The Pixies' 2004 reunion tour and subsequent live appearances through 2007 comprised one of alternative rock's most surprising and successful second acts. The group hadn't lost its gift for simmering music onstage, but as anybody who downloaded the Pixies' first new song in more than a decade (the June 2004 single "Bam Thwok") found out, the songwriting alchemy that made those old songs so
THURS., APRIL 3 Welcome Newcomers Conejo Valley Newcomers Club hosts Open Membership Social for prospective members, 7 to 9 p.m., member's home. Representatives discuss club activities for all ages. Refreshments served. For directions (805) 677-2628.
For more than a decade, songwriter Jim White has pushed the boundaries of alt-country music with his leftfield lyricism and penchant for spacey, downtempo beats; call it gothic y'all-tronica. On his fourth effort for David Byrne's Luaka Bop imprint, White steps back from modern studio alchemy for a
For all the permutations of acoustic roots music the experimental neo-folk movement has produced, the style's gravitation toward wispy, soft-rock redux can leave a listener feeling a bit challenged in terms of musical muscle. Not so with the partnership forged between guitarist and singer Meric Long
As Observer Music Monthly critic Simon Reynolds recently observed, “There’s realms and realms of triptastic Japanese music that deserve the wider world’s ear.” A good place to start is this weekend’s show at Chateau Rouge featuring the Japanese band Up-Tight.