Email Author Rob van Alstyne

2013 Stories by Rob van Alstyne

• Stars

  published March 20, 2013

  After rightfully breaking through to wider recognition on the strength of their excellent third album, Set Yourself on Fire, in 2005,... More >>

• Local Natives

  published March 20, 2013

  Arguably the biggest indie success story of 2010, Los Angelino quartet Local Natives won raves worldwide for the tribal-accented rhythms and... More >>

• The Evening Rig

  published March 20, 2013

  The Twin Cities music scene has long boasted a reputation for ragged-but-right country-rock even as the number of actual bands in the Land of... More >>

• Starfucker

  published March 20, 2013

  With a too-hot-for-the-FCC moniker like Starfucker, Portland musician Joshua Hedges clearly isn't too interested in courting the mainstream, even... More >>

• BOY

  published March 13, 2013

  Featuring a sleek and sophisticated indie-pop sound seemingly custom-made for cosmopolitan coffeehouses, Germany-based female duo BOY have slowly... More >>

• Caveman

  published March 6, 2013

  Sounding like the shaggier and stoned East Coast counterpoint to Local Natives, Brooklyn quintet Caveman likewise rely on tribal rhythms and... More >>

• Indians

  published February 27, 2013

  As Indians, Copenhagen one-man band Soren Lokke Juul makes spectral bedroom folk that cleverly combines organic and electronic instrumental... More >>

• Trust

  published February 27, 2013

  Ever wish Vincent Price had recorded an album of intoxicating disco-pop? If he had, it would likely sound something like TRST, the dark,... More >>

• Bethany Larson & the Bees Knees

  published February 20, 2013

  For most people, heartbreak leads only toward paralysis, marathon cushion-cradling crying sessions, or, at best, an uptick in unproductive... More >>

• Eels

  published February 20, 2013

  Now 17 years removed from his alt-rock radio hit "Novocaine for the Soul," Mark Oliver Everett and his chameleonic band Eels have the luxury of... More >>

• Ruby Suns

  published February 20, 2013

  Originally an inspired collision of African rhythms and psych-pop melodies, the Ruby Suns have since morphed into a decidedly less world-music... More >>

• Van Stee gets weird

  published February 27, 2013

  For Charlie Van Stee, it took getting weird to get discovered. While his namesake psych-pop band's skewed sounds have won wide local acclaim... More >>

• Toro Y Moi

  published February 20, 2013

  Having first gained blogosphere prominence as part of the chillwave craze of 2010, Chaz Bundick has spent the years since guiding his musical... More >>

• Kishi Bashi

  published February 13, 2013

  Initially making his mark over the course of the '00s as a touring violinist for the likes of Sondre Lerche, Regina Spektor, and Of Montreal while... More >>

• The All-Time Greatest Valentine's Day Mix with Lucy Michelle & the Velvet Lapelles

  published February 13, 2013

  Conscious of the fact that no one likes spending Valentine's Day alone, Lucy Michelle & the Velvet Lapelles have kindly spent the last few V-Days... More >>

• Cody ChesnuTT

  published January 30, 2013

  Renowned Roots associate and soul-music maestro Cody ChesnuTT released his debut stunner double album, The Headphone Masterpiece, back in... More >>

• Free Energy

  published January 23, 2013

  While they call Philadelphia home, fist-pump-inducing rockers Free Energy boast Minnesota ties to warrant honorary local-band-made-good status.... More >>

• Greycoats CD-release show

  published January 23, 2013

  Prog-pop perfectionists Greycoats spent years refining the sounds on their epic sophomore album, The World of Tomorrow, alongside ace... More >>

• The Daredevil Christopher Wright

  published January 23, 2013

  In the post-Bon Iver blogosphere it's understandable if Twin Citians are sick of the Eau Claire music scene 90 miles west stealing our thunder.... More >>

• The Current's 8th Birthday Party

  published January 16, 2013

  Even if 89.3 the Current spins a few artists like Mumford & Sons and Adele that aren't starved for airplay, it's one of the half-dozen or so... More >>

• First Avenue's Best New Bands of 2012 Showcase

  published January 9, 2013

  Twin Citians are fortunate to lay claim to one of the most stylistically diverse local music scenes in the country, but all too often that... More >>