Author Archive

Pampelmoose Picks For The Week Of February 5th

Friday, February 5th, 2010

Van Dyke Parks – Wednesday @ Mississippi Studios
If you’re a music geek, the name Van Dyke Parks is music to your ears, considering the man’s pop pedigree. He has contributed lyrics to many great Beach Boys songs (“Heroes & Villains”, “Surf’s Up”), performed with The Byrds, produced albums by Ry Cooder and Randy Newman, and [...]

808080808 State: An Interview With Graham Massey

Thursday, February 4th, 2010

During their ’90s heyday, 808 State were one of the first groups to bring the sounds of techno and acid house to the pop charts in their native England. The quartet – comprised of Graham Massey, Marc Price, Andrew Barker, and Darren Partington – peaked right out of the gate, thanks to their 1989 single [...]

Album Review: Pit er Pat – The Flexible Entertainer (Thrill Jockey)

Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010

Some bands hit the nail on the head with unusual strength when naming themselves. The duo known as Pit er Pat are one such group, capturing the core of their sound – a rhythm heavy rumble that relies heavily on the slithery drumming of Butchy Fuego and Fay Davis-Jeffers’ clamoring keyboard runs – in one [...]

Pampelmoose Picks For The Week of January 29th

Friday, January 29th, 2010

Nomo @ Sunday @ Doug Fir Lounge
While the music writers and critics of the world try to parse out whether Vampire Weekend is honest in their approach to African pop, you should busy yourself with this fine group of gents from Michigan. Formed in the early part of the past decade, this sextet plays some [...]

Album Review: Various Artists – Casual Victim Pile (Matador)

Monday, January 25th, 2010

Back in the halcyon days of the music industry (the late ’80s/early ’90s), indie labels would knock out compilations like this by the dozen. They served as promotional tools for their upcoming slate of releases, benefits for important causes, or tributes to important bands, and were usually priced at bargain basement prices.
These days, most [...]

Album Review: Lindstrøm & Christabelle – Real Life Is No Cool (Smalltown Supersound/Feedelity)

Monday, January 18th, 2010

The collaborative effort by producer Hans-Peter Lindstrøm and Christabelle Sandoo is steeped in the sounds of the past. Take a cursory spin through the album and the attuned ear will hear references to the work of Giorgio Moroder, Afrika Bambaata and Michael Jackson wafting off the tracks like steam trails.
It seems to me those [...]

Pampelmoose Picks For The Week of January 15th

Friday, January 15th, 2010

Matt Haimovitz – Thursday @ Doug Fir Lounge
This world-class cellist’s schedule for the year includes performances of Shostakovitch’s Concerto No. 1 and a concert at New York’s famed Alice Tully Hall. And a stop at Sam Bond’s Garage in Eugene. No, this isn’t your typical classical performance; it’s in-your-face classical fare, in a perfectly in-your-face [...]

Last Man Standing – False Starts & Broken Promises (Imprint)

Wednesday, January 13th, 2010

This British nine-piece announces its intentions early on this, their debut album. It starts with “Variation”, a short instrumental that could easily have been the main theme of a Michael Cimino or Brian DePalma film from the ’70s. This is a band with a penchant for the artifice of the silver screen and the theater [...]