Email Author Rob van Alstyne

2012 Stories by Rob van Alstyne

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  FEATURED STORY

  Spencer McGillicutty (the band) on writerly songwriting and school days

  published May 24, 2012

  Spencer McGillicutty -- they're a band, not a person -- mine the sounds of early-'60s AM gold on their third album, All the Happy People! Throughout, the local group swings effortlessly between cotto... More >>

• Joe Pug

  published May 16, 2012

  With a lyrical world defined by a wry and restless romanticism, and a knack for homespun melodies on a par with the greats, Chicago's Joe Pug has... More >>

• We Are Serenades

  published May 16, 2012

  Already firmly established as one of Sweden's most formidable indie-rock ambassadors thanks to his work in Shout Out Louds, Adam Olenius has now... More >>

• Father John Misty

  published May 9, 2012

  While Josh Tillman managed to maintain a prolific solo career during his years as the drummer for famed Seattle folk-rockers Fleet Foxes, his... More >>

• The Lower 48

  published May 2, 2012

  Acoustic folk-pop trio the Lower 48 quickly made local scene waves in the summer of 2009 with the release of their debut EP, Everywhere to... More >>

• Hello Blue's sophomore album worth the long wait

  published May 9, 2012

  Even if seven years in the fast-moving world of indie rock is roughly equivalent to three decades of real-world time, local quartet Hello Blue... More >>

• Great Lake Swimmers

  published May 2, 2012

  Iron & Wine fans nostalgic for the days when Sam Beam still favored intimate folk-rock arrangements over big-band bombast will find much to love... More >>

• Fountains of Wayne

  published April 25, 2012

  Veteran power-poppers Fountains of Wayne are settling comfortably into the role of respected elder statesmen. They can gleefully cash royalty... More >>

• Ezra Furman

  published April 25, 2012

  Ezra Furman is equally in his element earnestly crooning an acoustic ditty as he is barking like a punk-rock madman over roaring electric guitars.... More >>

• Lambchop

  published April 25, 2012

  Nashville collective Lambchop, one of the more lovably eccentric acts in Americana, have made outstanding records over the course of two decades... More >>

• Said the Whale

  published April 18, 2012

  Now that James Mercer has sanded off the rougher edges of the Shins' once-eccentric sound in favor of strictly professional pop sheen, it's left... More >>

• White Rabbits

  published April 4, 2012

  Already labeled Spoon's promising kid brother based on the prickly, highly danceable post-punk found on their 2007 debut, White Rabbits further... More >>

• Vicious Vicious

  published April 4, 2012

  White dudes trafficking in come-hither R&B can be broken down into two schools of thought. There's imitation-is-the-sincerest-form-of-flattery... More >>

• We Are Augustines

  published April 4, 2012

  Billy McCarthy knows well what it takes to withstand tough times, and he's poured all of his lessons learned into Arise Ye Sunken Ships,... More >>

• Bowerbirds

  published March 28, 2012

  North Carolina trio Bowerbirds began life as an austere roots-music trio that rarely implemented more than three instruments—acoustic... More >>

• Fanfarlo

  published March 28, 2012

  London-based quintet Fanfarlo have always left themselves open to charges of pretentiousness. It's an unfortunate side effect of naming your band... More >>

• Ben Kweller

  published March 28, 2012

  All child prodigies grow up and most burn out, with only the lucky few maturing into capable adult talents that make it over the long haul. At age... More >>

• Megafaun/Field Report

  published March 21, 2012

  While the years since the 2006 dissolution of Wisconsin-formed folk-rock quintet DeYarmond Edison saw that group's frontman, Justin Vernon, go... More >>

• Rosie Thomas

  published March 21, 2012

  After building a solid career on the strength of a series of rapidly released pretty folk-pop records hatched with high-profile companions like... More >>

• Cursive

  published March 21, 2012

  For going on 18 years now, Tim Kasher has carved a small but fervent cult following pairing lacerating lyrics with barbed-wire riffs as the... More >>

• The Twilight Sad

  published February 29, 2012

  It's been a great last few years for sad-bastard Scottish music, whether you prefer your forcefully accented misery with the amps cranked to 10... More >>

• Islands

  published February 29, 2012

  Stripping away the self-conscious eccentricities that occasionally marred his prior outings under the Islands moniker, A Sleep & a... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Cataldo on working with Laura Veirs and career longevity

  published Mar 05, 2012

  Combining incisive lyricism with instant campfire-classic melodies, it was hard to believe Cataldo's Signal Flare's rich arrangements and assured delivery sprang from the mind of an artist just 21 yea... More >>

• The Small Cities inspired by rural Wisconsin

  published February 29, 2012

  Some of the most passionate teenage rock devotees—friends who form bands at 16 and are still making music together at 30—reside in... More >>

• Heartbeats

  published February 8, 2012

  After a highly promising start on the local scene in the mid-2000s, skilled Brit-pop purveyors the Alarmists slowly fizzled out. By early 2010,... More >>