Year: 2008

Olympia, WA is home to The Old Haunts, a garage act in every sense. Their third full length, Poisonous Times (Kill Rock Stars) is very much a standard of garage rock with punk sensibilities and anger. The changing world around Old Haunts singer and songwriter Craig Extine led to an album full of discomfort and difficult realities.

After releasing the incredible plethora of bands that this year’s Lollapalooza will be showcasing, the three-day festival has finally released its day-to-day schedule. The shows, set on a number of different stages, will run August 1-3 in Chicago’s Grant Park and cover just about every genre of music you could fathom.

On August 19th, EMI will reissue Radiohead‘s complete catalog prior to In Rainbows on Limited Edition 180G vinyl. This is yet another stint from EMI, after releasing two different versions of Radiohead‘s Greatest Hits (once again, pre-In Rainbows).

On July 7th, artists, crew, and sponsors from the Vans Warped Tour will be taking a day off from music assist in rebuilding the communities of hurricane victims in Louisiana. It’s been over two years since hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated the US’s Gulf Coast, but – sadly – things still haven’t gotten back to normal in many of the areas.

On Science for Girls’ self-titled debut album, producer Darren Solomon, is complemented by a roster full of guest vocalists. Solomon’s chilled out lounge compositions take the listener from Brazil to Stratford-Upon-Avon, airlifted by the soulful and ethereal voices of singers Bronwen Exter, Renee Cologne and Hugh Wilson, among others. It’s a testament to Solomon’s skills as a composer that there’s so much variety on the album.

Brooklyn based rockers, The Hold Steady, have announced that they will exclusively release their forthcoming LP, Stay Positive, on iTunes June 17th.

For the Toronto hardcore punk band, Fucked Up, it has been anything but a frivolous year. In January the band filed suit against Rolling Stone Magazine and Camel Cigarettes; in late May they finished recording for a forthcoming LP; on June 13th they announced signing to Matador Records. Now the band has announced that they are set to release an accompanying EP entitled, The Year of The Pig, on July 22nd.

Starting June 21, The Carmichael Gallery’s will open their latest exhibition Take a Deep Breath. The exhibit will feature new works from artists such as Cherri Wood, The Dark, Kngee, Know Hope, and Asbestos.

Give Imaad Wasif a break. Yes, his voice does resemble Jeff Buckley’s, but stylistically the two are oceans apart. Buckley thrived on lush arrangements and theatricality that verged on the operatic. Wasif, by comparison, plays sparse, off-the-cuff songs about aloneness and traveling through darkness. Strange Hexes, his second solo release and first to feature Two Part Beast (Bobb Bruno and Adam Garcia) is a quest for spiritual validation that is every much as exciting as Buckley’s Grace, and equally deserving of praise.