Juniper Lane
Wake from Yourself
http://www.juniperlane.com" / www.juniperlane.com
Area Shows: Check artist’s website for shows
There is a distinctly melodic sound, at times harkening back to the early days of the emo-core “revolution,” but the sound more often resembles Brit rock superstars Coldplay. Vivion Smith’s voice is gorgeous, full-bodied instead of spindly or straining, and it rises effortlessly above the lush compositions of her band mates. Juniper Lane IS a band worth looking out for. — Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson
Just Like Always
Down with the Ship
http://www.justlikealways.com" / www.justlikealways.com
Area Shows: June 14 at Grog and Tankard
It’s impossible to dislike Just Like Always, even if you’ve given away your Taking Back Sunday shirts and tried as best as you can to purge yourself of your “emo days.” Their control over the pop medium is something amazing to behold. You can try to be cool, but your foot is already tapping along; the easiest option is just to accept the fact that there’s something about melodic post-hardcore music that you will always love, and that Just Like Always have perfected it. — Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson
Billy Coulter
Dose
http://www.billycoulter.com" / www.billycoulter.com
Area Shows: June 7 at the Birchmere;
June 21 CD Release Show at McGinty’s Public House
Coulter swaggers through his blues-rock compositions with deserved bravado and skillful songwriting. You start to wonder why you never bought those cowboy boots your friends said looked good on you, for they begin to feel like required dress when Coulter’s songs fly into the home stretch, engines threatening to shake loose from the chassis, throwing out bursts of rock organ, guitar solos, and honky-tonk piano. There are plenty of chances to see him in June, so do so. — Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson
The Frustrations
The Frustrations
http://www.myspace.com/frustrationsdc" / www.myspace.com/frustrationsdc
Area Shows: June 14 at the Sidebar, Baltimore; August 22 at the Rock and Roll Hotel
There is one word for Kristen Soltis’ vocals — sultry. The bombastic ska-reggae arrangements of the other Frustrations only add to the presence of her voice, and all numerous voices of their own. In the end, the Frustrations do what all bands should aim to do: entertain. While I immensely enjoyed this record, I can only image the band is in its best form in front of an audience. “Sultry” is always best when performed on stage. — Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson
Virginia Coalition
Home This Year
http://www.virginiacoalition.com" / www.virginiacoalition.com
Area Show: June 14 at Oronoco Bay Park In Alexandria
Virginia Coalition’s fifth record, “Home This Year,” should be the one that catapults the Alexandria-based trio to national stardom. The band’s latest is full of their signature hooks and happy harmonies, but the guys also reveal a lyrical and musical complexity that wasn’t always evident on their previous, party-hearty albums. These guys belong on the radio, or better yet, your iPod. And local fans that have followed this band for years should soon have the satisfaction of telling friends in other parts of the country, “I told you so!” — Michael Coleman
Maple
Maple
http://www.myspace.com/mapleband" / www.myspace.com/mapleband
Area Shows: Check artist’s website for shows
Arlington’s Maple are a fun garage rock band in the vein of Weezer and Fu Manchu, constructing their songs around clever guitar and vocal hooks. It’s nothing blatantly original, but Maple is an entertaining record. At the end of the day, that’s what music is about. — Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson
*************************Also Available From Locals************************
The U-Liners
The U-Liners
http://www.uliners.com" / www.uliners.com
Area Shows: Check artist’s website for shows
Interesting compositions from Takoma Park folksters.
No Compromise
This Could Be You
http://www.nocorock.com" / www.nocorock.com
NoCo return with a new album. Catch them live June 22 at TT Reynolds.
Jimmie’s Chicken Shack
Fail On Cue
http://www.jimmieschickenshack.net" / www.jimmieschickenshack.net
A new Jimmie’s Chicken Shack album?! What?! Yep. It happened. They seem angrier this time around. See them live on June 21 at the DC BBQ Battle.
*************COMING THROUGH TOWN, OR SOMETHING NEW TO HEAR************
Jenee Halstead
The River Grace
http://www.myspace.com/jeneehalstead" / www.myspace.com/jeneehalstead
Area Shows: June 25 at the Birchmere
Effortlessly unifying the realms of delta blues, folk, and the popular idiosyncratic female pop genre, Jenee Halstead is as much a product of contemporary times as she is of the tumultuous ‘60s when folk and pop music took on the heavy task of providing solace and escape to an entire generation. Halstead’s voice is as beautiful as her music is gracefully crafted. “The River Grace” may well be the first movements of a rising star. — Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson
Unwed Sailor
Little Wars
http://www.unwedsailor.net" / www.unwedsailor.net
Area Show: June 22 at DC9
The utterly wondrous Unwed Sailor leave little to desire from an artsy, instrument-driven indie band. Having toured with acts as diverse as Scotland’s the Twilight Sad and Polyvinyl elite Owen, Unwed Sailor’s sound transcends many of the sub-genres within the current indie-rock scene: at times as idyllic as Explosions in the Sky’s explorations, though even without a vocalist, Unwed Sailor, like Explosions, Owen, and others, are leagues above what would be considered “background music.” — Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson
The M’s
Real Close Ones
http://www.myspace.com/thems" / www.myspace.com/thems
Area Show: June 18 at the Rock and Roll Hotel
The only downside to this record is that I reviewed the CD, and not a vinyl copy. The M’s write music that seems far more akin to the early days of the Rolling Stones, or the poppier moment in the Kinks catalog, than today’s idea of rock music, and the soul of this kind of music will always resonate a little more warmly from wax than plastic. Technicalities aside, get whatever copy of this record you can find. — Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson
Gregory Page
All Make Believe
http://www.gregorypage.com" / www.gregorypage.com
Fabulous pop music out of San Diego that is in no great rush at all, taking its time to build up into its authentically ‘60s sound. Not quite melancholy, Gregory Page’s music has a happiness that has been shaped by the sometimes harsh realities of the world; it’s a mature kind of joy, but one that propels you more into the world than into yourself. Complicated pop music has not been this good since John Lennon’s too short solo career. — Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson
Soltero
You’re No Dream
http://www.solterosongs.com" / www.solterosongs.com
The soundtrack to wandering around a city you’ve never visited, to road trips through the South, to lying in bed wishing you were doing all of the above. Even in its relative simplicity — compositions built around a voice and an acoustic guitar — there is a depth in Soltero’s music that transcends genres and time periods, leaving you with a fantastic record and your dreams. — Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson
Hayden
In Field & Town
http://www.myspace.com/hayden" / www.myspace.com/hayden
Area Show: June 8 at IOTA
What is it about Canada? Whatever it is, we need more of it here in America, especially if it produces talent like Hayden Desser. As unpatriotic as it may sound, maybe we should switch out our American kegs for some Molson and see what happens. “In Field & Town” is almost perfect in its folksy-rock presentation, incorporating everything from Neil Young-esque melodies to analog synths. I’m serious about that Molson business. Grab a copy of this record and you’ll see the dark logic in my reasoning. — Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson
Wrinkle Neck Mules
The Wicks Have Met
http://www.wrinkleneckmules.com" / www.wrinkleneckmules.com
Area Show: June 7 at IOTA
Technical bluesy-folk music in all its glory, “The Wicks Have Met” falls somewhere between a riotous hoe down and the “Deliverance” soundtrack… in all the kindest ways possible. If this sounds like your cup of tea (or Mason jar of moonshine), pick this thing up. I can only imagine they’re more fun live, and you’ll have a stab at that too, in June. — Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson
The Band of Heathens
The Band of Heathens
http://www.bandofheathens.com" / www.bandofheathens.com
Area Shows: June 9 at XM Studio; June 13 at IOTA
Austin’s The Band of Heathens are more country than a Chevy tooling down a lonely desert road, its bed holding the driver’s meager possessions, the passenger seat empty except for a six-pack, a bottle of Jack Daniels and a fading picture of some no good girl. If lonesome, ambling guitar lines and softly crooning voices tickles something in your soul, The Band of Heathens have quite a lot to offer. — Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson
Alan Bishop and Richard Bishop Present
The Brothers Unconnected
A Tribute to Charles Gocher and Sun City Girls
http://www.suncitygirls.com" / www.suncitygirls.com
Area Show: June 25 at the Black Cat
The Bishop brothers have taken on a lot in their tribute to the Sun City Girls — the psychedelic, flat out bizarre three-piece out of Arizona — especially as they are performing the songs as an acoustic duet… but they pull it off; like some crazy, drunken party stunt, it somehow works. This will not be for everyone, but for the oddsters out there, this may be exactly what you’ve been fiending for. — Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson
Rachel Sage
Chandelier
http://www.rachelsage.com" / www.rachelsage.com
Area Show: June 4 at the Washington Jewish Music Festival at DC9
Sage’s voice is impressive, playful enough that one almost wishes it was applied to a more experimental form of pop music — not quite as crazy as the phenomenal Regina Spektor, but maybe somewhere in Fiest’s terrain. But, at the end of the day, there’s not too much to complain about when it comes to Rachel Sage’s music: it builds, it breaks, it satisfies. — Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson
David Wells
Friday Afternoon
http://www.davidwellsonline.com" / www.davidwellsonline.com
The fact that David Wells has had seven records released over his career is a frightening realization; much like the grim understanding those unfortunate Texas teens must have had once they heard that chainsaw fire up. Wells crafts music that is fit only for those regrettably trapped in elevators long enough to actually notice the garbage filtering in through the speakers. Next time, they’ll take the stairs. — Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson