Photo by Josh Bis As much as the bulk of his work with Shabazz Palaces properly captures the discord of living in 21st Century America, in conversation, Ishmael Butler sounds remarkably at ease with himself and his place in the world. After a career that has had tall peaks (the well-noted Grammy nomination for Digable […]

Douglas Martin usually uses the phrase “helplessness blues” to describe confused supermarket customers. So now, I am older Than my mother and father When they had their daughter Now, what does that say about me? These are the opening words of Helplessness Blues, delivered within the first ten seconds of lead track “Montezuma”. Robin Pecknold, […]

Douglas Martin has never ridden a clay horse. When listening to the output of Julian Lynch— his new full-length, Terra, specifically– the word “patient” comes to mind. It’s too measured to be laconic, too earthy to be glacial, and too studious to be a synonym of the word “chill.” Latter descriptor withstanding, you’d be hard-pressed […]

Douglas Martin can’t hear you. Among the DIY basement venues and tinnitus-afflicted denizens of America’s lo-fi underground, the name Times New Viking inspires a brand loyalty that rivals Pepsi, Kleenex, and whatever name brand is hawked during Oprah’s Favorite Things segment. However, we all can agree that fifteen (milli-)seconds of any TNV song would likely […]

Douglas Martin orders take out like nobody is watching. In the beginning, there was Young Liars. A lot of TV on the Radio reviews open with some variation of the same phrase, and for good reason. The immensely dense brick of guitar noise. The late night, dimly lit streets of pre-gentrification Williamsburg. The chemistry of […]

Douglas Martin needs neither stilts nor lifts. Crystal Stilts are a band that sound flawlessly cool on paper. 1. The group’s founding members– Brooklyn-via-Florida dudes Brad Hargett and JB Townsend– have a refined sartorial aesthetic; the former has hair like Bob Dylan and wears all black while the latter wears sunglasses indoors and has hair […]

Douglas Martin wrote this while drunk on Manischewitz. 1 Long after the Lord created the earth, the sky, the sea, the universe, and man, he created Noah. Perennially boyish in both looks and voice, Noah was a humble servant of the Lord, and the Lord loved him very much. 2 While the alt-bros freely roamed […]

If you hadn’t noticed, Douglas Martin has been known to enjoy the occasional Vivian Girls song. It’s hard to resist the temptation of opening this piece with an unfortunate cliché like “Vivian Girls have grown up so fast” without wanting to shove my computer monitor through the window and then jump out of it to […]

Douglas Martin gets down with both types of apocalypse. Let’s cut to the chase: Bill Callahan is a legend. I suppose Bill Callahan the NFL coach is alright, but Bill Callahan the singer/songwriter has spent the past twenty-three years enjoying one of the most storied, outstanding, and aggressively beloved careers in indie music. The lion’s […]

Douglas Martin also thinks your restaurant’s falafel is scrumptious (no Halal). Last month, Radiohead– a band so notoriously well-known for needing no introduction that the very mention of their name serves as one– announced they were going to be releasing an album later in the week, and then sent out downloads one day early. A […]