When The Paddle Boat first began to play shows in San Diego, no one knew quite what to make of them. Their hushed aesthetic tended to be too quiet for bars and their century-spanning influences too diverse for easy categorization, but the band nevertheless built a reputation as one of the city’s finest live acts. Seasoned performers though they might be, the band’s recorded output has until now been sparse, consisting of only the four songs from the self-titled EP they released earlier this year.
In its eleven brief minutes, the EP demonstrated that The Paddle Boat were able to flourish within the recorded idiom, utilizing savvy production to add dimension to their already rich sound. But it remained to be seen how the band would fare over the course of an entire album. Now, the group has released I Wonder if the Water Ever Tires of the Sea?, their full-length debut and the true test of whether The Paddle Boat can be as enthralling a recorded band as they are a live one. Continue reading →
Speaking from experience, mid-week concerts are usually not most bands’ best outings. The crowd is usually thin and attendees worry about how much sleep they’ll get before work. Continue reading →
Alex Ebert sure does like to reinvent himself. First a rapper, then the flamboyant front man for the goofy post-glam Ima Robot, Ebert has reformed himself once again—this time as the messianic mastermind behind Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. In the persona of Edward Sharpe, he presides over a dedicated troupe of musicians/followers who create alternately sentimental and moody rock reminiscent of 60s hippie-folk and Ennio Morricone film scores. Continue reading →
An album and a film, ghostly and eternally tied together: this was the premiere of Califone‘s All My Friends Are Funeral Singers.
After a month of listening to Funeral Singers and being totally, completely geared up for their two performances at Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art, I was ready for anything—and everything. Both were delivered in a weekend I will always remember. Continue reading →
The first thing you notice about Charlie Fink is how young he looks. With his curly, tussled hair resting atop an angular but cherubic face, Fink hardly seems like the person responsible for the world-weary outlook and deep, creaky vocals that have come to characterize Noah and the Whale’s sound. Of course, the band’s music wasn’t always grim—it used to be as youthful and fresh as Fink’s appearance. Continue reading →
