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Talkhouse

Patrick Kindlon is a prolific musician and comics writer. His work includes fronting punk rock agitators Self Defense Family and Drug Church (the latter of which recently released its latest full-length, Cheer, on Pure Noise Records), writing comics for Black Mask Studios, and weekly pot-stirring as co-host of the Axe To Grind Podcast.

Patrick Kindlon

Music

It’s Hard Out Here for Small Business People

Tom Krell, an ever-metamorphosing artist whose work has taken many forms over his now 14+ year career. On May 10, 2024, Krell will release his 6th LP, I Am Toward You.
Krell lives in Los Angeles. In 2022 he completed a PhD in Philosophy.

Tom Krell

How To Dress Well on Mark Fisher’s Theory of Capitalist Realism

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<div>LA-based singer/songwriter/producer Lawrence Rothman uses their struggles with gender identity, family conflict, and social alienation to create avant-pop confessionals, inviting the listener into the fractured world of Rothman’s psyche. Their latest mini-album I Know I’ve Been Wrong, But Can We Talk? is an incredibly inspired collection brought on by their father’s alienation to Lawrence’s gender fluidity met with the suicide of a close friend. This project is a follow up to 2017’s The Book Of Law, which credited an all star list of musicians and was critically acclaimed by Pitchfork, Fader, The Los Angeles Times, etc.</div>
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Lawrence Rothman

On Pop-Country, Pop-Schmaltz, and A Star Is Born

Ryley Walker is a singer-songwriter who grew up in Rockford, Illinois. His latest album is a lovely, unironic tribute to a lost Dave Matthews record, The Lilywhite Sessions.
(Photo Credit: Evan Jenkins)

Ryley Walker

God of the Townies

A native of Edmonton, Alberta, Canadian songwriter Calvin Love plays a mix of lo-fi indie and lush, darkly romantic pop. Emerging from the same vibrant Canadian scene as contemporaries Mac DeMarco, Alex Calder, and Sean Nicholas Savage, he established himself as a pop stylist with an atmospheric sound and a keen ear for melody. His latest release is Highway Dancer, out now via Modern Sky USA. There’s a palpable mood at the heart of the record: a mood as mercurial, dream-like, and haunted as a late night on the open road. A lifelong musician, Love has always been influenced by his restless spirit and his travels. Highway Dancer is full of songs for travelers, but it also speaks to anyone who’s ever been in limbo, in transition, or in-between moving and standing still.

Calvin Love

Introducing: Calvin Love’s “The Coin, The Stick, and The Take”

Born DeQuantes Lamar on October 4, 1989, Atlanta rapper <a href="https://mn2s.com/booking-agency/live-roster/rich-homie-quan/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rich Homie Quan</a> is the eldest of three siblings that were raised in a single family home. Originally having dreams of becoming a professional baseball player, Quan could not ignore his passion for music.
Possessing an undeniable talent for storytelling, his focus quickly changed to rapping. Dedicating countless hours in the studio, he began churning out street hit after hit, which eventually resulted in the 2008 smash “Stay Down” featuring the Stack Money Boys.
Having already collaborated with artists like Young Thug, Birdman, and Rick Ross, Rich Homie Quan&#8217;s debut studio album Rich as in Spirit was released on March 16, 2018.

Rich Homie Quan

Rich Homie Quan: Rich as in Spirit, Part Two

Rich Homie Quan: Rich as in Spirit, Part One

Hutch Harris was born in New York City, raised in Silicon Valley and has resided in Portland, Oregon for the past twenty years.  Harris founded and was the lead singer/songwriter of the Thermals. He is currently working on his first solo LP. Follow Harris on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/instantanxiety" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=https://twitter.com/thethermals&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1539364798634000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFoiS1M3sGWO60C3dnqFFla-DuGbw">here</a>.
(Photo Credit: Westin Glass)

Hutch Harris

Greta Van Fleet, Pitchfork, and Licking Whiskey off a Bathroom Floor

Shamir is Shamir and remains Shamir through and through, no matter what the universe puts him through. You may know the singularly named artist (think—Madonna or Cher) from his 2015 debut hit record Rachet, beloved by NPR listeners and club kids alike. After quickly rising to underground fame with his Northtown EP in 2014, the DIY pop star made a sonic splash with Rachet’s lead single “On The Regular,” a poppy banger that had extensive commercial usage. But how to follow all that up? Shamir, who came from the dusty dunes of Las Vegas, to Brooklyn’s Silent Barn, to the Philly indie scene (and all over the world in between), wanted to go back to what had inspired him from the beginning. Outsider music, country &amp; punk. Raw and vulnerable tunes, stripped down to their emotional core. 2017’s Revelations explored a new avenue of guitar driven hooky indie rock and was widely critically praised in the US and overseas.
Shamir’s most recent releases, the brilliant Room 7” on Father/Daughter, and his self-released limited edition album, Resolution, are pinnacles in the catalog of the increasingly fascinating artist’s career. Room and its b-side Caballero celebrate Shamir’s love of country music, while Resolution is a deeply introspective look into the fabric of society and the artists’ own mind.  With these two releases he has refined his craft exponentially and done so in less than six months from the release of Revelations.

Shamir Bailey

Staying Healthy is a Full-Time Job

Sam Goblin currently lives in Tallahassee, FL and plays music with Mister Goblin and Deady. He hopes to never, ever, ever become a music writer.

Sam Goblin

Sour Skittles

10 Things You Hate About Ska

From the release of their 2005 debut, Juturna, Circa Survive has made a career of turning all of the things that make them difficult to categorize into their greatest strengths. The word “progressive” is often used to describe their sound, and while this term doesn’t really do justice to the band&#8217;s distinct identity, it does conjure the scope and ambition of those iconic bands from decades ago, the ones that managed to capture the attention of mainstream audiences without sacrificing their esoteric tendencies.
On their latest record, The Amulet, they continue this legacy, but filtered through the unique lens of their punk and alternative roots. Their mix of intricate guitars, muscular bass, and interlocking drums creates a dynamic foundation for vocalist Anthony Green’s unparalleled voice; however, the magic of Circa Survive isn’t just technical skill, it’s an ability to blend that technicality with undeniable sense of melody and hooks. It’s this focus on uncompromising yet satisfying songwriting that compels listeners, no matter their genre-of-choice.
(Photo Credit: Hayley Rippy)

music essay