more by Christopher John Treacy
[EMO] Boston quartet Somos gets lumped into the emo-revival camp, which seems entirely appropriate in a general way. But listen more closely and you’ll notice a refreshingly less self-absorbed vibe.
[PUNK] 29 songs in five acts over the course of 93 minutes. This is what The Most Lamentable Tragedy consists of purely in quantitative terms, but the latest from Titus Andronicus—their debut for Merge Records—is also an ambitious concept album.
[HIP HOP] 40 year old Christopher Brendan Ward, a.k.a. MC Chris, raised the profile of nerdcore hip-hop, giving voice to a variety of MC that many geeky, irritated white boys have dreamt of becoming (though Ward hasn’t always been a huge fan of the categorization).
[PUNK] After a trio of increasingly compelling EP’s, local post-hardcore quartet The Slums have finished recording their debut full length.
[JAM] If you’re familiar with Robert Randolph and the Family Band’s blend of churchy spirit and funky musical ideals, Roosevelt Collier will seem familiar.
[POP PUNK] SWMRS unleashed the new Drive North disc last month, the band’s third release (but first under the name SWMRS—they’re formerly known as Emily’s Army).
[POP PUNK] After a debilitating bout of writer’s block, the Wonder Years front man Dan Campbell finally got his creative juices flowing well enough to make the new No Closer to Heaven, which came out on the Hopeless label last fall.
[ROCK] Now on their own label, Robot Farming Records, Los Angeles by way of Utah art-rock quartet TMTF has just released the new full length they’ve been working on the last few years with producers Peter Katis (Interpol, The National), Tony Hoffer (M83, Beck), and Nate Pyfer (Parlor Hawk,