Down Shift Magazine

This Week We Review Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward’s Just Released Today, She & Him: Volume 3. Does It Measure Up? Yes.

All I know is that I’m tired of being clever/Everybody’s clever these days,” sings Zooey Deschanel on “Never Wanted Your Love,” from Volume 3, her latest release with M. Ward under the moniker She & Him.

Deschanel and Ward first met on the set of the film The Go-Getter, in which Deschanel had a starring role. The director, Martin Hynes, introduced them to each other and asked them to sing a duet together to be played at the end credits of the film. They decided to perform a Richard and Linda Thompson song “When I Get to the Border.” The two bonded over a shared interest in the records produced by George Martin and Phil Spector and by certain Ralph Peer groups such as the Carter Family.

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Comedown Machine Shows Us Who The Strokes Are, Who They Were and Where Their Taking Music

It’s hard being The Strokes. After setting the template for the next ten years of guitar-based rock with their inspired 2001 debut, Is This It, it wasn’t long before the NYC quintet was being outpaced by the bands they paved the way for.  Fast-Forward to a little more than a decade later and we have a new album (Comedown Machine) and a new sound from the band that helped define the music of the last decade.

A little over a decade ago, The Strokes were credited for “saving” rock and roll – and Converse – with their guitar-driven sound and ineffable coolness. Fast forward to 2013, and the once-most fashionable, exciting, and ultimately untouchable band in New York City are holed up in a studio, playing vintage synthesizers eschewing and public appearances. But maybe that’s what they needed to do?

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LA Based The Airborne Toxic Event Returns With Timeless New Single

The Airborne Toxic Event is back from their near two year hiatus and once again playing small, intimate concert venues across America. In near perfect syncopation with their 2013 concert tour, TATE’s  latest single “Timeless” is also methodically climbing the alternative rock charts and gaining radio airplay across the nation.

The Airborne Toxic Event – Timeless

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In Anticipation of Neko Case’s Upcoming Studio Release We Take A Look Back

This week we take a trip back to 2009 and review the very talented Neko Case’s last studio album, Middle Cyclone in preparation for the singer/songwriter’s new album due out later this year. Neko’s voice can knock you over; it’s one of the strongest and at times most peculiar in any genre. She has immense control and surprising physical and stylistic range, able to jump from cowgirl honkytonk to pop muse to Americana banshee with ease and grace. However, on her fifth studio album, Middle Cyclone , she literally became a force of nature.

Neko Case Music Spotlight Down Shift Magazine Middle Cyclone

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The Airborne Toxic Event – Live From Walt Disney Concert Hall Featuring The Calder Quartet

Fans of Southern California’s Airborne Toxic Event it goes without saying that we were at once moved and enraptured by the band’s 2010 live release, recorded entirely at Los Angeles’s Walt Disney Concert Hall and aided by the amazing talent behind the Calder Quartet.  Lyrically (and maybe also production-wise) this collection’s version of the band’s songs may be actually superior to the studio release versions. Overall, some of TATE’s most deeply moving musical moments are captured in this concert recording.

While the likes of ‘Sometime Around Midnight’ and ‘Wishing Well’ will always be held among the previous decade’s cleverest pop/rock crossover tunes, the difficult responsibility of following such gems has placed a hefty burden on their shoulders.

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With more than 1,300 acts scheduled to perform at South by Southwest in Austin this week, it’s easy to get lost among the endless choices at the 27th-annual festival, which runs Tuesday through Saturday. There are some clear standouts, though, from well-known acts like Iggy and the Stooges, Vampire Weekend and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs to buzzed-about up-and-comers including Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Alt-J and Waxahatchee. They’re among 20 must-see acts at SXSW who are worth making room for, between the beer and the barbecue, in your schedule.

Austin Texas SXSW 2013 Down Shift Magazine

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Lead Singer Brittany Howard and Alabama Shakes Make Us Believers

I was at first a bit skeptical of Alabama Shakes. In recent years I’ve had the misfortune of listening to a few too many bands who generically attach themselves to the retro sound dujour… However, after this band was brought to my attention one evening by my wife I sat down for a listen in earnest. The group’s soulful swells immediately swept me in before I could write them off as just another band trying to time-warp.

The band originated when lead singer-guitarist Brittany Howard and bassist Zac Cockrell, both attending East Limestone High School in Athens, began meeting after school to write songs. The two played progressive rock and other genres, but soon found a calling playing roots rock. They approached drummer Steve Johnson, who was working at a local music store, asking him to join the band and soon the trio went to Clearwave Recording Studio with producer Jeremy Stephens in Decatur, Alabama, to record some of the songs they were writing. Guitarist Heath Fogg joined the band after hearing the demo.

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One of Scotland’s Greatest Rock Bands, Frightened Rabbit Is A Group You Really Should Be Listening To

While Frightened Rabbit’s 2008 sophomore album “The Midnight Organ Fight” may no longer be a new release, it is a terrifically exceptional indie-rock album that deserves of your attention and a spot on your playlist.

Upon its release, the album was greeted with widespread critical acclaim. Praise often centered on the writing, honest lyricism, and passionate delivery of the band. Viewed as a showpiece for modern Scottish music, the album has continued to receive recognition long after its release; seeing it feature on various year and decade-end critic lists.

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