First Listen: Aubrie Sellers, ‘New City Blues’
On Sellers’ debut album, the “garage country” artist’s songwriting makes her accounts of losing control feel like deliberate, calibrated catharsis.
Category: Sounds
Backyard Band’s Adele Cover Is Putting Go-Go Back In The Spotlight
Go-go hasn’t seen much national attention since the days of E.U.’s “Da Butt,” but D.C.’s Backyard Band is changing that…
First Listen: Eleanor Friedberger, ‘New View’
The former Fiery Furnaces member sounds purposeful and composed, unflappable and free — like a songwriter sure of her words and content with letting easy musical designs lead her where they will.
First Listen: The Besnard Lakes, ‘A Coliseum Complex Museum’
On its fifth album, the Montreal band indulges its progressive tendencies and wide-angle vision of dream-steeped psychedelia, in the process exuding a gentle kind of heaviness.
No More Hiding Behind The Drum Kit: Laurie Spector Goes Solo As Hothead
Laurie Spector isn’t new to D.C.’s punk-rock scene. She’s made noise with garage kids Foul Swoops, joker punks Dudes, the scrappy…
Public Radio’s #1 Songs Of 2015
Looking back on a year filled with great music, these 61 songs are the ones that hat public radio hosts and NPR Music team members loved best.
Quieter But Hardly Gentler, D.C.’s Sunwolf Keeps Surprising Itself
Grasping the appeal of Sunwolf songs doesn’t take much effort, but if you spend enough time with the D.C. rock…
Bandwidth’s 50 Favorite D.C. Songs Of 2015
Is music in the Washington, D.C., region getting better every year? Or is it that now we can finally explore the…
First Listen: Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, ‘It’s A Holiday Soul Party’
The soul singer’s new collection of holiday songs seems destined to become a revisited classic.
Political Comic Jamie Kilstein Is Still Riled Up, Only Now He’s Got A Guitar
For standup comic Jamie Kilstein, some material just works better with music. Take depression, for example. “The first time I…
Ras Nebyu: The Singing Rapper Spreading ‘Slizzatrism’ Across The World
Ras Nebyu is awake, but he doesn’t necessarily call himself a “conscious rapper.” “I can’t put all of my talents in the…
On His First Album In 15 Years, Aerialist Shoots For The Moon
“I definitely don’t have a preferred style of music,” says Virginia musician Lary Hoffman. But he does have a preferred theme:…
!["Whether it's classism, misogyny [or] murderous police... we're going to make fun of it," says Jason Mogavero, whose band Jack On Fire has a new album.](../../../../wp-content/uploads/2015/12/JOF-top-435x247.png)
Premiere: The Confrontational New Album From D.C. Electropunks Jack On Fire
The members of Jack on Fire may be D.C.’s most overt provocateurs. Locally infamous thanks to “Burn Down the Brixton”…
Mistakes, Feelings And A Lot Of Hash: The Stuff Witch Coast Is Made Of
D.C. group Witch Coast arose from a haze of marijuana smoke and feelings. “Jon [Weiss] and Kevin [Sottek] were sad…
They Made It: D.C. Band Black Alley Brings ‘Hood Rock’ To Verizon Center
On the heels of a successful show at this year’s South by Southwest festival in Texas, self-styled “hood-rock” band Black…
Viking’s Choice: Two Inch Astronaut, ‘Good Behavior’
The D.C. post-hardcore band explores its sonic lineage, but sounds as unpredictable and polished (and poppy!) as ever on its forthcoming third album, Personal Life.
A Brickmason In Maryland, K.A.A.N. Is Also A Crazy-Skilled Rapper
K.A.A.N. (an acronym for “Knowledge Above All Nonsense”) never really set out to make music. But after catching a performance…
Revisiting The Last Album From Frodus, A Soundtrack To Tragedy
When D.C.-area band Frodus was still making a racket, critics and fans called the trio “spazzcore.” One problem with that:…
Kali Uchis Teams Up With Major Lazer On ‘Wave’
Kali Uchis has dabbled in reggae and dub before: Listen to her earlier single “Know What I Want,” a standout…
Shoegazers Big Hush Get Meaner On New EP ‘Who’s Smoking Your Spirit?’
This post has been updated. Inspired by Sylvia Plath, Big Hush is both an oxymoronic and perfect moniker for the…