People get old and then they die, and sometime during the first part, even your favourite bands tend to let you down. It’s a fact that explains rock ‘n’ roll’s most painful conundrum. Great musicians die young because they never get old enough to cease b

Wild Flag appeared on Jimmy Fallon last night to perform the song "Short Version" off of their self-titled album. Here's what their label Merge Records says about the release: Wild Flag is a Portland, Oregon- and Washington, DC-based quartet consisting o

The Antlers' "Burst Apart" is a haunting album, intimate and yet not insular. (Note: Figured I’d relocate this particular entry from the other blog, while it’s still easy to find.) Here are my favorite albums of 2011: 1. The Antlers, “Burst Apart” (Frenc

"Welcome to Premier Inn. How are you today?" The man is wearing a waistcoat and a well practiced smile. He is excellent at his job, and in moments we are seated in comfortable chairs in the downstairs bar. This is the sort of bar where nothing really wil

Arguably, live shows define a year in music more so than albums. It's possible to discover or rediscover an album well after its release date. If the album is truly one of the best of that year, it will transcend the year or even the decade in which it w

A smugly enamored couple sit in a restaurant, their hands clasped as they fret over the menu. The chicken, for instance: can the waitress tell them a little bit about its provenance? Of course she can, because this is the kind of cool restaurant in Portl