On an ordinary night last year in the middle of a freezing Twin Cities winter, I had the pleasure of being unexpectedly blown away by an amazing live performance from Reckless Ones. Hailing from “right down the block” as the singer put it, the group proceeded to play on of the most solid and entertaining sets I’d seen all year, complete with upright bass twirls, behind the back guitar solos and an avalanche of stand-up drum-kit heroics. Embracing both the stylish look and down-and-dirty work ethic of the classic 50’s Rock’n’Roll …

Read more →

‘Distraction Pieces,’ Scroobius Pip’s second solo album, starts off stronger than any hip hop release I’ve heard in the past few years. This is partly due to his punk-rock roots and partly to his background as a spoken word artist.
When I first thought about the combination of hip-hop and rock back in middle school, I thought it was the best idea ever. But then I sadly discovered that the genre “rap-rock” was led by bands such as Rage Against the Machine, Limp Bizkit, and Kottonmouth Kings, all of which I have little to no interest in. Even after years of …

Read more →

In a city where the music scene is lacking, Rainbow Danger Club is filling a much needed void. Shanghai, where the group is based, is filled with materialism and modernity. This band is made up of ex-patriots that have created an album seemingly contrasting the environment it grew out of. The album as whole is reminiscent of a movie soundtrack being played from a phonograph. Where the Map Ends quickly changes gears from a playful yet eerie silent movie to the pulse pounding excitement of a magical thriller.
Plinking pianos and eerie sounds await you on your trip to the ends …

Read more →

I’m always on the lookout for unique, diverse and progressive artists, which can massage my selective auricles and provide me with a brief escape from the force-fed victuals of mainstream music. Free from the restraints of the music industry, singer/songwriter Kayte Grace is that refreshing breath of fresh air. Grace’s latest album, Written On, is a follow-up to her indie released first album, Soaked You In. Produced by Grace herself (a guitarist and pianist), Written On continues to showcase her unique style that she’s known for from her previous album and shares with the listener a musical gumbo of joyful, …

Read more →

Finals week is coming and with the catchy acronyms comes the realization that many of us have fourteen plus weeks of learning to do before December 17th. Long hours in the library are tedious at best, but the deafening silence can make any extended stay at Walter downright unbearable. If you need a theme song to your finals study experience, look no further than the Kruder & Dorfmeister remix of “Useless” by Depeche Mode.

Finding its place in the first half of the stunning K & D Sessions, “Useless” is a slice of downtempo bliss that even those unfamiliar …

Read more →

At first it was hard for me to figure out what it was I found appealing about Apparently Nothing’s new album Sprawl as I listened to it in my car. The lyrics are serious, the hooks are catchy and the production is clean, but something beyond that was motivating me from one song to the next. At last, the answer arrived to me somewhere around track four. As I glanced down at the back of the CD case—while trying my best to stay on the right side of the road—I noticed that I was listening to a song called “Reason …

Read more →