Scott Morrow

Jerseyband

Free MP3: “Lungcore” innovator Jerseyband mixes Meshuggah-like “djent” with jazz horns

Jerseyband: Forever Hammer EPJerseyband: Forever Hammer EP (8/16/12)

“Not Hammer”

Jerseyband: “Not Hammer”

Some brave souls have tried to mix metal and jazz, but you’ve never heard anything quite like “lungcore” septet Jerseyband: four horns, guitar, bass, drums, and all fury.

Though much of the band’s recent material has been more like math metal, constructed with a front-line of horns forming unwieldy power chords, “Not Hammer” is one of the skronkiest, jazziest tunes that the band has unleashed. Download it for free here in advance of the group’s Forever Hammer EP, which is out next week.

Jack White

The best of Lollapalooza 2012 (in photos), Day 3

Maybe it was the joy of catching At the Drive-In, where we saw actual people in band T-shirts at a music festival, but of this year’s action in Grant Park, Sunday most felt like the festival’s original incarnation (still spliced with a raging dance party, of course).

Guano Padano

Review: Guano Padano’s 2

Guano Padano: 2Guano Padano: 2 (Ipecac, 8/7/12)

“Gran Bazaar”

Guano Padano: “Gran Bazaar”

With the intercontinental mix of Italian trio Guano Padano, one could take the easy way out, calling it the bastard child of Ennio Morricone, Dick Dale, and Calexico. The truth is something more muddied, something broader yet less mashed up.

Led by guitarist Alessandro Stefana, 2 steeps in the traditions of Italian-western cinema — specifically, the Italian sonic interpretation of Americana — and applies surf rock and 1950s and ’60s rock ’n’ roll to the music of America’s south and southwest. Bits of gypsy, jazz, and oriental styles also dot the landscape, as each song is a journey to a new land.

The Casket Lottery

Review: The Casket Lottery’s The Door EP / Nathan Ellis’s self-titled EP

The Casket Lottery / Nathan Ellis: The Door / Nathan Ellis (No Sleep, 8/7/12)

“The Door” (The Casket Lottery) & “Balance Beam” (Nathan Ellis)

The Casket Lottery: “The Door”

Nathan Ellis: “Balance Beam”

As a name, Nathan Ellis is unassuming, also held by the random college professor, fire chief, and publicist. As a musician, Nathan Ellis might still be unassuming, unwilling to play up his accomplishments, but his list is no joke: The Casket Lottery, Coalesce, Able Baker Fox, Jackie Carol, and now solo singer-songwriter material.

Lollapalooza 2012

The best of Lollapalooza 2012 (in photos), Day 2

Saturday’s Lollapalooza festivities began well enough, with Minnesota rap collective Doomtree and soul singer/rapper Aloe Blacc providing early highlights. Things got a little less festive, however, as 60,000 people were evacuated from Grant Park in advance of a powerful storm with 70 MPH winds.

The Black Keys

The best of Lollapalooza 2012 (in photos), Day 1

Our photo coverage of Friday’s festivities comes with a sizable asterisk, as the photo access for the night’s best set — Black Sabbath — was heavily restricted. Check out the rest while imagining the sweet riffs.