The entirety of Brand New’s career feels like a coup. In 2001, it was impossible to predict that the band known for writing buzzy pop-punk songs and feuding with Taking Back Sunday (which Brand New’s Jesse Lacey once played bass for) would become a serious concern. But as the years unfolded and Brand New moved away…

Pile is the kind of band that inspires people to do crazy things, like start a record label or write a concept record about it. At least those are two of the more outlandish examples we have so far.

Last year a book was released chronicling the history of one of Chicago’s best rock clubs, The Empty Bottle. Throughout its existence, The Empty Bottle has been the host to many of music’s biggest names, and everyone from Arcade Fire to The White Stripes have played on that stage. 2017 marks the venue’s 25th…

Twin Cisterns is the solo moniker of Chris Tenerowicz, one of many players in the ever-shifting Self Defense Family. On March 31, Bad Paintings Records will release Cloudspiller, Tenerowicz’s four-song EP that follows his previous cassette-only release. Below, The A.V. Club is premiering the whole thing, which sees…

Two-piece rock bands are often viewed as a curiosity, due in large part to their inherent limitations. The exclusion of a guitar or bass means that, by and large, there’s something being omitted. But increasingly, that’s proving to be an outdated construct, as bands like Nashville’s Gnarwhal are continually pushing…

Channels debuted during some of the bleakest days of the Bush administration, not long after frontman J. Robbins closed the door on his old band, Burning Airlines. When the Maryland trio—featuring bassist Janet Morgan (Robbins’ wife) and drummer Darren Zentek of Kerosene 454—released the Open EP in 2004, it reflected…

Listening to Sorority Noise’s third album, You’re Not As _____ As You Think, is a sobering experience. For his band’s latest release, vocalist-guitarist Cameron Boucher did what he always has: written music about his life and put together an album. But this time around, things were a whole lot darker. You’re Not As…

On July 28 Burger Records—Dine Alone Records in Canada—will release the latest record from Sam Coffey And The Iron Lungs, another self-titled affair from the Toronto band. Today, The A.V. Club is streaming “Talk 2 Her,” a bouncy song that speaks to Coffey’s classic rock heart. He describes the song succinctly, saying…

Back in January, Guided By Voices announced August By Cake, and while the announcement of a new Guided By Voices record seems to come with the change of the seasons, this new one is monumental. Not only is it band leader Robert Pollard’s 100th album, it’s the first double album in the band’s career, because Pollard’s…

Welcome to the Music Roundtable, where music writers and fans discuss recent reissues, hot new releases, or just records we like. For this installment, on the 50th anniversary of The Velvet Underground’s debut, The Velvet Underground & Nico, three of our writers—one devoted fan, one skeptic, and one neophyte—discuss…

In Under The Influence, The A.V. Club asks a musician to pair three of their songs with a non-musical influence.

Last year it was discovered that Tinder users weren’t the only people judging your profile, Tinder as a company was, too. This was all a way for Tinder to assign something called an “Elo score” to users, a nebulous ranking that takes into account the quality of one’s Tinder usage, much like a Lyft or Uber user gets a…

Philadelphia’s The Spirit Of The Beehive has always had a psych-rock twinge to it, even back when it was predominantly focused on shoegaze. But on Pleasure Suck, the band’s Tiny Engines debut coming March 24, the band largely abandons this, giving itself to its more out-there inclinations. The video for “Twenty First…

Chicago two-piece Space Blood is an instrumental math-rock band that cites both Battles and The Eric Andre Show as influences. And while that may sound like little more than clever marketing, there’s an absurdist streak that informs Space Blood’s approach, even when it’s wordless. This spring, the band will release …

On March 10 The Shins will release Heartworms, the band’s fifth album and first in five years. It’s a record that sees James Mercer getting back to his roots and finding ways to take past inspirations and make them feel new again. The A.V. Club talked to Mercer about one of his childhood passions: skateboarding. Here,…

Malcolm London may be one of the busiest people in Chicago, but he certainly makes it look easy. The rapper, poet, activist, and educator released Opia last year, a record that featured everyone from Jamila Woods to How To Dress Well while gliding seamlessly between neo-soul, gospel, and trap. After all, London is the…

Recently, Profound Lore Records announced a new 12-inch EP from Disma, an American death metal band that’s existed for well over a decade. The band’s frontman Craig Pillard is considered a pioneer of the genre due to his work in Incantation, one of the early innovators in New York City’s death metal scene. He is also…

New Orleans-based duo Caddywhompus isn’t one to go for simplicity. It’s hard to pin the band’s sound down, as Chris Rehm and Sean Hart craft songs that touch on everything from math-rock to psych to punk to freak-folk. April 14 will see the release of Odd Hours, the band’s upcoming full-length on Inflated Records, but …

Today, Felix Walworth—of bands such as Told Slant, Eskimeaux, and Bellows—tweeted a picture of the contract they were sent regarding their appearance at South By Southwest. What Walworth uncovered is that, in the fest’s hopes of stopping non-sanctioned performances, if SXSW finds out an international artist is playing…

New Orleans’ Community Records has done a bang-up job documenting the city’s growing scene. While New Orleans is better known for its metal scene, with bands like EyeHateGod helping define southern sludge metal, Community set its sights on things a little softer but no less exciting. Keeping is project of Community’s…