Lauren FukanoTwo years ago, I took the train across the bay to Oakland to see José González perform the best acoustic set I’ve seen to date, while he was touring for In Our Nature. I didn’t know much about him really, except that his cover of The...
This year’s Bumbershoot may have been a bit smaller, rainier, and less musically-sophisticated than it usually is, but that doesn’t mean there weren’t some amazing performances. Here are some of the best from this year’s...
Blood Sea Dream is Grand Lake’s full-length debut. Eschewing any usual monikers, the Oakland quartet consider their music “fuckwave,” a tag which questions their attachment to categorization. This encapsulates the spirit of an...
Nice, Nice, Very Nice is more than just nice. Mangan expertly blends folk rock and country with expressive lyrics that build vivid stories. Mangan’s voice has the gravelly tones and vulnerability of Damien Rice or Conor Oberst, but with...
Sebastian Blanck’s Alibi Coast is a folk album with an intimate feel. Blanck’s vocals are heavily doubled in an attempt to sound harmonized and choral (think: Fleet Foxes). As the album plays, the songs begin to melt together, making...
Vee Hua 華婷婷A festival that manages to bring in quality folk, bluegrass, alt-country, and indie rock bands without feeling blown-out, over-run, and over-saturated. dr. dog Dr. Dog seem to be constantly, eternally on tour, and their spirited jams are easy pop...
The first two tracks off The Harvey Girls’ new album, I’ve Been Watching A Lot Of Horror Movies Lately, exemplify what the band does best. A horde of subtle manipulations, unusual samples, and simplistic looped guitar lines greet the...
Dan Sartain begins Dan Sartain Lives, his sixth album, with paranoia and his life under threat in “Those Thoughts”; “I don”t wanna know who”s at my door…/ I don”t wanna hear your gunshots,” he sings...