As a solo conceptualist who once led The Fugees, Jean has produced a fascinating catalog of recordings for a slowly decreasing audience more enchanted with crunk-and-thug bleats than smart pop/R&B. Released on his new imprint, Sak Pasé, Welcome to Haiti Creole 101 further displays Jean’s knack for drawing connections among…
Although the media tries to ignore it, hard rock (or emo, or rap metal, or whatever you want to call it) rules the heartland, selling out arenas while hip-hoppers struggle to fill seats with massive package tours. In South Florida, radio station 94.9 ZETA (WZTA-FM) is the rallying point for…
Has Morrissey, the man with le voz like rain who brightened up the Eighties with his morose and moody lyrics, gotten conservative in his middle-age? On the cover photo for his latest album, You are the Quarry, he looks quite presidential dressed in a plum pinstriped jacket, designer lavender, and…
Over the past two decades, David Byrne has delved into all styles of music, from the straightforward pop of Uh-Oh and the salsa of Rei Momo to the instrumental world beat of My Life in the Bush of Ghosts and the stately Grown Backwards. But it is his work with…
Federico Aubele is the latest artist to appear on Eighteenth Street Lounge Music (ESL), the label owned by Rob Garza and Eric Hilton of Thievery Corporation that’s fast becoming an institution. Aubele plays bass for Thievery Corp., and Garza and Hilton produced his first album, Gran Hotel Buenos Aires, so…
While the best way to join Miami’s multicultural, multi-rhythmic band Suenalo Sound System in their quest to increase the peace is by dancing or smacking a tambourine at one of their family-style concerts, their latest CD, Collage, is a perfect at-home companion. Dedicated to “The Most High On Earth,” Suenalo…
Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays, Opium Garden, Tuesdays and Fridays, Mansion The smooth Mr. Mauricio is a member of one of the top DJ crews in the country, New York DJ Enuff’s exclusive cabal the Heavy Hitters. But that’s not the only reason Mr. Mauricio carries so much clout. Faithful listeners…
In the post-download era, selling 300,000 copies of a new album in the U.S. is something of an achievement. Considering that the quintet La Oreja de Van Gogh (Van Gogh’s Ear) comes from Spain, performs Spanish pop songs, and hasn’t used an English-language crossover album as a door opener (à…
After using Miami as its bitch for one long, hellish week in August, MTV is throwing another infernal show, the MTV Latin America Video Music Awards, at the Jackie Gleason Theater on October 21. Guess where I won’t be on Thursday night? No disrespect, MTV, but I’m sick of all…
If German electronic producers Jan St. Werner and Andi Toma were to switch professions and tackle architecture, maybe they could be the new Frank Gehry. “Music can be seen like interior design,” says Toma, one half of the duo known as Mouse on Mars. “You are the architect of a…
Mos Def’s sophomore album, The New Danger, is remarkably different from his 1999 bow, Black on Both Sides. That memorable debut possessed literate rhymes delivered with razor sharp timing; The New Danger relies on smart scat rap leisurely doled out. Black on Both Sides offered late-Nineties boom bap and neo-soul;…
While New York heads moan about a lack of solid indie-rap fare this year, West Coast acts such as Blackalicious’s Gift of Gab and the Shapeshifters continue to bang out hits for anyone who’ll listen. Next in line is Libretto, a member of Portland, Oregon’s Misfit Massive; his debut, Il-oet,…
Gold Chains (Topher LaFata) teams up with good friend Sue Cie (Sue Costabile) for the lighthearted When the World Was Our Friend. Here, the duo inject dance cheekiness into punk, resulting in music that often borders on novelty but mostly rocks a tough groove. “California Nites” blends guitar riffs that…
In keeping with her reputation as the queen of electro breaks, DJ Baby Anne’s Mixtress starts off noisily with Jimmy Rhodes’s “Go,” a cantankerous blend of feedback, whirling sirens, and a Chuck D. loop. For the first twenty minutes of her mix CD, Baby Anne continues to weave in and…
Taking a break from his duties in famed dubby dance trio Chicken Lips, Andy Meecham issues his debut solo effort as The Emperor Machine. The post-apocalyptic disco of Aimee Tallulah Is Hypnotized is clearly informed by the sci-fi landscapes of John Carpenter’s early Eighties scores (such as Escape From New…
In contrast to the dark, murky, percussive house that dominates the Miami dance scene, Q-Burns Abstract Message, who splits his time between Orlando (where he runs Eighth Dimension Records) and San Francisco, makes soulfully sunny house beats that are perfect for an afternoon party. A new compilation of remixes, Future…
Taking flight from British forebears such as the Who, the Hollies, and the Kinks, The Telepathic Butterflies emulate the giddy blend of wistful sentiment, earnest singing, jangly guitars, and ready refrains which forms the very essence of Sixties sensibilities. Aside from “A Passing Glance,” which sets its sights on a…
Back in the mid-Sixties, singer/songwriter Chris Smither launched a musical career that has lasted for nearly 40 years. That’s a long time to spend circling the fringes of widespread recognition while close associates such as Bonnie Raitt achieve mainstream success. But with ten albums to his credit and the admiration…
The First Annual Lambretta Girl Scooter Rally and Mod and Punk Tribute show gasses up at Churchill’s this Saturday. On the tribute stage, catch The Remnants as the Rolling Stones, Good Life Cycle as Crass, The Van Der Wals as the Kinks, and a schizophrenic set by the Creepy T’s…
More Adventurous — it’s not just the title of Rilo Kiley’s terrific new album; it’s a mission statement. The Los Angeles quartet previously known for country-dusted, Saddle Creek-allied indie-pop has vastly expanded its repertoire with punchy New Wave, symphonic dream-rock, and velvety cabaret sway, while still maintaining a hold on…
There aren’t many golden age rap heroes left, but The Beastie Boys still command a high profile, thanks to a multimedia vision that both updates and outstrips their early incarnation as drunken suburbanites. So what if their new album, To The Five Boroughs, is a disappointing rehash of past glories?…
Amy Carol Webb has been such a dependable fixture on South Florida’s burgeoning folk scene that it’s hard to believe it’s been a full four years since her last release. It’s not as if she hasn’t been busy; indeed, she has kept up a relentless touring schedule that has honed…
