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Beware of Darkness – Are You Real?Bright Antenna– out Sept. 162.5 / 5 The LA emo rock trio Beware of Darkness has come out with a sophomore album we’ve been anticipating since 2013’s debut LP, Orthodox. A few words about that one: it’s a fantastic rocker. And now, onto Are You Real?: it’s not. The dozen songs here do rock, yes. Stylistically, musically, the guitars growl, the hooks groove, the beats pound and sway. But what holds us back from declaring their sophomore a satisfying rocker is the, erm, sophomoric lyrics and content. Are You Real? feels conceited, a bit self-indulgent, and more than a bit misogynistic. ItRead More →

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We’d been keeping on top of Unknown Mortal Orchestra since their sophomore full-length, cleverly titled “II.” We were initially on the fence as to whether we wanted to catch the Portland, Oregonian foursome – mostly because we’d just come off the Newport Folk Festival the previous weekend. But we admit: we had a good time of it at Fete in Providence. Yes indeedy. So, obviously the UMO played some cuts off their latest jam, Multi-Love. No surprise there. But what we enjoyed about this performance were two things: how adaptable their songs were. Yes, as enjoyable as listening to Multi-Love is (and it’s certainly enjoyable), weRead More →

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Joan Shelley (all photos (c) Matthew Keefer) This was where we started off the third and final day of the Newport Folk Festival. She’s actually the second act of the Harbor Stage, having missed the first one (whom we later discovered was an amazing highlight of the whole Folk Fest – Ian Fitzgerald with Smith and Weeden…). But here we buckled down for a bit, sat and enjoyed Joan Shelley’s acoustic duo, nice, simple, sparse. Kind of a palate cleanser, musically speaking. Refreshing start to the day. And if Joan Shelley’s brand of folk is refreshing, then the Oh Hellos are just a knock-out, high-octaneRead More →

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We think this is as good a spot as any to wax wistful. Why not, right? Over the years, we’ve gone over what the Newport Folk Festival means to us: music, fans, artists, and rain on occasion. But this year was a little different. It was Saturday morning, snoozing in the shade, where we were met by a fellow Newport Folk Fest photographer. She had missed the first day, and maybe was hoping to catch a familiar face when we felt the tap on our leg. Imagine a quick “hey.” Or a pretty lengthy chat. We caught up, on life and on music, and crossedRead More →