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Music
Released on Fader, 1/20/09
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.
If you know anything about Brooklyn’s Matt and Kim it probably has to do with their live show which, from what I can tell from the reviews and videos, seems more like an all out dance-off than a rock concert. I think this is what first struck me about the duo: they actually look like they are having fun! Their press photos are exuberant and quirky. Not a sulk or pout among them. No ironic hair, no white jeans that are four sizes too small. How are these two managing to single-handedly reinvent the meaning of the typical “rock and roll band”? More
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Music
Sensual Healing
Odds are, whether you wanted to or not, you’ve encountered Ne-Yo’s music at some point in your life. In addition to numerous R&B hits of his own, he’s left his mark on pop music with chart-topping songwriting collaborations with Rihanna, Beyonce and others. He performs at Oakland’s Paramount Theater on February 6th before heading to the Grammys in L.A. on February 8th, where he is nominated in six categories, including Album of the Year for Year of the Gentleman. He spoke with SF Station during a phone interview from a tour stop Nottingham, England. More
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Music
Released on Matador/Last Gang Records, 1/20/09
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Get Guilty, the second solo release from A.C. Newman, perhaps better known for fronting pop sensations The New Pornographers, recruits the help of Jon Wurster (Superchunk/Mountain Goats), Mates of State and Nicole Atkins to help develop a sound both vastly immense and explicitly precise. There is a certain amount of familiarity within the song structures and lyrical flow, something any New Pornographers fan would recognize, but where that project would have let the dramaticism of the song take the lead, Newman is able to bridle this emotion into something more intimate, something more real. More
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Music
Released on Domino Records, 1/20/09
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Merriweather Post Pavilion, the ninth release from the Baltimore-based pioneers of avant-garde progressive, neo-folk, (add your own fawning, far-reaching, sonic descriptor here), is nothing short of mind-blowing. Having managed to bridge the gap between true compositional and performative experimentalism, the members of Animal Collective are the innovators of a new and true polyphonic era. More
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Music
Hoping to Make History in D.C.
As Barack Obama makes history with his first term in the White House, D.C. rapper Wale is hoping to do the same. After lighting up the internet with a couple of free mixtapes that had many proclaiming him the "next best thing" in hip hop, the rapper is aiming to put his hometown on the map with his debut LP this spring. He’s already caught the attention of Jay Z, Lil Wayne and producer Mark Ronson, who helped him land a deal with Interscope Records through his Allido imprint label. Wale performs with his band at Mezzanine on January 31st. He spoke with SF Station during a phone interview from Washington the day after Obama’s inauguration. More
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Music
Genre-Bending Brazilian Returns to SF
Brazilian multi-instrumentalist Curumin brings his eclectic mix of soul samba, funk and other genres back to U.S. soil this month with a tour that stops January 22nd at Slim’s, where he will be joined by label mates Blackalicious, Tommy Guerrero and Lateef. The Săo Paulo resident released his second album JapanPopShow with Bay Area record company Quannum Projects last year. More
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Music
Birds of a Feather
The Raveonettes had a banner year in 2008: The duo’s third LP Lust Lust Lust was released in the U.S. with positive reviews across the board, Sharin Foo had a child, Sune Rose Wagner released his first solo album, and they both closed the year with a series of four EPs. The band greets 2009 with a brief tour before retreating to plot their next release. They stop in San Francisco for a show at Bimbo’s on January 23rd. Wagner spoke with SF Station during a phone interview from New York. More
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Music
The Eagle Has Landed
Like the thick fog that swallows San Francisco on winter mornings, In Ear Park, the second LP from New York duo Department of Eagles, is comforting and unsettling all at once. Recorded in a New York church, the album meanders from flowering guitar arrangements to light-footed folk stomp in a reverb-drenched haze. Fred Nicolaus, one half of the duo that includes Daniel Rossen (also a member of Grizzly Bear), spoke about the album and the band’s first extensive tour during a phone interview from Manhattan. The band performs at Café du Nord on January 25th. More
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Music
The Top of the Class
The Bay Area was a good place to be for music fans in 2008. San Francisco was ripe with high-profile music festivals and a nearly endless stream of quality performances at local venues. Outside Lands made history with three days of music in Golden Gate Park, and the Treasure Island Music Festival came of age in its second year with a lineup that couldn’t be topped. Nationally, there was also no shortage of music as bands jumped from obscurity to international stardom in a matter of months (see: Vampire Weekend, MGMT, etc.). Here are our music writers' picks for the class of 2008: More
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Music
Two Native Sons
San Francisco’s native sons Two Gallants will share their last performance of the year -- and likely their last show together for several months -- with local fans on December 26th at The Fillmore. After recording and touring behind their self-titled third LP, released September 2007 on Conor Oberst’s Saddle Creek label, the duo is ready for a break to work on other projects, according to singer/guitarist Adam Stephens, who spoke with SF Station during a phone interview. More
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