Cadence Weapon: Hope In Dirt City Review

Fans of genre-twisting hip-hop artists like Kid Cudi and Childish Gambino will find, Edmonton rapper, Cadence Weapon's third album right up their alley, while those who frequently dismiss hip-hop out of hand may find it changing their perception of the genre.

Kinch: The Incandeza Review

Phoenix quartet, Kinch are one of those bands where it only takes one song to become a huge fan.

Great albums too often come and go without ever reaching their audience. With that sad fact in mind, we wanted to take a look back at some of our favorite albums you may have missed over the last decade. We held the list to anything at least a year old, and to those bands and artists still playing the smaller venues in the city. We are not quite arrogant enough to say that we have heard everything released in the last decade, so we will do without the 'Most' or 'Best' qualifier, but we do consider these twenty-five offerings some of our favorite albums released in the last decade.

Julia Stone: By The Horns Review

The female half of brother-and-sister duo Angus & Julia Stone returns with her second solo offering.

Big Science: Difficulty Review

Genre-bending indie rock outfit, Big Science announce themselves as a force to be reckoned with on their wonderful debut album.

Ease back into the work week with some excellent weekday shows, including a local band on the verge of breaking out, before getting slammed with more worthwhile shows than should be legally allowed this weekend.

JBM: Stray Ashes Review

Montreal's JBM makes a strong bid to become your new favorite singer-songwriter on his stunning sophomore album.

Young Man: Vol. 1 Review

The second in Colin Caulfield's planned trilogy of albums is a vast improvement over 2011's Ideas Of Distance.

The Cult: Choice Of Weapon Review

Longtime UK post-punk quartet, The Cult pull in Bob Rock (Metallica, The Offspring) and Chris Goss (Queens Of The Stone Age, The Duke Spirit) to handle production duties on their ninth studio album.

Archie Powell & The Exports: Great Ideas In Action Review

The garage punk of Chicago's Archie Powell & The Exports explodes out of the speakers with shaggy riffs, infectious hooks, and smart songwriting on their excellent sophomore album.

Garbage: Not Your Kind Of People Review

With the reemergence of dance music, it seems fitting that the return of Garbage's electro-dipped rock would follow closely.

Kimbra: Vows Review

The female half of Gotye's mega-hit "Somebody That I Used To Know", New Zealand pop star, Kimbra finally lands stateside with her debut album.

Porcelain Raft: Strange Weekend Review

Living somewhere in the hazy cool between cheery indie pop and mellow shoegazer rock

Now Here This - Week of May 21, 2012

Start your holiday weekend off on Wednesday with the first of two back-to-back excellent shows this week. We did not find much in the way of worthwhile shows this weekend, so use that time to recover from the PS I Love You and Dry The River goodness, and rest up for next week.

Thirteen Picks - Lucky Boys Confusion

With the sad news of guitarist Joe Sell's passing this week, we wanted to take a moment to celebrate his life as a musician and share what we consider to be Lucky Boys Confusion's finest musical moments.

Sarah Jaffe: The Body Wins Review

When an artist makes as large a sonic shift as Texas singer-songwriter Sarah Jaffe does from debut to sophomore album there is a fear that it will backfire as a massive misstep. Jaffe faces no such issue on her excellent, electro-kissed second album.

Hectic Zentiths: Hectic Zentiths Review

The work of bedroom producer Adam Morgan Prince, this wonderfully layered piece of instrumental hip-hop is a gorgeous, fascinating listen.

Commercials Rock - Volvo S60- 'Little Red Riding Hood'

Volvo's latest ad turns a fairy tale on its ear with a dark, fog-laden spot for their new S60.

Misser: Every Day I Tell Myself I'm Going To Be A Better Person Review

Transit's Tim Landers and This Time Next Year's Brad Wiseman combine forces for pop-punk duo Misser's debut.

The Cribs: In The Belly Of The Brazen Bull Review

The brothers Jarman find themselves back to a trio, minus ex-The Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr, for their fifth studio album.

Tu Fawning: A Monument Review

The sparse, rythmic arrangements and sultry vocals of Tu Fawning add up to a darkly sexy listen on their sophomore album.

Parlovr: Kook Soul Review

Montreal trio, Parlovr strike a careful balance between freewheeling experimentation and adorable pop hooks on their sophomore album.

Norah Jones: Little Broken Hearts Review

Jazzy chanteuse, Norah Jones and, retro-loving producer extraordinaire, Danger Mouse combine powers to create one of the sweetest kiss-off albums around, and her best work since her striking debut.

Jessie Baylin: Little Spark Review

While her husband, Kings Of Leon's Nathan Followill, seems to increasingly strive to fill stadiums and garner massive radio play, the quaint chill of Baylin's latest finds her retreating to a classic pop sound.

Now Here This - Week of May 14, 2012

Thankfully, the concert gods have been nice enough to get you in and out of the live music landscape before the weekend's potential chaos. We will be back with more indie rock goodness next week, protestors permitting.

KNESSET: Coming Of Age Review

Phoenix quintet, KNESSET deliver a solid dose of shoegazer cool on their mellow debut.

Harper Blynn: Busy Hands Review

Guitar pop has become a lost art, but Harper Blynn seems driven to keep it alive and well on their infectious sophomore album.

O'Brother: Garden Window Review

Produced by Manchester Orchestra's Andy Hull, Atlanta rockers, O'Brother's latest is a fierce offering.

Top 25 'Mother' Songs

With Mother's Day fast approaching, we decided to take time to pay homage to motherly music. We could have provided a heartfelt list of the most loving tributes to mothers through music, but how much fun would that be? Rather, we culled through stacks and stacks of music to find the best songs with some form of the word 'mom' in the title, regardless of whether you would really want your mom to hear them. If you can think of it, we probably gave it a spin for consideration. After listening to everything from John Lennon's "Mother" to 2Pac's "Dear Mama", peppered with various takes on "Motherless Child", Ozzy Osborne's "Mama, I'm Coming Home", Enrique and Julio Iglesias' "Mamacita", and The Lonely Island's hilarious "Motherlover", behold our list of Top 25 'Mother' Songs, in alphabetical order.

Silversun Pickups: Neck Of The Woods Review

If the serene tone of, lead single, "Bloody Mary (Nerve Endings)" had you questioning whether LA rockers Silversun Pickups had lost their edge, one listen to opening "Skin Graph" should ease your fears.

The Dig: Midnight Flowers Review

The Dig's Electric Toys might be one of the best debut albums you have never heard, so their follow-up lands on our ears with lofty expectations.

PS I Love You: Death Dreams Review

The post-punk yowl and wiry guitar layers of Paul Saulnier and explosive drumming of Benjamin Nelson make for enthralling listening on the Kingston, Ontario duo's sophomore album.

The Twilight Sad: No One Can Ever Know Review

The third album from brooding Scottish rockers The Twilight Sad places the lads somewhere between The Smiths and Editors.

First Aid Kit: The Lion's Roar Review

The sophomore album from Swedish folk sister act sounds like, as our Nate Schultz put it, "Mumford And Sons and Jenny Lewis had a baby".

Now Here This - Week of May 7, 2012

The good news is that your weeknights are wide open to clear your DVR. The bad news is that you might have to clone yourself to catch all the worthwhile shows this weekend - though the options are slimming up rather quickly.

Lollapalooza: Day 1 Versus Day 3

With 3-Day Passes completely sold-out for the 2012 edition of Lollapalooza, your remaining options to check out part of the festival are rapidly drying up. 1-Day Passes for the Saturday, August 4th date, headlined by Red Hot Chilli Peppers with The Weeknd, Franz Ferdinand, Frank Ocean, Delta Spirit, Santigold, The Temper Trap, Fun., Alabama Shakes, and GIVERS offering a boatload of daytime goodness, are also recently sold-out.

Anais Mitchell: Young Man In America Review

The taut, haunting fifth studio album from, folk singer-songwriter, Anais Mitchell is tough to get out of your ears once you hear it.

Commercials Rock - Corona - 'Private Beach Concert'

Oh, to get a private concert on a beach. There have been plenty of occasions where we wanted to make the rest of the crowd disappear, but much to our dismay, no matter how many beers we had, it is yet to happen. If this commercial in Corona's 'private beach' ad campaign is any indication, perhaps we were drinking the wrong beer.

Reptar: Body Faucet Review

R.E.M. might be the most famous band to call Athens, GA home, but Reptar makes a strong case for being the most caffeinated on their relentlessly vibrant debut.

Ramona Falls: Prophet Review

Former Menomena member, Brent Knopf returns with his solo project's second effort, largely picking up where 2009's Intuit left off.

Great Lake Swimmers: New Wild Everywhere Review

The blend of tranquil, string-enhanced folk backing and Tony Dekker's warm melodic vocals weave magic on Great Lake Swimmers' fifth studio album.

Ben Howard: Every Kingdom Review

UK folk newcomer, Ben Howard has the rare ability to hold your attention with only his raspy voice and an acoustic guitar.

Lana Del Rey: Born To Die Review

Throw Lady GaGa, Morrisey, and Nancy Sinatra in a blender and you would have a concoction close to the mellow, stylish chill of Lana Del Rey's intriguing debut.