Blogcritics Category: Music: Experimental

Music Review: Totem> - Solar Forge

Mark Saleski — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 08:50:15 EDT

If a score was written to accompany the failure of a suspension bridge, this would be it.
Have you ever lost a chunk of your life by tackling a piece of art that, in retrospect, might have been a little over your head? I'm all for the idea of stretching out but sometimes we can lose sight of why we took off in a particular direction in the first place.For me, it was Thomas Pynchon's novel Gravity's Rainbow. Some co-workers...

DVD Review: Blue Man Group Shows You How To Be A Megastar

Scott C. Smith — Tue, 8 Jul 2008 07:23:10 EDT

The Blue Men return for version 2.0 of their rock concert experience.
The Blue Man Group return to their rock concert experience in their latest DVD, captured during their "How To Be A Megastar 2.0" tour. If you already own The Complex, Blue Man Group's previous DVD release from 2004, much of this material will be familiar as it's nearly the same concert from that tour. That's not necessarily a...

Music Review: Totem> - Solar Forge

Pico — Mon, 7 Jul 2008 23:57:12 EDT

Ahhh, sweet, sweet cacophony...
I've got that itch again. It's an itch that manifests itself whenever I listen to music with form, predictability and harmony for too long.Yes, folks, it's time to cleanse the soul with some good, gut punching whack jazz, and Solar Forge by Totem> is the elixir.Totem> (yes, the ">" is part of the name) is a trio devoted to dedicated to collective...

Music Review: Pyramids - Pyramids

Kevin Eagan — Mon, 7 Jul 2008 14:57:10 EDT

Mixing cacophony with angelic beauty, Pyramids are not afraid to experiment with drone metal and experimentation.
If there is any driving force behind the indie rock movement over the past few years - the whole post-hardcore, post-punk, post-anything movement - it is the refinement of noise and experimentation. For some, this means taking apart conventional rock tropes and reassembling them in new and often bizarre ways; for others, it's about using...

Concert Review: Tom Waits, 7/1/08, at the Moran Theatre, Jacksonville, FL

Donald Gibson — Thu, 3 Jul 2008 20:31:21 EDT

He's got the fire and the fury at his command.
Gothic and poignant, grotesque and sublime, Tom Waits envisages characters and stories through song like a seasoned author does in literature. Before an audience nearing 3,000 on Tuesday night at the Moran Theatre in Jacksonville, Florida – his first-ever appearance in the city – the iconic artist rendered his distinctive creations with...

Music Review: Build - Build

Richard Marcus — Wed, 2 Jul 2008 12:00:40 EDT

This release could change the way you think about contemporary composition.
Back sometime in the 1970s an ensemble known as The Penguin Cafe Orchestra achieved a level of popularity previously unknown for a group playing contemporary compositions. While individual composers like John Cage, Philip Glass, and Steve Reich were known and appreciated by those interested in the field, The Penguin Cafe Orchestra's compositions...

Devo Sues McDonald's; New Wave Nigel Under Fire

Eric Whelchel — Tue, 1 Jul 2008 13:47:28 EDT

Devo vs. McDonald's - round one
In perhaps the most bizarre music story of 2008 to date, New Wave band Devo is suing greasy French fries, quasi-chicken nuggets, and mysterious meat substance McRib purveyor McDonald’s over alleged unauthorized use of the band’s likeness in a Happy Meal toy. The band claims that “New Wave Nigel,” which besides sporting an...

Music Review: Love - Out Here and False Start

David Bowling — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 01:17:24 EDT

Love and more love from Arthur Lee and compamy.
Every once in awhile a music label has a great idea. Someone at Collector’s Choice Music had the wonderful inspiration of re-releasing the Love albums featuring Arthur Lee that were recorded for the Blue Thumb label in 1969-1970. Both had been out of print for decades.Arthur Lee and his group Love have rightfully gone down in music history as...

Music Review: Hour of the Shipwreck - The Hour Is Upon Us

Lou Novacheck — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 07:33:44 EDT

Welcome to Goth Disneyland.
Hour of the Shipwreck is a group out of the Los Angeles area, and they do a genre-defying mix of prog rock, alternative (whatever that means these days), symphonic, and soft rock. The nearest I can come to describing them would be 16th-century experimental-classical-Goth-art rock, which fits. Sort of. Their premiere CD, The Hour Is Upon Us,...

Music Review: Umphrey's McGee - Live At The Murat 2-CD Set

Charlie Doherty — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 21:16:17 EDT

Umphrey's McGee, always a must-see live jam band, jams two nights of music into one compilation, for mostly yummy results.
Indiana-now-Chicago, Illinois jam band Umphrey’s McGee certainly knows its biggest strength: live performances. From its earliest days at South Bend at the campus of Notre Dame in the late '90s to breakthrough appearances at the Bonnaroo Festival in Tennessee in the early 2000s, this sextet have made a name for themselves as a must-see...