PINBACK GUITARIST/VOCALIST ROB CROW is kind of a nerd.
Here's some evidence: Back when the band toured in support of its sophomore record, "Blue Screen Life," Crow had the "Star Wars" Rebel Alliance insignia prominently displayed on his guitar cabinet. He also has a metal side-project named Goblin Cock, and he plays the video game "Rock Band" at the highest available skill level.
But however dorky Crow might be, Pinback's most recent record, "Autumn of the Seraphs" (Touch and Go), is undeniably cool.
With its lilting arpeggios, whispered melodies and dynamic songwriting, the album is among the year's catchiest and most consistent pop records. Those extra coiffed and fashionable bands can pose all they want, but Crow is the man with his songs on "Gossip Girl."
The guitarist spoke to Express about comic books, Pinback fellow core member and vocalist/bassist/pianist Armistead Burwell "Zach" Smith IV and how it feels to have his band's music stocked on shelves at Target.
THERE ARE FEW BANDS that "High Fidelity's" Rob Fleming can stand, and few more the snobby record store owner actually likes — so when the drone-pop group Stereolab was included in the 2000 film adaptation of Nick Hornby's cult classic as one of the "good ones," it was pretty high praise.
The nearly two-decade-old English band — led by singer Laetitia Sadier and guitarist Tim Gane — is back with a bubbly new CD, "Chemical Chords" and a new tour.
Express spoke to Gane about the recording process, what fans should expect from the tour and why Japanese editions of albums always have those pesky extra tracks.
NOSTALGIC FOR New Orleans?
Well, you could go there, but gas is pricy and the Subdudes are right here in Virginia.
This band epitomizes Louisiana swamp-rock, with its folky bayou sound and lyrics that evoke all that is good and Southern. You can see one of their past performances (this one at Wolf Trap) here.
» Birchmere Music Hall, 3701 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria; 7:30 p.m., $25; 703-549-7500.
ANDRAE ALEXANDER HAS the voice, the instrumentals, the look (if I do say so myself) and he's a business man.
The R&B singer can croon his way into any heart, and when he's done, he can tell you about being the CEO of his own company, Protective Rain Productions L.L.C.
Tonight we're expecting almost exclusively the former, but as far as an affordable, mid-week show at Blues Alley, this performer is top notch.
» Blues Alley, 1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW; 8 & 10 p.m., $20; 202-337-4141.
Photo courtesy of Andrae Alexander
| Band: | Black Flag |
| Song: | "Rise Above" & "American Waste" |
| Album: | From an old Target Video |
| Sounds Like: | Wall Street collapsing. |
| D.C. Bound: | Henry Rollins will be at the Birchmere Nov. 3 for a pre-election rant. |
| Get More: | Black Flag Fan Site | Target Video Wiki | Black Flag Wiki |
HOW DO YOU take your awkwardly vanilla name and turn it into something red hot?
Throw an article on the front maybe? Adopt its equivalent en Espanol?
Here's an example:
There once was an electronics musician named John MacLean. As an artist, however, he's known as "The Juan Maclean." Muuuch better.
Oh, also, he makes music that I can tell you a little about. After a stint as a guitarist, Maclean tried his hand at experimenting with modern electronic mixing equipment. The experiment went well for him, in that it produced a mellow, truly enjoyable brand of house that you can listen to without glow sticks or excess gyration.
Catch him at the Black Cat tonight with Edie Sedgwick and The Brunettes.
» Black Cat, 1811 14th St. NW; Mon., Sept. 29, 8 p.m., $13; 202-667-4490. (U St.-Cardozo)
Photo by Tim Soter
IT'S HARD OUT there for a band that has that one awesome song that everyone knows, loves and wants to sing whilst intoxicated.
In Rusted Root's case, that song is "Send Me On My Way."
If you're not too busy rocking out after clicking on that link, let me say that you should probably give Rusted Root's other stuff a chance. Their Afro-pop sensibility makes for some very interesting tunes, like "Bad Son" and "Ecstatic Drums." Sure, it's probably impossible for them to ever surpass the standard they set with that glorious, singable "Sendmeonmahway," but they deserve to be heard anyway.
Check them out at the 9:30 Club with Pete and J.
» 9:30 Club, 815 V St. NW; Mon., Sept. 29, 7 p.m., $15; 202-265-0930. (U St.-Cardozo)
Photo courtesy of PolyGram
GIVE DRESSY BESSY CREDIT for truth in advertising: You'd expect a band named after a Gen X toy doll to have a catchy retro power-pop sound and a thrift-store aesthetic, and the group doesn't disappoint.
"When I first started the band I was really into '60s bubblegum like The Monkees and The Hollies and early Beatles. Something you can dance to and sing along with," says bubbly frontwoman Tammy Ealom from her Denver home.
Dressy Bessy's new release, "Holler and Stomp" (Transdreamer), moves things up a decade, featuring lots of '70s power chords and even more harmonies, though "Shoot, I Love You" is rollicking '60s bubblegum with a call-and-response tambourine in the chorus.
The slashing guitar riffs on "Dressed the Part" seem taken from the Shonen Knife songbook, a comparison Ealom bristles at and adds, "We used to get lazy comparisons to No Doubt since they had the big female vocalist at that time."
Meanwhile, "RoundDABout" features a sound from a British GPS message. "That whole song is inspired by that. We toured the U.K. two years ago in a Volvo with a GPS unit. And I recommend it; it's the only way to get around in London. I think it's a deep woman's voice; the rest of the band thinks it's a guy."
NO ONE CAN ever accuse Ben Folds of not having fun. As a way to punish — or possibly please, it's hard to tell — overenthusiastic fans, Folds himself recorded a bunch of fake songs and leaked them on the Internet months before his new album came out.
Why?
Well, why not?
Critics who may scoff
He knows perfectly well he's in a glass house, with irony as his ammunition instead of rocks.
Addison Road