Tidal waves of Breeders-esque choral effects gone electric pour over taut drum beats and nervy samples in "Julie In Time", the opening track off Panda Riot 's latest release far & near. The track proceeds according to form- verse, chorus, verse- until a little after the two-minute mark, when the digital heavens usher in a chorus-of-angels backing track that would have made Palaestrina blush. Chainsaw guitars and snare hits tease out the tension while the melody rides the sky above.
The fifth annual Pitchfork Festival, held in Union Park,
Chicago, turned into a three-day heat-fest, testing the resolve and endurance
of indie rock fans who had been driven there by the promise of seeing and
hearing quite a few of indie's top acts, with some rap thrown in for
seasoning.Some fans decided not
to attend all day but instead half a day of Saturday and Sunday because of the
heat.Three-day tickets sold out
in about a week, and all three days of single tickets sold out as well.At times the stage choices offered a
battle of options that ranged between pop, rap, chill and
alternative/fusion.The heat made
water and shade become valuable properties, as were cigarettes by Sunday.However, food and water were reasonably
priced, so no one was going around really deprived of necessities.
5. PPALMM : Cal-Aesthetics (Reviews/Album Reviews)
Author : Mike Gutierrez The latest crown of laurels on
the brow of the burgeoning underground electronic
music scene that's going to outlive its
half-snarky
glo-fi label.
Has Pitchfork become ‘establishment’?The online music
magazine has been the
biggest coverer of the indie music scene for a while now (at least in
America),
and its reviews, while seemingly as often disagreed with as agreed with,
are
certainly talked-about.When they
grew to holding a festival in Chicago's Union Park every summer,
Pitchfork
tempered it by making it an unusual festival, from its indie-heavy,
massive
headliner-light line-up, to such arrangements as bands playing whole
albums
(such as Sonic Youth's Daydream Nation - QRO
Daydream Nation live review) to last year's ‘Write the
Night’ fan-chosen set
lists.But this year, Pitchfork
Music Festival seems to play it a bit straighter, with no special
nights, and
some indie-festival mainstays (though Night One has a comedy stage - but
that's
not that novel these days, either).
Whatever - what's important is that it's still a killer
line-up, top-to-bottom, July 16th to 18th:
8. Pearl Jam : Live (Reviews/Concert Reviews)
Author : Jayne Yong After a seven-year hiatus from Buffalo, hardcore stadium rockers Pearl
Jam returned to HSBC Arena to play a huge show to a much awaited crowd.
9. Paul Beeman of Great Waves (Interviews/Interviews)
Author : Mike Gutierrez QRO caught up with Paul Beeman, of Washington State's Great Waves, after they won the Sound Off EMP competition.
10. Picnic : Winter Honey (Reviews/Album Reviews)
Author : Ted Chase Estonia's Picnic
borrow and integrate Scando-synths from across the Baltic and international indietronica from the wider world on
their
debut, Winter Honey.
Picastro simply
continues Canada's impressive indie music legacy.
John Lydon and his Public Image LTD came to Leeds.
T
Previously on Lost had a night to remember. WALT!!!
After a seven-year hiatus from Buffalo, hardcore stadium rockers Pearl
Jam returned to HSBC Arena to play a huge show to a much awaited crowd.
QRO caught up with Paul Beeman, of Washington State's Great Waves, after they won the Sound Off EMP competition.
Estonia's Picnic
borrow and integrate Scando-synths from across the Baltic and international indietronica from the wider world on
their
debut, Winter Honey
Can there be such a
thing as ‘working man's indie’?
More...