Though much of the latest Cymbals Eat Guitars album is about loss – of a childhood friend, of innocence, of easier days – frontman Joseph D'Agostino has turned LOSE into an emotional gain, for himself and his listeners. Often tumultuous, sometimes anthemic, always melodic, the new songs are the band's most directly impactful yet, trading the heady styles of the previous albums for heartfelt rockers. The NY/NJ band laid it bare live in the KEXP studio as they shared songs from LOSE during a live video stream. You'll find the whole session here now:
Usually, you'd want to hustle the riff raff out, but when it comes to the New Orleans band Hurray for the Riff Raff, you want them to stick around. That's why we featured them three times this year: in our studio, at our SXSW showcase at Mellow Johnny's, and during our broadcast over Labor Day week…
It's one of those touchstones of rock that if you don't have in your collection, you're likely to add immediately on first hearing. Big Star's Third never reached the commercial success it deserved upon its release, but over the years it grew into a cult favorite frequently name-checked (and cribbe…