Posts byLauren Wisbeski

Fontaines Release Follow Up New-Wop EP

The Brady Bunch, the Jackson 5, Haim, Donny and Marie Osmond… You get where I’m going with this. To add to the list of noteworthy sibling bands is The Fontaines, which consists of siblings Hank and Charlotte Fontaine. Apparently, their story is as follows: Brother moves from Texas to California (Los Angeles, of course). He
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Mrs. Magician Release “Bermuda” Full Length

Bermuda, the latest album from Mrs. Magician, a band from San Diego comprised of five men including Jacob Turnbloom (vocals) and Thomas Garcia (guitar), is quite good. The band reminds me of a combination of several of the bands I loved about a decade ago: Green Day, Weezer, Blink-182, Yellowcard, etc. — the list goes on.
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Heaven’s Jail Releases LP Rich in Story

Widow’s Work is the new album by Heaven’s Jail. The entire album focuses on the topics of death and grief — how one causes the other and how they intertwine. More specifically, the songs explore how death impacts a person over the course of his entire life. What’s especially impressive about the album is its
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Big Little Lions Strive to Stir Your Soul

Described as folk pop, the duo that makes up Big Little Lions (which to me sounds like characters in from a whimsical children’s book) is Helen Austin and Paul Otten. Their songs touch your soul and have an inherent optimism to them that has resonated with people across the United States and Canada, where Otten
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Animal Noise Proves Their Attention is Earned

Animal Noise comes from a place that, to the average (read: geographically challenged) American, sounds like it originated in the mind of George R. R. Martin. The three-person band, comprised of Josh Sandifer (vocals), Michael Bird (bass), and Jack Abbott (drums), is known to have practiced in a cowshed on a farm in East Anglia.
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New York Tourists, but Musically at Home

When Carl Rutherford, who plays guitar and background vocals for New York Tourists, visited America’s most exciting city in 2008, his band was unofficially christened. The group, which comprises five men from Blackburn, England, quickly rose to success. Along with Rutherford, Gary Taylor provides the vocals, Matt Fox plays bass, Graham Anderson is on guitar,
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Trevor Green’s Album Deeply Spiritual

I’ve never been to Burning Man, but I’ve visited the North American desert and danced around in a Baja jacket like the Pittsburghers of Rusted Root have been known to do. So when I started listening to Voice of the Wind by Trevor Green, I was lifted from the banalities of my everyday routine and
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Nigel Thomas Debut LP Hits Many Notes

Nigel Thomas recently released an album, Travelling Man, which is aptly named. This burgeoning artist is definitely a travelling man — I think he’s on a journey of self-discovery. Can he take his thespian roots and find success as an independent singer/songwriter? Based on his other interests and experiences, his potential is strong. Thomas is
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The Chewers — Noise Rock at its Rawest

The Chewers is not a band for the faint of heart. At their recent show in Nashville, recorded live as the album Live at Exit/In, they dressed up two hard-core fans as giant mouths to dance on stage as they performed. The Chewers, a self-described “off-kilter weirdo-avant-whatever rock duo” from Nashville, screamed to their fans
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