblivion on Dislocation
I was once at a Nest Egg gig where a friend said to me, “The thing I love about these guys is that they’re punks who just happen to play psychedelic music.” This joyously astute statement gets at something important about psychedelia: though the word often conjures lovey-dovey visions of the pastoral and the perfumed, […]
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Remembering Triad Radio, where the usual was unusual
Triad Radio, Chicago’s pioneering experiment in commercial free-form radio, left the airwaves in 1977. Now longtime program director Saul Smaizys is moving its archives online.
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Nearly 50 years after they formed, Wire are still doing it right
Before I first press play on an “aging punks still at it” record, I try to prepare myself for the worst. Whether the band in question have retained only one original member in a completely retooled lineup (like present-day Gang of Four), or replaced their figurehead (like the Misfits did in the 90s), or awkwardly […]
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Tengger embraces nature and movement on their spirit lifting new album Nomad
A vacation sounds pretty good right about now, doesn’t it? Or it would in a world without COVID-19, large-scale lockdowns, and an overabundance of existential dread. Seoul-based Korean/Japanese duo Tengger can’t do anything about the pandemic, but their music can provide a bit of a mental escape, or at least uplift the spirit. Inspired by […]
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Former Can vocalist Damo Suzuki still diving into impromptu moments
Update: This show has been canceled to help slow the spread of COVID-19. Tickets will be refunded at point of purchase. Damo Suzuki has always had a case of wanderlust. Born in 1950 in Kobe, Japan, he began traveling while still in his teens and spent time living in Gräsmark, Sweden, before eventually landing in […]
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Remembering Can drummer Jaki Liebezeit and his implacable grooves
Jaki Liebezeit died in his sleep on Sunday, but we still have his recordings—including “Mushroom,” a Can classic powered by his limber, nonchalantly precise drumming.
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Five local labels that had excellent years in 2016
These modest Chicago imprints have gotten so good at what they do that they’re shaping music scenes far and wide.
Posted inBlogs
Psych voyagers Verma premiere a drone-shot desert video from their new LP
Verma’s fourth full-length, Mul.Apin, comes out tomorrow on Trouble in Mind, and the Reader is premiering the video for “Elil.Sa.Ursag / Hero’s.Theme.”
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New music from Baltimore-via-Chicago drums-and-synths duo Wume
The two-piece debuts a music video from their upcoming Ehse Records LP.
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Gossip Wolf: Walking Bicycles gear up for their first LP in five years
Walking Bicycles gear up for their first LP in five years, Johnny Love releases more nu-industrial as Deathface, and more.
Posted inBlogs
12 O’Clock Track: Tune in and zone out to Can’s ‘Mother Sky’
Amping up while staying stationary with the near-15-minute freak-out on 1970’s Soundtracks.
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12 O’Clock Track: Driving, organ-stoked cool from Klaus Johann Grobe
The infectious opening track from the Swiss duo’s new album