Pages tagged “issue 46”

Kristoffer Ragnstam: Wrong Side Of The Room

By Jon Young on 2:25 PM on August 26, 2008

Pop whiz poses cute, slips on messy feelingsPure pop can be wickedly seductive, as Sweden’s Kristoffer Ragnstam well knows. On his fascinating second album, the intricate soundscapes promise relief from the mundane world, with fuzzy guitars, itchy rhythms, layered voices and juicy melodies converging for a familiar yet surprisingly fresh experience. Reflecting Ragnstam’s roots as a drummer, the peppy title track sports a hot, sample-worthy percussion break, while “May I Admire Her” erupts into a rousing chorus with arena potential. But mere escape isn’t the goal: His uneasy, albeit catchy, songs expose the tortured psyches of needy characters coping with... read more

Found in: Music, Reviews

Robyn Hitchcock and The Egyptians: Luminous Groove

By Reid Davis on 12:14 PM on August 26, 2008

Another trip inside the British psych-rocker’s vaultIn the early ’80s, a record-store clerk in a sleepy Southern college town discovered Robyn Hitchcock via the English singer/songwriter’s band The Soft Boys. While a product of the punk era, The Soft Boys trafficked in a deeply unfashionable blend of psychedelia and jangly ’60s-style pop. Hitchcock, the band’s lyricist, sidestepped both politics and rote boy/girl pop narratives, opting instead for cracked, surrealist metaphors that were equal parts Syd Barrett’s twee madness and Bob Dylan’s stream-of-consciousness wordplay—all delivered with a voice like a loopier John Lennon.... read more

Found in: Music, Reviews

Rhymes with Crouton: The Touching Story of Zach Galifianakis

By Austin L. Ray on 6:00 AM on August 26, 2008

It’s 2003 and I’m sitting in a Midwestern college auditorium with ratty orange seats. The air conditioner is cranked despite it being a cool March night, and that’s good, because I’m buzzed from pre-show beers and wearing a... read more

Found in: Culture, Features

Love As Laughter: Holy

By Corey duBrowa on 11:54 AM on August 25, 2008

Isaac Brock’s high-school pal and first vanity label signing neither modest nor mousyExcept for a few of you, the name Sam Jayne probably has no special meaning. Some may recognize him as ex-leader of Olympia-based indie noiseniks Lync, as one of Modest Mouse frontman Isaac Brock’s oldest friends, or even as the cousin of late Alice in Chains singer Layne Staley. But most are unaware that Jayne is now six full-length albums into his career as frontman for the indescribably psychedelic Love as Laughter—and that’s a shame, one that his quartet’s latest offering, Holy, aims to correct. Jayne’s music is... read more

Found in: Music, Reviews