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MICHAEL MAROTTA

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Out: Never mind the rapture, here's Pretty & Nice

Without Judgment
There's a sense of calculated jubilation in Pretty & Nice's frantic brand of caffeinated pop, one that's a bit paranoid, a bit euphoric, and always on the verge of spinning out of control.

By: MICHAEL MAROTTA | May 26, 2011

OUT: Ribs shine through a strobe in Allston, kick off East Coast tour

Rainbows bright
Whereas most bands nurse hangovers on Saturday mornings, the dudes in Ribs spent the one before their tour kickoff party at Home Depot, wandering the tall aisles of suburban fix-it wonderland in search of multi-colored floodlights and thin, four-foot-long fluorescent bulbs.

By: MICHAEL MAROTTA | May 10, 2011

The metallic pop sheen of the Cinnamon Fuzz

Wave of mutilation
On World Coming Down, Type O Negative's 1999 musical exercise in morbidity, the New York doom-metal band closed with a cover of the Beatles' "Day Tripper," again showing off late frontman Peter Steele's obsession with darkening up some of music's more-porcelain pop nuggets.

By: MICHAEL MAROTTA | April 27, 2011

The Naked and Famous | Passive Me, Aggressive You

Republic (2011)
Republic (2011)

By: MICHAEL MAROTTA | April 27, 2011

Coachella builds a sweaty buzz over three days in the California desert

Tough acts to follow
Coachella builds a sweaty buzz over three days in the California desert

By: MICHAEL MAROTTA | April 19, 2011

Out: Rock And Roll Rumble preliminary week

Don't call it a Battle of the Bands, k-thx
Midnight was fast approaching late last Thursday, April 7, when Keith Pierce of Mellow Bravo extended perhaps the standout set of this year's Rock And Roll Rumble preliminary week.

By: MICHAEL MAROTTA | April 13, 2011

The return of the Rock 'n' Roll Rumble

Battlefield
The return of the Rock 'n' Roll Rumble arrives just a few weeks after the Boston-band circle jerk down at SXSW, so it's time to cop an attitude and start pitting the bands against one another.

By: MICHAEL MAROTTA | March 31, 2011

The good, the bad, and the indie: Boston may have broken Austin at this year's SXSW

South by South Wasted
The South by Southwest Music and Media Conference hadn't even wrapped up its third day before local news outlets were already bitching about the rowdiest batch of spring-break hipsters Austin has seen in the event's 24-year history.

By: MICHAEL MAROTTA | March 25, 2011

Spring's starting line-up of new Boston rock

Nine volts
In the spirit of the fast-approaching baseball season, let's take a look at nine local rock shows that might offer the city more hits than Carl Crawford in April.

By: MICHAEL MAROTTA | March 18, 2011

Buffalo Tom celebrate 25 years of rock

Hitting the Skins
"If you'd told me 10 years ago I'd be here playing with Buffalo Tom, I wouldn't have believed you," Mean Creek's Aurore Ounjian sheepishly offered up last week at ZuZu, moments before her band closed out a stripped-down, five-song set with a cover of Buffalo Tom's "Would Not Be Denied."

By: MICHAEL MAROTTA | March 15, 2011

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark create a newer wave

Modern-day souvenir
A wise man once said that there's no future in nostalgia, and conspicuously missing from these pre-packaged retro tours have been Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark.

By: MICHAEL MAROTTA | March 07, 2011

Getting Intimate with Banditas and Sleepover Shows in Jamaica Plain

Jamming in jammies
It’s just after 7 pm on February 15, and I find myself alone, locked in, trapped after hours at Jamaica Plain vintage-clothing store 40 South Street. I do not work here.

By: MICHAEL MAROTTA | February 24, 2011

Mean Creek lead a rocking Allston block party

Out: Choose your own adventure
"Hey, it's my birthday, and I got too drunk," announced Mean Creek's Chris Keene midway through their set before a sizable and affable crowd Saturday at the Brighton Music Hall. "You may remember me from such hits as 'Fucking Up the First Song.' "

By: MICHAEL MAROTTA | February 01, 2011

Dom | Sun Bronzed Greek Gods [Remastered] + more

Astralwerks/Burning Mill (2011)
After building a speedy streak of buzz over the past year, Worcester's Dom have bombarded 2011 with a golden platter of new shit.

By: MICHAEL MAROTTA | February 01, 2011

Mistle Thrush reunite, remain indefinable

Waking from a dream
It's a fun bit of Boston rock trivia that on September 23, 1991, homegrown post-punk band Bullet LaVolta played WFNX's fifth-birthday show at Axis with two relative unknowns: the Smashing Pumpkins and, on the eve of Nevermind 's release, Nirvana.

By: MICHAEL MAROTTA | January 18, 2011

The new Brighton Music Hall is ready to roll

Sound investment
The paint is barely dry on the loud red exterior of the Brighton Music Hall, but before the first band take the stage at the free “soft” opening Friday night, let me make one thing clear: the operators are aware the club is in Allston and not neighboring Brighton.

By: MICHAEL MAROTTA | January 14, 2011