By Travis Fristoe, November 2008
Pretty Dark Things, Hometapes Recordings
Gainesville prides itself on a few musical success stories – Tom Petty and Sister Hazel. Even the somewhat “alternative” bands like Less Than Jake get lauded as exemplars of local boys made good. All of which is fine—history tales reward followers of Manifest Destiny. Read the rest of this entry »
By J. Maggio, October 2008
The Death of Nature, Self-Released
To call Oh Sanders just “twee” pop would be an insult. Sure, they have sexless males who show nothing but platonic interest in the relatively nonsexual female lead. That being said, I use the term “nonsexual” in the sense that Oh Sanders’ pop-tunes have a kind of purity. Read the rest of this entry »
By Jake Crown, September 2008
Bristle Ridge, Ten Four Records
On Bristle Ridge, Chuck Ragan and Austin Lucas have combined forces to make one amazing folk record.
By Jake Crown, August 2008
Orquid, Sound Study Recordings
I haven’t taken Liquid Limbs’ debut full-length Orquid out of my crappy CD player since I got my grubby hands on a burned copy at The Atlantic at 1 am.
By Fred Sowder, July 2008
Abre la Puerta, Self-released
As a native of Miami, any disc of salsa and meringue influence certainly brings back childhood memories, and this disc is certainly no exception.
Dirty Versions
Hello Sir Records
By Fred Sowder, June 2008
This Athens-based quartet claims that this disc will not be officially released until July 1, but you can get it through their label’s Web site or at one of their shows right now.
By Travis Fristoe, April 2008
Heretic Pride, 4AD Records
While a shocking number of my friends wrangle over Bob Dylan, a more relevant subject — John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats – gets overlooked. Or, like Fugazi, ignored as some sort of separate, unattainable mountaintop. Not that Darnielle seems to care. He’s been too busy touring and releasing recording after recording for the past 15 or so years.
