Producer-driven albums can be tricky to execute, especially if your name isn't Flying Lotus, Madlib or J-Dilla. The producer bold enough to let his beats talk better have kick-ass instrumentals—or kick-ass vocalists—on hand.
Luckily Soulful!, a resident producer of the D.C.-based InnerLoop imprint, has both. On Mumbo Sauce and Drumbreaks, the young artist not only creates a richly [...]

Best-of-the-year lists are built around the fallacy that the "year" still matters. YEARS ARE FOR OLD FARTS WHO LACK THE TECHNOLOGY TO TRACK THINGS MINUTE-BY-MINUTE ON TWITTER. I'll tell you this right now: I do not wish to see your Best Albums of 2010 list, because I know you will have spent lots of time [...]

Endless soft tacos, a five mile bike ride, and a lot of standing in line. Somewhere in there I saw some concerts, too.
Tennis System: Apparently Tennis System had a rough trip down to Texas. According to guitarist/singer Matty Taylor the band's shows in Richmond and Lexington were shut down by the cops before it [...]

In this recurring weekly–and hopefully soon to be renamed–feature we'll round up leaked songs, new singles, and other musical detritus of all genres as it surfaces on the web. Anyway, let's get on with it.
Franz Ferdinand: "Ulysses"
"Come on, let's get high," sings Alex Kapranos on the lead single from Franz Ferdinand's forthcoming album Tonight, but [...]

In a good way, indie rock got smaller in 2008.
D.C. rediscovered its love for vinyl (the story of the year is the resurgence of the mom-and-pop record store). A neighborhood—Mount Pleasant—stood up against anti-live-music NIMBYs. Even a local band or two seemed to surprise all of us (Deleted Scenes).
There's a new underground, a real underground, [...]