Email Author Doug Wallen

2010 Stories by Doug Wallen

• Woods returns to its indie-rock roots

  published June 9, 2010

  There's been much conjecture on how to get your music heard in a time of eroding CD sales. Many bands are encouraged to embrace technology and... More >>

• The Prids Are All Right

  published June 2, 2010

  If you make an indie-rock album and Built to Spill's Doug Martsch shows up, the battle is half-won right... More >>

• Look Into Them

  published May 26, 2010

  Carey Mercer’s voice is uniquely expressive: Once you overcome the initial shock of his guttural quiver and strangled whoops, it’s... More >>

• Concert preview: The National

  published May 26, 2010

  When it comes to nuanced gloom and prickly ennui, no one approaches the perfection of Matt Berninger. As the soul-plumbing baritone fronting... More >>

• Say It Out Loud

  published May 26, 2010

  It feels like ages since we've heard from Holy Fuck. The instrumental Canadian quartet had a... More >>

• Broken Bells' pop partnership

  published May 19, 2010

  If the Dead Weather, Atoms for Peace, and Them Crooked Vultures have taught us anything, it's that the supergroup is back. While it's easy to... More >>

• Concert preview: Unnatural Helpers

  published May 12, 2010

  There's an instant charm to Unnatural Helpers' one- and two-minute songs. Cramming 15 of them onto the Seattle group's latest release,... More >>

• Clubs preview: Javelin

  published May 5, 2010

  As foreshadowed by a pair of 12-inches on the Thrill Jockey label, Javelin's debut album is a feel-good free-for-all. No... More >>

• High-Fivin' anthems from Fang Island

  published May 5, 2010

  There's a celebratory streak to Fang Island, even if it isn't always clear what exactly is being celebrated. The Brooklyn band's self-titled... More >>

• Concert preview: Broken Social Scene

  published April 28, 2010

  From the title to the music itself, Broken Social Scene's new Forgiveness Rock Record plays like an apology for the unevenness of... More >>

• Nobody Puts Baby in a Corner

  published April 28, 2010

  Transgender singer, songwriter, and performance artist Baby Dee landed on the radar of most indie-rock fans with 2008’s Safe Inside... More >>

• A Bracing Dip

  published April 28, 2010

  There's no shortage of textures in the albums of Montreal's the Besnard Lakes. Seven-minute jams plunge into inky atmospheres and... More >>

• Liars discover a "Sisterworld" in Los Angeles

  published April 21, 2010

  Liars have come full circle. After long stints in New York City and Berlin, the storied trio is again based in Los Angeles, the city of its... More >>

• Open the Past

  published April 14, 2010

  Many musicians have shuffled in and out of the Wedding Present since its formation in 1985. Even... More >>

• Concert preview: Spoon

  published April 7, 2010

  Spoon's seventh album, Transference, is disheveled even by the band's own standards. Britt Daniel's sawed-off voice cracks and... More >>

• You Need

  published April 7, 2010

  Though the band began life with a postpunk clatter, Love Is All now leans toward vulnerable yet spiky pop. Two Thousand and Ten... More >>

• Cosmic Disco Dragons

  published March 31, 2010

  Nestled among the all-star cast of guests on Gorillaz’ horizon-chasing opus, Plastic Beach, is a name that might not be familiar. The... More >>

• Madam, I'm Adam

  published March 24, 2010

  Adam Green has come a long way since sharing the Moldy Peaches with Kimya Dawson. Or has he? The droll New York City lifer established... More >>

• Lay with the Animal

  published March 17, 2010

  There’s not a whiff of Pacific Northwest rain in Mighty Tiger, perhaps because the Seattle band’s members hail from other parts... More >>

• The Art Museums

  published March 10, 2010

  A collaboration between Whysp's Josh Alper and Skygreen Leopards' Glenn Donaldson, the Art Museums have cited early Style Council as a... More >>

• Beaches break into Australia's heavy psych scene

  published March 10, 2010

  The Australian band Beaches isn't an all-woman supergroup, although its five members play in other bands and a few perceptive fans might... More >>

• The Copenhagen Stomp

  published March 3, 2010

  Next to their Swedish counterparts, Danish bands have been underrepresented in the recent outpouring of Scandinavian music into the world at... More >>

• Off the Farm

  published February 24, 2010

  There’s a proud tradition of outsider guitar-pop, and Irish native Brian Kelly has certainly paid his dues with the bedroom project turned... More >>

• Women's Music

  published February 17, 2010

  Two Swedish singer-songwriters towing evocative band names, Victoria Bergsman and Sarah Assbring, are Taken by Trees and El Perro del... More >>

• Merritt Based

  published February 17, 2010

  While Magnetic Fields mainstay Stephin Merritt hasn’t tried to duplicate the scope of 1999’s three-album set, 69 Love Songs, he... More >>