Hop Along Painted Shut Reviewed by: Matt Kelchner Three years ago there were murmurs from a handful of outlets that a relatively unknown band from Philadelphia had released one of the best albums of the year. The band? Hop Along. Their debut album, Get Disowned, was not widely Read More

Superheaven Ours is Chrome Reviewed by: Matt Kelchner The grunge movement is alive and well in 2015. Case in point: Pennsylvania’s very own Superheaven. Formerly known as the band Daylight, they helped usher in this revival two years ago with their debut album Jar. With another Read More

Mikal Cronin MCII Reviewed by: Max Miller Poor Mikal Cronin. His excellent sophomore LP MCII opened with the line, “I’ve been starting over for a long time./ I’m not ready for another day I fail at feeling new.” What followed was an album’s worth of immaculate power-pop in which Read More

by Jane Roser “Brothers and Sisters! Our song is on the radio in the United States of America. Yes, I am famous. Chicks are gonna dig us!” Alan Doyle was having fun joking with the audience at his solo show last week at The Birchmere. He continues to win hearts Read More

by Geno Thackara It was a night for sweat and tears, heart and soul, leather and tattoos. Wednesday’s crowd at the Theater of Living Arts ranged from teens to fiftysomethings; they could have been dressed for school or an office or a barn dance, but those little differences Read More

Braids Deep in the Iris Reviewed by: Max Miller When it comes to describing music, “indie” is one of those irritatingly unspecific terms like “post-punk” or “swirling.” (Don’t waste your time checking — I’ve almost certainly used all three in the past.) Beyond the latently racist Read More