Traviss Cassidy

Leisure

Deadbeats

Clunky genre tags are often a source of confusion. “Post-punk” and “post-rock” are the epitome of vague (there’s a reason we don’t call lunch “post-breakfast”), and the term “new rave” is as despicable as most of the music that scene has produced. “Dubstep,” an offshoot of the UK Garage scene, likely provokes similar head-scratching—especially among American listeners. The genre purports to combine dub—reggae’s reverb-soaked offspring—with a type of electronic dance music known as 2-step, a subgenre of UK Garage. To these ears, the dub claim is a stretch, but the dance-music influence is spot-on: while dubstep isn’t a sure recipe for getting sweaty bodies on the dance floor, it is built upon the same microscopic clicks and booms that define house music.

By November 29, 2007

Leisure

Art Brut talks to the kids!

English foursome Art Brut play stupidly fun rock and roll for the intelligent—but fun—music fan. The band’s 2005 debut Bang Bang Rock & Roll garnered critical praise at home and across the pond for its faux-metal guitar heroics and churning punk rhythms. This year’s It’s a Bit Complicated refines the debut’s pop formula while retaining its dry wit. The Voice spoke with lead singer Eddie Argos in anticipation of his band’s concert with the Hold Steady on November 20th at the 9:30 Club.

By November 15, 2007

Leisure

Deadbeats

Girl Talk is coming to Georgetown. No, not female chatter, but the “mash-up” artist the University will host on November 17. Girl Talk intertwines syncopated hip-hop passages and indie-rock morsels... Read more

By November 8, 2007

Leisure

Deadbeats

To the laziest constituents of music’s critical and consumer realms, each sparkle from Lil’ John’s grill represents the victory of style over substance, production values over quality songwriting. We are entrenched in an era when studio trickery can wax even the window-shattering squawks of Ashlee Simpson to an FM-ready polish.

By October 25, 2007

Leisure

Go live!

Jesu & Fog Thursday, Oct. 18; Black Cat UK rock lords Jesu (that’s YAY-zoo to the uninitiated) treat their thick metal pomp with enough feedback and distortion to justify their... Read more

By October 18, 2007

Leisure

Deadbeats

Let’s say you want to throw on a record and kick back. What do you do? Pop a CD into your stereo? Plug in the iPod? Simple enough. Now, let’s try something more interesting. It’ll require friends, coordination and multiple music-playing devices. Still with me? Good. Here are three sound experiments that force us to take a more active role in our listening. Pass the Dark Side of the Rainbow, please.

By October 11, 2007

Leisure

Deadbeats

Seeing Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ shook me to the core of my being and left me feeling helpless in my mortality. It wasn’t the movie, though, that so moved me.

By September 27, 2007

Leisure

Critical Voices: Devendra Banhart, Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon

Bewhiskered troubadour Devendra Banhart is a man of many hats: father of freak-folk, new-age pseudo-hippy, the witch-voiced banshee of Jack Johnson’s nightmares. It’s appropriate, then, that his fifth and latest album, Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon, dabbles in a variety of musical genres, ranging from glam-rock to dub to gospel. While too long like its predecessor Cripple Crow, Smokey intrigues as the most revealing glimpse into the odd and joyous world of the shape-shifting folk singer.

By September 20, 2007

Leisure

Dead Beats

Music can be like a bratty child: loud, obnoxious and always demanding your attention. But what if we assigned the medium a more patient role, one that would allow it to seep into our subconscious, cleanse its contents and exit before we even sensed its presence?

By September 13, 2007

Leisure

Critical Voices: Animal Collective, Strawberry Jam

At the moment, nothing short of wide-scale environmental catastrophe could stop the creative stampede that is Animal Collective. The NYC-based group has been the apple of many a critic’s eye since the twisted forest romps of 2003’s Here Comes the Indian and Beach Boys-inflected follow-ups Sung Tongs and Feels.

By September 13, 2007