By - Kristi Houk Allow me to stretch out a little bit here. This is not typically a platform for writing about heavy hitters like Moby (he’s been bff’s with Madonna and Gwen Stefani for chrissakes), not to mention his indisputable influence on electronic music, but I am a sucker for a gospel choir and a good dose of nostalgia. So, here goes:  Released on the renowned classical music label, […]

By - Kristi Houk Recommended if you like: Blur, The Strokes, The Libertines Internet Friends is a trio from Gothenberg—the second largest city in Sweden. Dressed to Kill is their first album on the label, Icons Creating Evil Art and it’s a refreshing debut. It may just prove to be the summer record you didn’t know you needed. Cheeky in all the right ways, the song titles alone “Musicians Kill […]

By - Kristi Houk Recommended if You Like: SST catalog, TSOL, Wipers New Day Rising Never judge an album by its cover. Case in point: Härvest, the latest release from Philadelphia post-punk, dungeon metal band, Poison Ruïn. Upon first look, I wasn’t sure I would have much to relate to with this record. The color palette is mustard gas green and black with what appears to be the grim reaper […]

By - Kristi Houk Recommended if you like: Angel Olsen, Waxahatchee, Wednesday Has anyone ever made you a mixtape? Or vice-versa?  Can you remember popping it in the tape deck or cd player in your 1988 Mazda 323 hatchback late in the afternoon just before sunset hoping to discover some hidden meaning in a song?  For my money, mixtapes are the ultimate love letter or hate letter depending on the […]

By - Kristi Houk Recommended if you like: White Reaper, Fireworks, The Ramones, The Strokes, The Replacements People try to put us d-down (talkin' 'bout my generation) Just because we get around (talkin' 'bout my generation) Things they do look awful c-c-cold (talkin' 'bout my generation) I hope I die before I get old (talkin' 'bout my generation) -"My Generation" The Who, 1965   "Degeneration," the first single off Crocodiles […]

By - Kristi Houk Recommended If You Like - Melt-Banana, Television, Boris, No Age Miracle (noun): An extremely outstanding or unusual event, thing, or accomplishment.   Deerhoof's 19th album Miracle-Level thinks we could all use one about now. On the San-Francisco based band's Bandcamp page, Deerhoof urges the collective "we" (yes, in all caps) to: "PHASE-OUT ALL REMAINING NON-MIRACLES BY 2028 WE NEED ONLY *LOVE* SONGS (YES, THIS WORD GETS USED OFTEN)   BUT I […]

By - Kristi Houk Recommended if you like: Militarie Gun, 2nd Grade, Teenage Fanclub, The Beatles, The db's I love you synth-pop, but damn, if I'm not ready for some good old guitar rock. Like, no song over 3 minutes long. If that long.  As the weather warms up, I gravitate to crunchy licks and shredding solos. There's something beautifully nostalgic about driving down an open road, beneath a sun-bleached sky, […]

By - Kristi Houk Recommended if you Like: DIIV, Washed Out, Chromatics, Phoenix, Slowdive Where were you when you first heard the glorious "Kim & Jessie" a track off 2008's Saturdays=Youth from French musician M83 (aka Anthony Gonzalez)?  I, for one, was relaxing in a kiddie pool one sweltering July afternoon with my good friend, Greg, when he said "You HAVE to hear this." He was right. Those cinematic, new […]

By Kristi Houk Recommended if you like - The Knife. Zola Jesus, Bjork, early Peter Gabriel, Brian Eno "We Don't Come With a Manual," Karin Dreijer aka Fever Ray utters on "Looking for a Ghost" off her latest album (it's been 6 years) Radical Romantics as if she's sucking all of the air out of the room and throwing it back up and I mean that in the best way.   The […]