What could be better than veterans in their element? This collaborative effort from scene-defining artists The Numbs and seasoned beatsmith Linus Stubbs has it all. The beats are rich, full of classic soul and Motown-sounding samples. Stubbs can make simple boom-bap into a dusty funk soundtrack, tight and gritty at the same time. The lyrics are what you’d expect for a group of emcees who’ve been trading mics for over a decade. … read more
Goldmine: Collector’s Curse
Bad news: Your grandma’s dead. Good news: You’ve inherited box after box of her dusty old LPs! Score! You’ve seen the vinyl displays at the front of Urban Outfitters and Barnes & Noble, so you know that vinyl is a hot commodity—Fleetwood Mac and Led Zeppelin reissues are big business. … read more
SLUG Holiday Comix – April 2016
April 17 is Bat Appreciation Day … … read more
Take the Brown Acid: An Interview with Daniel Hall & Lance Barresi
Barresi and Hall are both Los Angeles–based DJs and record shop owners who’ve been big fans of psychedelic rock throughout the course of their friendship. However, the idea to start the Brown Acid series came from a shared interest in discovering rare vinyl. … read more
Localized: Swell Merchants
The trio has been rising quickly in the past few months, dropping roughly 20 singles on SoundCloud and a demo project (aptly named Demo) before actually putting an official album into their discography. “Last year, we picked up the pace,” says Nico. … read more
Creature Feature: Living Plastic with Kenneth Leon
Kenneth Leon is a multi-faceted artist best known for his imaginative visual photography and performance art. His Barbie photography has immersed him in a community of doll lovers and, in that world, he is in total control. … read more
Moonsorrow: Age of the Gods
Moonsorrow—self-described as “heathen metal”—released a new album, Jumalten Aika (“Age of the Gods”) on April 1. … read more
Discogs: Virtual Vinyl Meeting Place
Over the past decade or so, varying degrees of music collectors worldwide have seemingly begun to defect from large online retailers like eBay and Amazon in favor of “smaller,” more intimate online stores. The most popular, and quite possibly the fastest-growing, is Discogs. … read more
Chubby’s Mexican Restaurant
Much as I’d love to keep Chubby’s all to myself, it is definitely worthy of your time. For us in Rose Park, it is a neighborhood treasure. The food is consistently good, and the staff is both friendly and attentive. … read more
Local Reviews: The CJB
This is a great easy-listening album. It is exactly what it purports to be: a positive, uplifting, easy-to-listen-to collection of chilled-out songs. Even the saddest lyrical topics on the album are lightened up by the delivery via charming and harmless reggae-inspired riffs. … read more
Local Reviews: The Direction
Man, I love chicks who rock. And this chick totally rocks—lead singer Felicia Anderton ties up this package most delightfully, with a vintage voice that is somehow exactly what this rock n’ roll outfit wants. … read more
Local Reviews: Theta Naught
Omnium Gatherum is Theta Naught’s first full-length album in six years. Given their elastic membership and reliance on improvisation above all else, each release and live show has the capacity to take the prolific post-rock/jazz/classical collective into completely unexpected places. … read more