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Music Features

As he is

Kurt Vile plays it straight
For all the defiant, anguished fists we shake in the general direction of New York and Los Angeles whenever a musician becomes way more famous after they leave Boston, perhaps this city's gypsy-attracting disposition has advantages.

By: BARRY THOMPSON | July 05, 2011

Ladybug Transistor in Boston with Hallelujah The Hills

The Ladybug Transistor create a new pop shade

Growth spurts
Brooklyn might not be the first place that comes to mind when thinking about overgrown blooms and country air. But for the past 16 years, Gary Olson of the Ladybug Transistor has made the city parks and street-lined canopies of Flatbush his own private garden.

By: JONATHAN DONALDSON | June 29, 2011

Out: Matt Nathanson at City Hall Plaza's BBQ Beach Party

Homecoming king
If you take a gig for something called "BBQ Beach Party," you'd think there would be some pretty decent grub on hand. But that wasn't exactly the case for Lexington native Matt Nathanson last Friday.

By: MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER | June 29, 2011

The December Sound drop a sonic boom

Grand scale
Sonic mastermind Zack Sarzana (who returned from a sojourn to New York City a while back) and bandmates Jimmy Rossi Jr. and John McGuigan have always had a knack for finding the plot in a vast haze of feedback, occasionally shaping that cosmic stuff into a pop song cloaked in noise; or, at other times, simply laying waste to the room with power blasts of guitar-pedal mayhem.

By: LUKE O'NEIL | June 29, 2011

Getting a sonic high with Ringo Deathstarr

Fully operational
The songs from Austin noise-pop trio Ringo Deathstarr — in particular, the devastating dopamine rush of "So High," which features a string of effects pedals marked "MBV" and "J+MC" and twitchy, whorling waves of feedback and call-and-response male/female vocals — have me pressing the play button on my computer repeatedly, like a lab monkey waiting for the cocaine pellet to pop out.

By: LUKE O'NEIL | June 29, 2011

Urge Overkill return to settle the rock score

Re-saturation
For Chicago hook-heavy crew Urge Overkill, who come to T.T. the Bear's on July 9, years spent assuming the posture of rock gods were scant preparation for the real thing.

By: DANIEL BROCKMAN | June 29, 2011

Fucked Up scale new concept heights, eye closure

High wired act
Fucked Up have always relished the idea of screwing with people's heads. Case in point: when Deranged Records issued 2002's "No Pasaran," the first of dozens of 7-inch records by the Toronto band, several indie distribution houses initially refused to stock it.

By: REYAN ALI | June 24, 2011

After two decades, the Del Fuegos find a personal cause for reunion

Making a right turn
At the Paradise, expect a celebration of Giessmann and Right Turn’s achievements and of the music of the Del Fuegos, as well as a promise of continuing to help others.

By: JONATHAN DONALDSON | June 27, 2011

Levon Helm brings 'Rambles' to Solid Sound

A joyful noise
Helm's enthusiasm radiates, whether he's playing one of his "Midnight Rambles" in the 250-seat studio/performance space attached to his rural Woodstock home or at a festival like this weekend's Solid Sound, which he's co-headlining with Wilco.

By: NICK A. ZAINO III | June 24, 2011

first-ever best music poll awards party at brighton music hall

Out: Good times a’Bruin

A celebratory night of Boston rock (and hockey) at the Best Music Poll awards
It was the first time the Boston Phoenix hosted an awards party for its 23-year-old Best Music Poll, but what erupted June 15 at Brighton Music Hall was a drunken shitshow that honored decades of Boston rock and roll, and was capped off by the Bruins' first Stanley Cup championship since 1972.

By: MICHAEL MAROTTA | June 22, 2011

Meet the winners: 2011 Best Music Poll

This year's BMP, our 23rd annual, was crystallized by two hard-working, against-the-odds rock bands.
This year's BMP, our 23rd annual, was crystallized by two hard-working, against-the-odds rock bands.

By: MICHAEL MAROTTA | June 20, 2011

boston band Michael J. Epstein Memorial Library

Local music blogs weigh in on BMP 2011

Polling the InterWeb
We came up with the nominations, you came up with the winners. But what about the blogs, man? Don't they get a say? They sure do.

By: MICHAEL MAROTTA | June 17, 2011

For young artists, the Internet is the new local

The music world is flat
Sam Yager stands alone on the raised stage at Allston's O'Brien's Pub. It's a Tuesday night, and the 24-year-old Allstonian is playing "Howolding Girls," a glitchy, psychedelic pop song fit for basement ragers. It's the sort of infectious jam that instantly incites dancing. But tonight no one is moving, because he is playing only to a crowd of four.

By: LIZ PELLY | June 17, 2011