As we embark on another hot and sweltering summer in the M.I.A., it’s bound to get hotter with the release of local hip-hop heavyweight Billy Blue’s new mixtape, 36 Reasons. It’s a preemptive strike before his major-label debut album, The Story of My Life, due out the end of August…
The PostmarksWith John Ralston and Raffa and RainerPropaganda, Lake WorthFriday, July 10, 2009Better Than: Gorging oneself on a smorgasbord of the best homemade recipes.The Review: In the handful of months the Lake Worth indie rock spot Propaganda has existed, local booking/promoting guru Steve Rullman has done a remarkable job luring…
Behind every stadium pop star is a king-size producer, and behind every king-size producer, you got the secret weapon: the “mixing engineer.” Most people can’t name one mixing engineer, let alone explain what they do. But that will change this Friday when the Red Bull Music Academy features Marcella Araica,…
Concha Buika refuses to hide behind a false veneer of personality. She needs no carefully crafted persona, media image or handlers.Instead, the singer who has won a devoted following in Spain and beyond with a powerful blend of flamenco, jazz, African and Latin American music prefers to reveal all -…
Kevin RudolfSaturday, July 4, 2009Fourth on Flagler, West Palm BeachOpportunity struck for Kevin Rudolf at this Fourth of July showcase, a chance to deploy an abbreviated set of songs from In The City, his solo debut. Best known for production work with the likes of Lil Wayne and Nelly Furtado,…
N.O.R.E.Friday, July 3, 2009The White Room, MiamiBetter Than: What one might expect from a world-class MC in an unfamiliar situation The Review:Whenever a formerly well-known artist dips under the radar for several years you can’t help but wonder what they get up to in their free time. Once a great talent…
War and the Average White BandHard Rock Live, HollywoodTuesday, June 30, 2009 Better Than: Hearing both of these groups play in another 10 years. The Review: With a bill of two of the funkiest multi-cultural groups from the late 1960s still alive and kicking, the Hard Rock promised to be…
To read past installments of South Florida According to Brooklyn, click here. Last Sunday I went to the Cinema Paradiso record swap that was put on by Mark Pollack of New Art School. Three local bands played: the first was No Class Action, the second was Band Number 12, and…
And Then There Was YouAnd Then There Was You (Indianola Records)www.myspace.com/ATTWY Powerful, melody-driven three – and – a – half – minute ditties propel this album above and beyond the muck of what has sadly become of the post-punk/hardcore scene. The extremely adept rhythm section of Alex De Renzis (drums)…
Isaac HayesHot Buttered Soul (Stax)Forget “Chef,” “South Park,” and all that Scientology bullshit. Isaac Hayes died last summer. If we’re to remember him for just one thing, let it be Hot Buttered Soul.The landmark 1969 LP has been remastered and gussied up with bonus tracks. There are also new liner…
Yellowmanwith Spred the DubRespectable Street Cafe, West Palm BeachSaturday, June 27, 2009Better Than: Discovering sticky hydroponically grown sensimilla in your backyard.The Review:Deep rub-a-dubbing reggae in legendary West Palm Beach rock haunt Respectable Street? Why not? After all, “King” Yellowman’s explicitly sexual dancehall verses pushed the envelope back in the early…
The Orlando InvasionMumpsy, with Surfer Blood and XOXO Saturday, June 14, 2009Propaganda, Lake Worth Better Than: Drinking freshly squeezed OJ with Japanese Tourists. The Review: O-town is famed for being the primary residence of the world’s most renowned mouse, and for spewing out annoyingly cutesy boy bands. So can anything…
Initially catching a break as an opening DJ for progressive figurehead Sasha, U.K. DJ/producer James Zabiela funneled an interest in acid house’s tightly pitched trills and the instant editing potential of the Pioneer CDJ decks into a blissfully slick sound that’s both sci-fi and hi-fi. Digitally assisted by MIDI controllers,…
Steely Dan should have belonged to the oughties. Their particular blend of soft-rock bears so many of the hallmarks of latter-day indie royalty that one begins to wonder whether it’s a coincidence at all, or if Walter Becker and Don Fagen are actually time-traveling sonic explorers sent from the far…
Few frontmen are as wildly energetic as The Legendary JC’s Eugene Snowden. Backed by a badass eight-piece, he confidently recreates the soul revue sensations of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Snowden brings his own explosive quirks to the indelible personas created by such greats as James Brown and Al…
When you’ve spent a quarter century reinventing rock music, altering the landscape not only for yourself, but for pretty much every band to come after, releasing a new album can be a tricky affair. It’s not just a matter of increased expectations — of course everyone expects their musical gods…
View New Times’ full slideshow of the show here. Animal CollectiveWith Black DiceTuesday, June 9, 2009Culture Room, Ft. LauderdaleBetter Than: Eating Terry Riley’s leftover mushrooms and listening to a Diplo mashup of the Beach Boys.The Review:”Harry Belafonte! Harry Belafonte!” That’s what the girl next to me last night screamed in…
Best New Electronica ArtistPanic Bomber panicbomber.comPlaying live around town for less than a year, the shadowy character known as Panic Bomber has already developed some minor lore. Legend has it that once upon a time, Richard Haig was a local rock musician who got fed up with the grind of…
At the entry of Kimbaracumbara, a small restaurant club hidden between an art gallery and a Chinese restaurant in Little Havana, there’s a painting of the Virgin Mary with a baby Jesus and three angels holding her afloat. Celia Cruz’s song “Quimbara” plays in the background. A massive chandelier with…
Best Weekly Party(((Shake))) at the Vagabond30 NE 14th St.Miami 33132305-379-0508thevagabondmiami.comHipsters love irony. But don’t call the Sweat Records and ¿Que Pasa M.I.A.? crews responsible for this Thursday-night fiesta hipsters. That’s totally not what they’re trying to attract. They’re more interested in spicing the event with scrumptiously dirty 305 flavor and…
Best Local AlbumTorche, Meanderthal Hydra Head Recordsmyspace.com/torcheThe underground metal cognoscenti revered the 2005 self-titled debut album by heavy hometown heroes Torche for its melodic take on sludgy sounds. But it was last year’s followup, Meanderthal, that won the band a wider audience and even more critical praise. (And even though…
Best Club DJDanny Dazemyspace.com/djdannydaze Danny Daze has been doing the DJ/producer thing for a while now, but he has definitely been getting plenty of attention recently. He spends as much time on the decks at clubs around the nation as in Miami, and when he’s here, you can catch him…
