Category: Features
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29. PLASTISCINES: BACK TO THE START Now a trio, the French group Plastiscines released one of the year’s finest pop rock albums from any country. And you shouldn’t let the French thing keep you away because most of these songs are in English. Plus, these are some of the most well-produced, energetic tunes this year.…
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45. UNWOMAN: CIRCLING I’ve heard Unwoman’s Circling categorized as steampunk music. I’m not sure I understand what that means, but I certainly know that the way she – her real name being Erica Mulkey – married her cello with vivid electronic soundscapes was as enchanting as anything this year. Add to that her spell-binding voice…
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Button:Pusher is the new double album project by Kiran Shahani of Bitter:Sweet and The Supreme Beings of Leisure fame. (The two albums are called Never Look Back and Cross My Heart.) If you’re not familiar with either of those groups, chances are you’ve still heard some of Kiran’s work. For one thing, he’s done the…
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interview by Michael McCarthy Back in July of 2013, I gave a very positive review to the debut album by Starkill, Fires of Life, which was a perfect blend of the death and symphonic metal subgenres. Nightwish as performed by Dimmu Borgir, if you will. Well, those artists continue to be among the band’s influences…
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I was recently introduced to the music of Veiga Sanchez, who goes by the name Salt Ashes, and after listening to just a couple of her songs I already fell head over heels in love with her sound. Like any artist, she has influences and those influences can be heard in her music. But, here’s the thing…
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interview by Michael McCarthy I won’t brag about the volume of music we receive on a daily basis now, but I will say that it’s often overwhelming. And it takes a lot to please me these days. Being good or even great doesn’t necessarily cut it. I have to fall totally in love with an…
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interview by Michael McCarthy On September 10th I saw Doe Paoro open for Sylvan Esso at their sold out show at The Sinclair in Boston and was immediately impressed by her incredible talent. By the time she was done her second song, “Hypotheticals,” I found myself thinking that she should be headlining her own shows…
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review by Michael McCarthy all photos by Joshua Bernard When OK GO hit The Paradise stage in Boston on Wednesday night the crowd had no idea what it was in for. That is, of course, unless they’d been reading spoilers online. Following a video clip featuring iconic movies and TV shows that ended with Kermit…
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Since 1995 when he debuted with the much-praised album Maxinquaye, Tricky has released 11 full-length albums, if you count this, his latest, which he’s given his birth name, Adrian Thaws. Suffice to say that he’s been much more prolific than many of his peers. When you release that many albums, there are going to be some…
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When we last interviewed the UK’s critically acclaimed Bat and Ball they were promoting their glorious second single, “Stops My Mouth,” which blended an easy breezy pop melody with poignant lyrics and haunting vocals courtesy of Abi Sinclair, one of the band’s two lead singers. (The other vocalist is her brother Chris.) The same description could…
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interview by Michael McCarthy You know how they say there’s a first time for everything? Well, here’s a first for Love is Pop – an interview with a black metal band. Wiki’s definition of black metal: “Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted…
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Sunday September 7, 2014 – Boston, Massachusetts: It’s no secret that I have fibromyalgia and one of the most important things when you have it is getting enough sleep. To that end, I slept in a bit on Sunday, missing the 11 o’clock train from Lowell to Boston, which meant I needed to wait for…
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Saturday September 6, 2014 – Boston, Massachusetts: Before I get into my reviews of the individual artists who performed on Saturday, I have to say something else about the people who attended the event. Not only were they peaceful, they were also friendly and trustworthy. I’d like to think that I made a few new…
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I recently had the opportunity to hear Brother, the stunning debut EP of newcomers Mighty Oaks, who stand out from the ever-growing folk crowd by writing wonderful songs with big, catchy choruses, the sort that just sweep you away in their emotion and infectiousness. Although, to be fair, it might not be entirely accurate to…
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There was a time, not so long ago, when any mention of “Youngblood Hawke” would have made me think of the book Youngblood Hawke by Herman Wouk. To tell you the truth, I’ve never read it, but it’s on the list of books that I intend to read in the not so distant future, largely…
![MICHAEL MCCARTHY’S BEST ALBUMS OF 2014: PART TWO: #29 – #1 [note: two of these album covers are NSFW]](https://loveispop.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Best-of-2014-157x157.png)
