Lollipop Magazine

Owls – I’m Surprised – Music Stream

April 8, 2014

Owls are a satisfying throwback to a time when emo rock hadn’t yet evolved into an overly sleek, whiny mess of a movement.

Dum Dum Girls – Lost Boys and Girls Club – Music Stream

January 30, 2014

My brother-in-law saw this band open up for Ben Gibbard, and his zero-word review was a lethargic shoulder shrug. Maybe they’ve improved with age? Maybe not.

Matt Pryor – Kinda Go To Pieces – Music Stream

January 8, 2014

The Get-Up Kids got less terrible with every release, as the cute college girls I assigned to review them for the magazine often noted.

Boardwalk – Crying – Music Stream

January 2, 2014

Pleasant, predictable, and mesmerizing. Breathy, gauzy female vocals, and a hipster dude handling the deeply-reverbed guitars, and a drum machine set on snooze.

Blitzen Trapper – Ever Loved Once – Music Stream

December 31, 2013

Seventh full-length. And the music, heard here on “Ever Loved Once,” is just as straightforward and unpretentious, with a confident alt.country swagger.

Rogue Wave – College – Music Stream

December 9, 2013

“College” is appropriately-named. Rogue Wave offer up a 101-level anthem for awkward, nervous late-teens.

Saturday Looks Good to Me – Invisible Friend – Music Stream

December 3, 2013

Gloriously produced, easy-breezy summer indie pop, with most of the vocals volleyed by the women. Their voices match better than my socks.

Goldfrapp – Drew – Music Stream

November 15, 2013

Not that Goldfrapp hasn’t been doing well since her collaborations with Orbital, but having your song in an Apple commercial is a new level.

Maps – A.M.A. – Music Stream

September 17, 2013

Chilly electro indie rock that you quickly warm up to, in the vein of Junior Boys or Supersystem. Maps is one dude – James Chapman from Northampton, England.

William Beckett – Benny & Joon – Music Stream

August 22, 2013

Unfailingly earnest indie rally-rock from the former frontman of The Academy Is… (and a singer on the “Snakes on a Plane” song, score!).