Creative

Footer Legal

Main

NavBar

Sections

Topics

Become a subscriber today to get unlimited access

Thanks for reading!

Register to continue

Talkhouse

J. Robbins is a musician and producer, best known for founding iconic post-hardcore band Jawbox, which disbanded in 1997 but reunited for a tour this summer. Since Jawbox, Robbins has led several bands — Burning Airlines, Channels, and Office of Future Plans among them — but has never released a full-length under his own name. That changed with the May release of Un-Becoming.
(Photo Credit: Janet Morgan)

J. Robbins

Music

J. Robbins Goes Direct on Jawbox and Un-Becoming

Jorge Mateus

The Furniture is Disturbed: The (Re)Formation of Disturbed Furniture

LA-based indie pop rocker Maddie Ross was once described by The 405 as an &#8220;Alt-Pop Dream Queen.&#8221; Ross writes guitar-driven anthems about her producer, co-writer, and longtime girlfriend Wolfy. In September of 2018, songwriting legend KT Tunstall came across Ross&rsquo;s music during a Twitter exchange, and immediately reached out via direct message to invite Ross to open on a 22-city North American tour. Ross agreed, and quickly released her sophomore EP, Touch Hands, Touch Bodies in anticipation of the tour. Tunstall fans fell in love with Ross&rsquo;s high energy performances, &ldquo;abundant cussing,&rdquo; and candid love songs about being lesbian and proud. In May of 2019, Ross released her debut album Never Have I Ever, produced and co-written by Wolfy. The album was named Billboard Staff&#8217;s &#8220;Top 50 Albums of 2019 So Far,&#8221; and has gained praise from Teen Vogue, MTV, Billboard and NPR Music. Ross toured in support of Never Have I Ever by again opening for Tunstall.
(Photo Credit: Aubrey Devin)

Maddie Ross

How I Found Myself Opening For KT Tunstall on a 22-City Tour

Free Cell begins in isolation. Lina Tullgren’s guitar picks a delicate, slow-moving melody out of silence. Sweeping strings and brass echo out to some far-away horizon. In this moment, on the title track of Tullgren’s second album, they sound like the only person left in the universe.
Many of Free Cell&#8216;s songs were initially written between tours while Tullgren (who uses gender neutral pronouns) was living in their parents’ house in New England — sans car, alone most of the day, and sleeping in their little sister’s trundle bed. As the album materialized, Tullgren’s world took focus as they made their way from New England to Queens to be closer to their musical community.
Tullgren’s sophomore effort provides listeners with a portrait of Lina alone, discovering a new method of writing and a new way of thinking about composition. This stands in stark contrast to their debut album Won, a portrait of close companionship and collaboration between Tullgren and their best friend Ty Ueda.
The biggest development in the path to Free Cell was something unthinkable: shortly before recording, Ueda was injured in a car crash and Tullgren was unexpectedly put in the position of self-producing their own album.
Mainly recorded and produced at Brooklyn’s Figure 8 Studios, with Ueda later assisting on final tracking at his Mount Misery studio upon recovery, Free Cell is masterfully confident. Throughout Free Cell, Tullgren looks back on their memories from the position of an analyst, often cool and cynical but always with an undercurrent of humor and deep feeling. In their poetry Lina Tullgren writes anthems for the alienated, for those alone on busses, at parties, at their parents’ house, for those who cannot help but feel lonely even if they are surrounded by others. Free Cell invites us to sit and listen, to reflect, but with no guarantee of any of those things being easy.

Lina Tullgren

Lina Tullgren on Playing Solitaire as a Form of Meditation on Tour

Adam Schatz has recently released the improvised album Civil Engineering Vol. 1 and the Landlady album Make Up / Lost Time. See him on tour this summer, tickets and info at <a href="http://linktr.ee/landladyland" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://linktr.ee/landladyland&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1780425624327000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3vXy-qQUGj-lKK5bDfgzP-">linktr.ee/landladyland</a>.
(Photo Credit: Sasha Arutyunova.)

Adam Schatz

When I Played a Sofar Sounds Show

Talkhouse Contributing Writer Norman Brannon is a musician, writer, and educator in Brooklyn, New York. Best known for his work in bands like Texas Is the Reason, New End Original, 108, Shelter, and Ressurection, Brannon has also maintained a steady, albeit whimsical career in music criticism, worked as a TV presenter on a gay cable network, and has been recognized by his music-loving students while working as a university lecturer. You can follow him on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/normanbrannon"> here.</a>

Norman Brannon

Emo: A Personal History in Three Parts — Part 3, 2004–2019

Juiceboxxx is an American artist from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His forthcoming LP is slated for release on Dangerbird Records in early 2020.
(Photo Credit: Brad Dececco)

Juiceboxxx

Juiceboxxx on “Coinstar Song” and Why He’s Stuck with That Name

Morgan Enos is a musician, essayist and music journalist specializing in classic rock. He records and performs as <a href="https://finalhouse.bandcamp.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://finalhouse.bandcamp.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1567703426703000&amp;usg=AFQjCNE969PQS5H6jwcQaH3Zb_8LZ4WVew">Other Houses</a> and has bylines in Billboard, HuffPost, the Recording Academy, Vinyl Me, Please, TIDAL and more. He is also the co-founder and editor of <a href="https://northoftheinternet.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://northoftheinternet.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1567703426703000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGi0xmSRKyGPRseoPZ41v4L7WkbQw">North of the Internet</a>, a series of conversations with creative people. He can be found at <a href="https://www.morganenos.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.morganenos.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1567703426703000&amp;usg=AFQjCNG79-8vfghEO9sl4msNRI9Ts-3rdQ">his website</a>.
<div class="yj6qo ajU"></div>

Morgan Enos

Remembering My Dad Through Classic Rock’s Greatest Misses

Emo: A Personal History in Three Parts — Part 2, 1991-2003

Emo: A Personal History in Three Parts — Part 1, 1987-1990

While most artists usually require a small village to take their first steps, LA based Tim Atlas requires nothing but his own two hands to mold his vision. After performing for Pharrell and Rihanna and receiving their encouragement, Tim took the leap and pursued music full-time. His 2018 EP, All Talk!, made a splash in the indie world, racking up over 20 million streams and taking him on headlining tours across the US and UK. Now, Tim is preparing to release his next EP, out Fall 2019, which has already been praised by Zane Lowe on his Beats 1 show and by a number of tastemakers alike.

Tim Atlas

Tim Atlas Isn’t Just “That Guy from The Voice”

Throughout his life, Julian Reid has always found deep joy in playing piano. Hailing from Chicago, Julian spent most of his childhood studying classical and jazz piano at Merit School of Music’s Conservatory and playing piano around the city. He has served in various music ministries at churches, including service as musical director for choirs and praise teams. He has toured with various musical acts around the world, including a duo show entitled Joker &amp; King with the magician Kenta Koga. He is a member of the jazz group The JuJu Exchange with Nico Segal (formerly Donnie Trumpet), his brother Everett Reid, and Lane Beckstrom, which just released their first album, Exchange. Julian is equally interested in theological studies. After having completed his undergrad studies in philosophy at Yale University, now Julian is pursuing a Master of Divinity degree at Candler School of Theology at Emory University. He and his wife reside in Atlanta. You can follow him on Twitter and Instagram at <a href="http://twitter.com/julianreid17">@julianreid17</a> and The JuJu Exchange at <a href="https://twitter.com/thejujuexchange" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@thejujuexchange</a>.

music essay