[This piece appears in All the Rage.]

“Two parts New York and two parts Arkansas‿ describes both the composition of American Princes and their sound. Matt Quin and David Slade left New York City for Little Rock, Arkansas (where Slade had once lived) in search of cheap practice space and an escape from the NYC scene. After a show at Collins Kilgore’s house, the band asked him to join. Another Arkansas local, Luke Hunsicker, eventually joined up as well. (more…)

[This piece appears in All the Rage.]

Together with Tim Goldsworthy, James Murphy runs the influential DFA Records who’ve released Black Dice, The Rapture, Le Tigre and Chromeo. On his own, Murphy is LCD Soundsystem—a dance punk outfit that sounds as comfortable in the garage as in the discotheque. The lead track on LCD’s debut self-titled album, “Daft Punk is Playing at My House,” even imagines a scenario where the two ends meet and a seminal dance group plays a punk rock house party. (more…)

[This piece appears in All the Rage.]

Dios (malos) owe a great deal of their sound to growing up in the South Bay of Los Angeles. Though much is made of their “sunny California pop,‿ it’s the diversity of their hometown that’s most reflected in their sound. As the band points out, they grew up a stone’s throw away from the childhood home of the Beach Boys as well where Black Flag started. Sure, there’s sunny pop in dios (malos) but there’s also melancholic ballads and fun-loving rock songs. (more…)