by Justin Kloczko | Aug 5, 2015 | Opinion
Last week, Dr. Dre, the notorious and elusive producer who had us salivating for 15 years for Detox, the final part of his solo album trilogy, announced that it has been scrapped. Instead, he is dropping Compton: A Soundtrack, inspired by the upcoming N.W.A. biopic on...
by Justin Kloczko | Jul 20, 2015 | Album Review
On “Cold Slope,” the 9th song off Wilco’s new album, Star Wars, Jeff Tweedy sings, “Some say you’re never really there, but you still take up space.” That line could be an indictment of the band over the past several years: touring endlessly but producing fewer...
by Justin Kloczko | Jul 19, 2015 | Concert Review
Minutes into his set Saturday night in Hamden, Connecticut, Mathew Cothran, mic chord snaked around his hands and neck, asked the crowd at the Space if they were into prophecy. He then launched into a bunch of authoritative lines that seemed like he was performing an...
by Justin Kloczko | Jan 26, 2015 | Opinion
On paper, the Kanye West-Paul McCartney-Rihanna collaboration “FourFiveSeconds” looks huge, a swing-for-the-fences song that could actually change things. It features two of the world’s greatest pop stars, plus a Beatle, and other wild card talent, but...
by Justin Kloczko | Jan 11, 2015 | Album Review
Since his 2007 album Person Pitch, Noah Lennox’s Panda Bear has been the gateway drug into Animal Collective. Both outfits feature the same qualities: zone-out repetition, upfront rhythms, a swirl of ineffable sounds, and summer camp sing alongs. Their success both...
by Justin Kloczko | Dec 15, 2014 | Watch This
Panda Bear’s music has always felt like daydreaming, or recapturing that awe struck feeling of childhood. Those deceptively simple repetitions and stoned tempos seem like they could go on forever, and are on full display here. While Animal Collective’s Centipede Hz,...
by Justin Kloczko | Oct 13, 2014 | Album Review
Weather is probably the most common topic brought up amongst strangers. And its broad, unrevealing nature was something Steve Gunn had in mind when putting together his new album, “Way Out Weather. “Way out weather is a common song,” Gunn sings on the album’s...
by Justin Kloczko | Jul 9, 2014 | Listen Up
Steve Gunn’s music sounds like coming home after a long journey from some far away place. Last year’s Time Off was a spare and easy album to fall into, comprising of Travis picking guitar figures that hint at the Dead circa American Beauty. I saw him...
