Email Author Nicholas L. Hall

2010 Stories by Nicholas L. Hall

• Old Familiar Friend

  published November 25, 2010

  Brendan Benson has been around for a while. His first album, the hooky-as-hell One Mississippi, came out nearly 15 years ago. Since then,... More >>

• Fired Up

  published November 4, 2010

  Bright Men of Learning have been around for a long time, especially in Houston years. The band has already topped a decade, and that's not... More >>

• Cats with a Knack

  published October 28, 2010

  The word "seminal" gets tossed around an awful lot when discussing rock bands, which is unfortunate for two reasons. The first is that it's often... More >>

• The Way of The Vaselines

  published October 14, 2010

  In many ways, The Vaselines are more a legend than a band — three years, two EPs, one proper album, some of the most singularly enigmatic... More >>

• Sideshow Tramps

  published October 7, 2010

  We could tell you that the Sideshow Tramps sound like what might have happened if The Band had waltzed away from Winterland in ’76, made a... More >>

• Atari Teenage Riot's Empire

  published September 23, 2010

  Atari Teenage Riot is ­practically its own genre. Honestly, not many bands combine danceable techno with impossible sheets of... More >>

• Ellypseas

  published July 29, 2010

  Ellypseas has only been around since spring 2009, but in a city known for out-there bands, this avant-everything quintet is already pushing the... More >>

• The Mother Truckers

  published July 15, 2010

  You know the old saying "a little bit country, a little bit rock and roll?" Austin's Mother Truckers are more like a whole lot of country, a... More >>

• Bare Bones

  published July 8, 2010

  Austin's Woven Bones is serious about rock and roll, and makes no bones about its love affair with the more primitive aspects of drums, bass and... More >>

• Lightning Bolt

  published July 8, 2010

  At first it might seem a strange statement to make about a band as loud and abrasive as Lightning Bolt, but listening to this enigmatic Rhode... More >>

• A Case of the Vapours

  published July 1, 2010

  Nick Thorburn has been through a lot with Islands: regular lineup changes; massive critical and popular acclaim; the disappointment of an... More >>

• Sting & the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra

  published June 24, 2010

  Platinum albums, screaming fans and three decades' worth of critical and popular acclaim are nothing compared to a show accompanied by an... More >>

• Passion Pit, Tokyo Police Club

  published June 17, 2010

  Dripping, saturated and romantic are worthwhile adjectives to describe Michael Angelakos's Passion Pit. Not only does such purple prose perfectly... More >>

• Amy Speace

  published April 22, 2010

  Just a moment's exposure to Amy Speace's intimate yet powerful voice and timeless arrangements, and her roster position on Judy Collins's... More >>

• Playbill: Portugal. The Man

  published March 4, 2010

  Chuck Klosterman once made a convincing argument that pop culture constitutes a more significant art form than the more adventurous,... More >>

• Fiery Furnaces

  published January 28, 2010

  For the past several releases, it seems that the mad-scientist half of Fiery Furnaces has been winning, lending a strikingly experimental edge to... More >>

• Girls

  published January 28, 2010

  Bay Area rockers Girls have found a suitable moniker for their mushily emotional sunshine-pop, which chimes brightly enough to make you forget how... More >>

• Beyond Fake

  published January 28, 2010

  Yo La Tengo is easily one of the most critically acclaimed, fanatically popular and longest-lived groups of indie-rock's first age. Long known as... More >>

• Fiery Furnaces

  published January 28, 2010

  For the past several releases, it seems that the mad-scientist half of Fiery Furnaces has been winning, lending a strikingly experimental edge to... More >>

• Agnostic Front

  published January 21, 2010

  While NYC hardcore is certainly not everyone's genre of choice, it represents what might eventually be seen as the watershed moment when metal... More >>

• Agnostic Front

  published January 21, 2010

  While NYC hardcore is certainly not everyone's genre of choice, it represents what might eventually be seen as the watershed moment when metal... More >>

• Lymbyc Systym

  published January 14, 2010

  What is most immediately arresting about Lymbyc Systym is how warm the Brooklyn duo manages to feel, particularly on most recent effort Shutter... More >>