They’re nobody’s buzz bands anymore. But since 1993, MAGNET has discovered and documented more great music than memory will allow. The groups may have broken up or the albums may be out of print, but this time, history is written by the losers. Here are some of the finest albums that time forgot but we [...]
“No guilt, all pleasure,” sings Ben Lee on his forthcoming album, The Rebirth Of Venus (due April 28 on New West). Lately, the 30-year-old Australian singer/songwriter has been on a mission to deliver radio-ready pop songs for the rest of us, mixing up hooks and politics and letting it all hang out. Shortly before he appeared on Jay [...]
While Jay Reatard slept (OK, he didn’t sleep; but last year, he released a half dozen seven-inch singles via Matador instead of making a full-length statement), Nathan Williams (a.k.a. Wavves) made the hypercolor-punk masterpiece of 2009. Williams is 22 years old, he lives with his parents in San Diego, and he grooves to both the [...]
In a news item about the upcoming Merge Records anniversary show, we made a offhand, joking remark about singer/songwriter Richard Buckner. In the spirit of reconciliation, we’ll kick off this update by letting offended fans know that Merge will reissue three of Buckner’s out-of-print records, 1995′s Bloomed (download mp3 of “Gauzy Dress In The Sun”), [...]
“No guilt, all pleasure,” sings Ben Lee on his forthcoming album, The Rebirth Of Venus (due April 28 on New West). Lately, the 30-year-old Australian singer/songwriter has been on a mission to deliver radio-ready pop songs for the rest of us, mixing up hooks and politics and letting it all hang out. Shortly before he appeared on Jay [...]
They’re nobody’s buzz bands anymore. But since 1993, MAGNET has discovered and documented more great music than memory will allow. The groups may have broken up or the albums may be out of print, but this time, history is written by the losers. Here are some of the finest albums that time forgot but we [...]
All you guys (and trust me, you are all guys) who are bummed about David Berman’s Silver Jews implosion and Bill Callahan’s ruination of your hopes for a pre-release leak, buck up. Because: a) your girlfriend especially doesn’t want to hear that music today, and b) Chicago singer/songwriter Owen Ashworth (a.k.a. Casiotone For The Painfully [...]
“No guilt, all pleasure,” sings Ben Lee on his forthcoming album, The Rebirth Of Venus (due April 28 on New West). Lately, the 30-year-old Australian singer/songwriter has been on a mission to deliver radio-ready pop songs for the rest of us, mixing up hooks and politics and letting it all hang out. Shortly before he [...]
This spring’s first annual Harvest Of Hope Fest keeps getting bigger. A whole slew of bands, musicians and DJs have just been added to the three-day festival’s already-packed lineup, headlined by Against Me! (pictured), Propagandhi, the National, Girl Talk and Bad Brains. Among the recently confirmed acts are GZA, Diplo, the Mountain Goats, Deerhunter, Black Kids, Tilly [...]
Brett and Rennie Sparks, the Southern-gothic country duo known as the Handsome Family, will release Honey Moon in April, a month in which they will also celebrate 20 years of marriage. Anyone who’s seen the loving spectacle that is the Handsome Family’s live show/comedy act/spousal insult marathon realizes that these two asylum escapees (Rennie paints [...]
