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Music
Released by Quannum Projects, 5/26/09
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars.
The self-titled release by Joyo Velarde is gonna make you feel alright. A musical voice that could stand toe to toe with a 1970s Diana Ross, it is only natural for her to showcase her supreme talents after being featured on around twenty albums. The hip, bass grooves and her clear, soulful voice create a work that sounds aged yet youthful at the same time. It firmly announces that Joyo will be a smash and trend-setter for years to come in the Bay Area and beyond. More
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Music
Released on Dead Oceans, 5/19/09
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.
I am going to be honest with you and let you know how many times I get “White Dove” from John Vanderslice’s last album Emerald City stuck in my head: probably about six times a week. And I haven’t even listened to that album in over a year. This particular earworm is the most persistent one I have had in some time and it has become my mantra as I move through this life. More
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Music
Her Heart is in San Francisco
Scotland’s Camera Obscura return to the United States this month following the April release of My Maudlin Career, an album full of heartbreak and disappointment, despite a few seemingly upbeat songs. The band stops at the Fillmore on June 8th. Tracyanne Campbell (vocals/guitar) spoke with SF Station during a phone interview from Scotland before her tour. More
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Music
Looks like Trouble
With a list of self-inflicted injuries incurred as a professional snowboarder, Trevor “Trouble” Andrew is trying on a new hat. After several years of recording, writing and gigging, Trouble Andrew released his debut album -- a mix of punk, hip hop and new wave -- in February. He performs at the Warfield, opening for his fiancé Santigold, on March 21st. He spoke with SF Station during a phone interview from New York. More
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Music
Released by XL Recordings, 4/21/09
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars.
The long awaited second release by The Horrors, Primary Colors, is here. The new single “Who Can Say” has a hard charging guitar that sounds of reverb and fuzz while Faris Badwan's echoing vocals let us know we are better off for the wait. After announcing they were recording a new album at the end of 2007, Faris, Joshua Third, Tomethy Furse, Spider Webb and Coffin Joe teamed up with producers Geoff Barrow, Craig Silvey and Chris Cunningham to try and meet the hype with their sophomore release. A good mix of rocking punk to mid-paced songs blanketed by a dense warp of guitars and haunting vocals. More
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Music
Released by Fabric Records, 4/13/09
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
With one look at A-Trak’s resume -- Kanye’s DJ, youngest to win the DMC Title, former member of Invisibl Skratch Piklz and The Allies -- it’s easy to say he’s one of the top DJs in the world. On FabricLive.45 he beat matches, scratches, and mixes to such perfection that he blends so many genres like nu-disco, electro-house and Detroit techno into a subtle eclectic remix of a remix of a remix. More
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Music
Released on Jagjaguwar, 5/5/09
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.
Stephen McBean, perhaps best known for his contributions as lead singer, songwriter and guitarist to the Vancouver-based rock band Black Mountain, has a sensitive side and he is not afraid to show it. But fear not children, I am not talking about whiney, nasal, voice-quavering emotional songs wearing skinny pants. I am talking about quality sensitivity. Delicate songwriting. Organic emotion. More
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Music
Rocking Like a Hurricane
Rock ’n’ roll is alive and well with King Khan and the Shrines, the Berlin-based outfit that returns to San Francisco with its big-band psychedelic boogie March 28th at Great American Music Hall. Khan spoke with SF Station shortly after his tour started during a phone interview from New York. More
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Music
Music is in their DNA
After a quiet start in 2009, Portland-based duo The Helio Sequence are back on tour supporting Keane and trying to survive on the road amid rumors of a swine flu pandemic. The band stops at Oakland’s Fox Theater on May 8th. Brandon Summers (guitar/vocals) spoke with SF Station during a phone interview from Portland. More
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Music
Released on Astralwerks, 4/21/09
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars.
With Walking on a Dream, the debut album by the Australian band Empire of the Sun, comes an intriguing venture into outer space disco rock. With indie-rock cooing over psychedelic-electro dance rhythms, the band’s lavish style with overindulgent makeup and glitter seems, for a lack of a better word, fitting. Unfortunately, the duo comprised of vocalist Luke Steele, formerly of The Sleepy Jackson, and dance producer extraordinaire Nick Littlemore, of Pnau, are lost in a world they’ve created. More
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