In Print: Shroud Eater, Winter Music Conference, & More

Need anyone be reminded that some pretty vicious, sludgy music comes out of South Florida, Erica K. Landau’s excellent feature on Shroud Eater should do the trick. Focusing on the interplay between bassist Janette Valentine and partner/bandmate Jeannie Saiz, who fronts the metal outfit, Landau captures the band riding high…

Shroud Eater Beats the Hell Out of Metal’s Female Stereotypes

Welcome to Beezlebub’s Cave, the downtown Miami practice space of grrrlcentric, sludge-metal trio Shroud Eater. Found at the end of an unlit driveway where hazy figures congregate along a chainlink fence, the unadorned venue/warehouse is the kind of inconspicuous spot where you’d hide from zombies. But within, the eerie stillness…

Ten Best Parties for Winter Music Conference 2011, March 10 to 13

The human body is an amazing biological machine. You can try your damnedest to irreversibly damage its every last cell by subjecting it to a sleepless six-day Winter Music Conference spree of ass-pounding party music, 36-hour dancing blackouts, and a diet consisting of Red Bull, vodka, and miscellaneous pharmacological products…

MP3: Millionyoung and Teen Daze Cover Pink Floyd

Pink Floyd released Dark Side of the Moon way back in 1973 — long before Pitchfork, the internet, and the birth of Mike Diaz. Still, songs from the Floyd catalog like “Hey You” and “Us and Them” resonate with listeners far younger, and thus we have a stirring version of…

MP3: Wild Flag’s “Glass Tambourine”

Last March, riot grrrl dreams came true when Sleater-Kinney musicians Carrie Brownstein and Janet Weiss revealed they were working together again. In the fall, the duo, joined by Mary Timony (Helium) and Rebecca Cole (The Minders), announced the birth of Wild Flag, an all-girl quartet.After several months of having to…

Pitchfork Festival 2011 Lineup & Schedule Announced

Last week, the festival-going public commenced drooling for perhaps the only decent summer music gathering by announcing the dates — July 15 through 17 at Chicago’s Union Park — for the Pitchfork Music Festival. Today, the initial lineup is unfurled for all to see and critique.At $110 for a three-day…

Pretty Please’s Self-Titled Album Is Sweet and Sexy

Pretty Please Self-titled (Pretty Please Music) prettypleasemusic.net To say that Pretty Please’s self-titled album got here without turmoil would be a lie. Quite a tit-for-tat begat this delicious digital slab of 11 tracks. And it is delicious. Sultry and sexy. Svengali drummer Juan Oña has surrounded himself with the best…

The Manic Highs and Tragic Lows of Life in the Death Set

Ideally, the Death Set’s punk-meets-electro live shows are sweaty, zealous affairs in DIY hovels, with crowds perpetually moving back and forth and the band rarely standing still. Dating back to the band’s origins in Australia and following developments through Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Brooklyn, lead screamer Johnny Siera says the group’s…

Ra Ra Riot’s String Section Embodies Its Pastoral Evolution

Indie-rock fans aren’t used to seeing a cellist sharing a stage with the drums and guitar. And they’re definitely not used to seeing one who looks like Alexandra Lawn of Ra Ra Riot. In the field of sex-symbol cellists, Lawn has no equal. Understandably, the subject makes her bashful. “Yes,…

MP3: Ski Lodge’s “A Game” Is Warm All Over

RIP the Clementines. Long live Ski Lodge! The gifted pop songcraft of Andrew Marr lives on with this new project that has most adorable promotional material this side of Gorillaz. Of course, the tune we’ve just heard is abominable in its own right.Lyrically, the context of “A Game” is the…

In Print: Ra Ra Riot, the Death Set, and More

Anyone who has worked with ex-Juice scribe Tom Francis can attest to the fact that he knows a boatload about music. The man can speak just as eloquently about Iron & Wine and Ariel Pink as Allen West and Sylvia Poitier. It is with great pleasure that we welcome Francis’…

Marilyn Manson Picks Ex-Foe as Biography Writer

The first authorized biography of Marilyn Manson is coming! Local fans of the Spooky Kids — as well as local members of the Spooky Kids — are in for some tasty nuggets as ex-LA Weekly’s Erin Broadley has been hired to document all things Brian Warner officially. Of course, there…

Some Words of Comfort for Buju Banton

Last week a jury in Tampa confirmed Banton (born Mark Myrie) guilty of conspiring with two other men to possess and potentially traffic eleven pounds of cocaine – plus possession of a firearm and using a telephone to facilitate the whole process. This case has been in the works since December 2009 and ended…

Pitchfork Festival 2011 Dates Announced

Sure, the headliners at Bonnaroo may leave something to be desired, and Coachella may be inching more towards “blah.” But there are still plenty of other destination festivals worth a look — and Pitchfork’s just-announced lineup again promises an impressive showing. The notoriously cranky web site is now also famed…

Stream John Ralston’s New Triumphant Comeback Album

After a three-year recording hiatus, Lake Worth emotive singer John Ralston is issuing forth a flurry of activity. This past Christmas saw the release of seven-inch single “Jesus Christ,” a bit of Americana for the holidays, on mom-and-pop Tampa-based label 24 Hour Service Station. Last year, he also contributed to…

MP3: TV on the Radio Still Thrills With “Will Do”

No point in holding off from the obligatory “TV on the Radio is still impressive” posting. “Will Do” premiered yesterday via Seattle’s 107.7 The End (!). It’s the first song to emerge from Nine Types of Light, the art-rock band’s fifth album, due April 12. Tunde Adebimpe takes the lead…

Bruise Cruise Kickoff Party at Grand Central, February 24

Bad news, lazy hipsters: The inaugural Bruise Cruise is sold out. You literally missed the boat. Departing this Friday from the Port of Miami and stopping over for some nefarious Saturday action on the former pirate paradise of Nassau, Bahamas, this floating music festival will take place aboard the Carnival…

Underoath Became a Veteran Post-Hardcore Act Awfully Suddenly

At the beginning of yet another headlining tour, the guys of Underoath unwittingly find themselves elder statesmen of the particular branch of post-hardcore they helped create. Playing in support of the band’s seventh studio album, last year’s Ø (Disambiguation), the six-piece enjoys the unlikely honor of having musical predecessors Thursday…