Mr. Gnome make art, with dense layers of sonic mayhem that’s as difficult to classify as anything you’ll likely hear. But that’s what makes them special.
Duff McKagan is one hell of a nice guy. And he’s also one lucky son of a bitch. These are the two main things you take away from It’s So Easy (and other lies).
Jonny Lives! swims in the Fountains of Wayne in the country of Weezer on planet Cheap Trick. They play power pop, and on some numbers, they really succeed.
If Nick Drake was around, he’d probably be a Garrett Pierce fan. On Everybody Breaks, Pierce sings about weighty psychological issues amid acoustic guitar.
A more metallic ’10s update on early-’90s shoegaze, 40 Watt Sun sounds like the bastard three-way of Kevin Shields, Peter Murphy, and half of Seattle circa ’91.