Music

The blend of down-tempo beats with indigenous music has helped fuel the popularity of upscale, themed cocktail lounges, National Geographic IMAX films, and compilation CDs from places like Ibiza and Paris’ Hotel Costes.

The first band signed to the reformed Rawkus Records, Kidz in the Hall is made up of MC and DJ duo Naledge and Double-O. These two have a penchant for old-school and golden-age hip hop, offering a refreshing sound and witty, intelligent lyrics and a throwback to the days for which ‘heads fiend.

Is Nas the current savior of Hip Hop? For those who believe that the genre is dead, and has been over saturated with average artists, then the answer may be yes. On his latest, Hip Hop Is Dead (Def Jam), Nas shows other emcees how to stay focused after a long career.

Despite the unfortunate passing of J Dilla, aka Jay Dee, Popular Demand proves that the Detroit sound in hip hop is still going strong. A mixture of hard rhymes and soulful production has brought widespread attention to the region and producer/rapper Black Milk is currently carrying the torch with his debut album Popular Demand.

In the last twelve years, Tarnation has recorded two albums, split up, pursued solo careers, and now reunited with lead singer Paula Frazer for their best work yet. Though it would be easy to shove Tarnation into the ever-expanding blanket genre of alt-country, the group ranges between folk and plain old country.

There’s a revolution going on in bedrooms all over Bristol, England. There, musicians, buddies, and the guy who sells coffee down the street are arming themselves with tape recorders and documenting their experiences in song.

Though avant-prog rockers Sleepytime Gorilla Museum recently disclosed the title and tracklisting for their forthcoming album, In Glorious Times, on the website for The End Records, a tentative date for release did not follow. That, however, changed with the band’s current tour with Secret Chiefs 3, as the group announced that the new disc is slated for May to coincide with another tour.

When recording in lo-fi with minimal instrumentation and hefty sentimental baggage, a band is bound to sound honest. Banking on the “less is more” truism, we have Green Pitch, a Danish group that plays earnest, barebones indie lullabies.

As stated on his website, the desire of Secret Mommy (a.k.a. Andy Dixon) in making Plays was “to create the most anti-electronic electronic album.” It seems that he has done it.

Kevin Hooyman’s vivid and vicious cover for !!!’s third LP, Myth Takes (Warp Records), perfectly captures the uninhibited energy of the band. The cluttered landscape of cavorting animals crammed into a tightly packed throng recalls the ghastly triptychs of Hieronymus Bosch and the detailed scenes of Martin Handford.

Bringing the pop sensibility with which he flirted on 2004’s Since We Last Spoke to the forefront, and seamlessly blending in that same album’s prog-rock flourishes, The Third Hand (XL Recordings) threatens to turn our sharpest DJ/producer into an indispensable pop figurehead.

Big Business had a big year in 2006. Along with relocating to Los Angeles and recording their newest album, the heavy bass-and-drums twosome also became the newest members of The Melvins.