Aquarium Drunkard

Warning, anecdote ahead: Until Kevin, from So Much Silence, guest posted on The Clientele, last summer while I was traveling, I was under the impression they were some sort of post-post-post punk band from the UK. If I recall correctly, I believe I was under the impression they sounded like, oh, say, […]

The Switch’s EP Hello Today is self described as “A mixture of 60’s pop and Motown soul. 5 songs which blend raw, raspy vocals with sweet harmonies layered on top of horns, guitars and keys.” After you see them in a live setting that description rings even truer.
The band guested on my Little Radio […]

Before the weekend officially hits I want to remind folks that Tuesday saw the official release of one of the better - new - albums I have heard lately — The Shaky Hands self-titled debut.
Perky, jangly, rough around the edges, indie pop your thing? Then try this LP on for size. Also, […]

So not to be all “let’s talk about the L.A. weather on Aquarium Drunkard,” but damn, today has been the windiest I can remember in the near six years I have lived out here. We’re talking six story palm trees bending and buckling in the wind, huge L.A. County garbage cans being blown across […]

Just got the word that Jax of L.A.’s Rock Insider is presenting the excellent, Drunkard approved, Peter & The Wolf show tomorrow night here in Los Angeles, at Pehrspace, in Echo Park. Also performing: The Monolators, Luke Paquin (of Hot Hot Heat), Divisadero, and Fawnhawk.
Apparently Pehrspace is an art gallery space, just off […]

Like the podcast?  If so vote for it HERE.  This podcast is culled from my one year anniversary of hosting a show on L.A.’s Little Radio. Special guest The Switch came in and not only played a spirited acoustic set, but spun some fantastic sides. About ten of us were in the loft studio […]

If you dug the French Freakbeat series posted earlier on the Drunkard, then Johnny Hallyday’s 1967 French cover of “Hey Joe” may be the coolest thing you’ll download this month.
A real renaissance man, ole Hallyday, like fellow Frenchman Jacques Dutronc, fashioned himself both as an actor and as a songwriter/performer. No clue what […]

RE: Pop Levi - Let’s just get it out there: The T. Rex inspired production and latter era Robert Plant vocals cannot be ignored; it’s the 800 lb. gorilla in the living room. But get past the obvious inspration-on-sleeve references and you’re left with a fun rock record — i.e., the kind you can […]

Centro-matic’s new joint, Operation Motorcide, (Houston Party Records) is an EP culled from Fort Recovery’s leftovers. Leftovers only in the sense that Fort Recovery was originally conceived as a two disc album before being pared down to the final 2006 version (with three additional tracks on the non-domestic issue).
Per Mark Hedman, via the Centro-matic […]

Wow…I just got back from the ridiculousness that is the Tarantino/Rodriguez campfest Grindhouse. I’ve had the Death Proof soundtrack for about a week, and thought (as usual) that Tarantino and his music supervisor made good use of their slightly obscure artist/track choices throughout the film.
My favorite being the use of the juxtaposition of the […]

As a child of the ’80s, it’s my job to love ’90s indie rock. Therefore it’s no surprise I like the Muggabears current brand of, hell, I guess one would call it “retro ’90s indie rock.” I don’t know much about these folks except that they are midwestern transplants living […]

Last Tuesday night, while driving west on Sunset from Los Feliz through Hollywood, en route to see Magnolia Electric Co. open for Son Volt, I listened to The Pixies debut EP Come On Pilgrim, in it’s entirety, for the first time in years. I was consumed by it, and listened again, twice, on […]

Friday evening, I heard the news that Jason Isbell had left the Drive-by Truckers (via cryptic MySpace blog message), but had hoped it was a belated Aprils Fool’s joke, or more probable, a hacked MySpace page. The next day Patterson Hood confirmed Isbell’s departure via a lengthy news bulletin on the DBT website’s […]

Rich, from the Atlanta based music blog Cable & Tweed, turned me onto this live R.E.M. tribute compilation last week entitled Finest Worksongs.
The comp consists of the material from the concert of the same name held in Athens, GA at the 40 Watt club last Fall. Artists include: Drive-by Trucker Patterson Hood, Liz Durrett, […]