Month: June 2009

New York electronica group Puracane has a new album out called I've Been Here The Longest. Recently the Vault's Vish Iyer had the chance to chat with frontwoman Ali Rogers about the band, herself and the new record.  (You can hear the interview in its entirety on live365 here.) Daily Vault: I want to ask you about your cover of “Summertime Rolls,” the Jane’s Addiction song. As you know, the original song is a psychedelic grandiose epic. Now I wouldn’t associate Puracane as a psychedelic dance band. And the way your version has turned out, it’s almost entirely the opposite.…

Here are another 5 quick picks for you, the loyal reader:MUSIC: Cheap Trick / The Latest – Recently celebrating their 35th anniversary as a rock & roll super-power, Cheap Trick is still recording and touring as much as ever. Presently on the road with Def Leppard, the Rockford quartet is out there in support of their new studio album, The Latest. Track two, “When The Lights Are Out,” is a Slade cover mixed with elements of long-time fan favorite “Elo Kiddies.” Summer movie fans will also be able to catch Cheap Trick’s music in the new Transformers movie, for which…

[Editor's note: Cover images of albums previously reviewed on the DV have been linked to the review.]The Police’s “Every Breath You Take” is a shining example of the art of the stalker song with its ambiguous lyrics that make you think twice about whether you’re listening to something sweet or sinister. The late ‘70s saw Cheap Trick’s “I Want You To Want Me” and Blondie’s “One Way Or Another” prove that anything catchy and up-tempo could be instantly forgiven for having a bedrock of macabre.  The stalker track aims to leave its listener somewhere in the region of sympathy, but…

Here are another 5 quick picks for you, the loyal reader:MUSIC: Metric / Fantasies -- Fantasies is the fourth album by Canadian band Metric, and perhaps their strongest yet. Delivering more of the same sweet, catchy, keyboard-heavy pop-rock that Metric fans have come to expect, frontwoman Emily Haines sings in a way that seems personalized yet also ready for the masses. Lead-off track “Help I’m Alive” and the Stones/Beatles-referencing “Gimme Sympathy” are great starting points for the uninitiated. (myspace.com/metric) BOOK: Evelyn McFarlane & James Saywell / If…, Volume 2 – Admittedly I’m many years late on this title, having recently…

It’s 1976, and guitar player Daniel Travers is twenty. He lives in a suburb of Sacramento, wrestling with the loss of his brother in Vietnam, an alcoholic mother, a dependence on speed and a very dysfunctional band who might be either on the brink of making it or on the brink of complete implosion. Anyone who’s been in a band can appreciate the details author Roger Trott uses to flesh out Dan’s dysfunctional family of musicians. Dan is too full of personal angst and confusion to effectively manage his role as ad-hoc band leader, and finds himself struggling between following…