Bay Area Band Reviews and Student News

For a band that's been steadily producing albums for 16 years, Scotland's Franz Ferdinand is wonderfully consistent and reliable in their talents for releasing great music. Alex Kapranos and his troupe of Glasgow-based bards first caught the public's attention with their  hit single Take Me Out in 2004. The track earned a Grammy for 'Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal' and their debut album that the song featured on has since gone triple platinum, selling 3.6 million copies worldwide. Named after the Austro-Hungarian archduke whose assassination launched the seminal catastrophe of World War I, Franz Ferdinand see themselves as catalysts for musical transformation, to the same degree that the archduke's demise triggered irreversible global change. The band occasionally nods to their name's origins with songs like "All for You, Sophia" in honor of the Austrian duchess, shot alongside Ferdinand.  Musically, ...

The Fratellis- No they're not your favorite family run Italian restaurant. No, they're not related to the criminal 'bad guys' from the Goonies . They are however, the greatest rock band to come out of Glasgow in the past 20 years, (closely followed up by   Franz Ferdinand ) , and they're back this Spring with their new album, In Your Own Sweet Time . I've been a long time fan of The Fratellis, at least since they came back together to make We Need Medicine in 2013. A long time ago, These Scottish kings of alternative grabbed everyone's attention seemingly overnight with their first album, Costello Music, and its energetic, pub-rock melodies.  The debut album of this newly formed band, charmed everyone to death with it's glib, boisterous sound. People couldn't stop humming the irresistible hooks on Chelsea Dagger and Henrietta, both tracks that bring Music Hall raunchiness to the modern ear. Whistle For the Choir had me feeling sentimental ...

Dreamwave expressionist Pastel Ghost is as visually striking as she is musically. Pastel Ghost sounds exactly like her name suggest, colorful and ethereal, her vocals echo in the background of spirited, moody beats. With album art painted in neon pinks and cyan, this Oakland synth-pop talent borrows aesthetic elements from vaporwave, as well as from Post-punk and electronica. Her production feels clean and spacey, the kind of lo-fi, nostalgic-for-80's sound that is so smooth and gentle, it's intoxicating. Perfect music to stare at your shoes to, Pastel Ghost's heavenly and distant voice, takes the listener away, to a serene plain, dark and dreamy. Her last album, Abyss, was released in 2015, and offers listeners 10 tracks of relaxing pop to chill out to. The songs all melt into each other, but the singles like Clouds and Embrace stand out as some of the catchiest, mellow dance tracks in the artist's repertoire. Pastel Ghost has a deep artistic quality; ...

One thing I've learned from studying bands in the Bay is that every group has a heritage and someone to pay homage to. Bang Data is a funky, Latin-alternative rock band from Oakland, California, that pays its respects to Credence Clearwater Revival and Latin-American musical tradition. The band derives their sound from traditional Cumbia music, hip-hop and rock, but like cultural alchemists, they mix and meld different traditions, hoping to create gold in the process. Formed in 2009 by Hip Hop emcee Deuce Eclipse, the band has been in Oakland for almost 10 years. As their website's bio describes them, "Bang Data is like California itself- built on Latin traditions but deeply hybrid in expression. After producing three original albums, Bang Data was invited to feature on Quiero Creedence, a compilation album of Latin-rock covers of Creedence Clearwater Revival. Their track, Fortunate Hijo (a cover of Fortunate Son) blends modern rock and rap, adding verses ab...

If you've been following Lil Skies recent rise to fame, you might've come across a feature with an especially pre-pubescent voice. That boyish voice belongs to the 14-year old Oakland rapper Suigeneris, one of only a handful of such young and talented musicians in rap. Not even old enough for a licence, Suigeneris is a foot shorter than the whole crew he rolls with, but confident and suave beyond his years. In the past few months, the boy-rapper has already built a considerable repertoire with songs like Now (ft. Lil Skies) , Pull Up , and his first album The Cheat Code that came out two weeks ago. Suigeneris has a long and promising career ahead of him so be sure to check him out and his music videos which are shot in Oakland. Below is the track list for Suigeneris's new album The Cheat Code .

Typically, I try to stick with Bay Area local groups to do profiles on, trying to find local talents that might fly under the radar with all the music coming out of Atlanta, LA, and the East Coast. However, there's underrated music everywhere and lately, I've found an up and coming artist who I feel I really need to talk about. Toronto's got some sleeping giants... Canadian rapper KILLY is among them, as he stirs from his slumber to release Surrender Your Soul , the moody and electrifying debut album from the artist who created Killamonjaro and Distance . The 20 year old musician began releasing tracks in 2016 to Soundcloud and YouTube, raising 15 million views for his breakout single Killamonjaro, in February of last year. Since then he's raised a modest following and recognition among rap circles for his ambient, emo-rap tone. Killy's style uses heavy voice modulators, accompany guitar and a rich depth of orchestral elements. The musician cited...

Nostalgia and music go together like Mac and Cheese. No Vacation, a band who's charming, indie mellowness hits home with kids who grew up on the music of The Killers , and Miike Snow, is leaving San Francisco, the town that raised them, for New York City. Their latest EP, titled Intermission , which came out in November of 2017, reflects transition, saying good bye to their hometown and the past, for a new future in Brooklyn. With life always bringing change, it's nice to have a little nostalgia to keep rooted into something. The dream pop quartet, composed of  Sabrina Mai, Marisa Saunders, Nat Lee, and Harrison Spencer formed in 2015 to produce the Summer Break Mixtape  and their album Amo XO . No Vacation's alt-pop serenity takes me back to the  worry-less  summer of 11th grade and lazy days laying in bed with sunbeams cracking through the blinds. Listening to songs like August and   Dræm Girl  with my head back on the pillow, I'm in a dream of ...

The Warfield was in for a treat this weekend... BROCKHAMPTON gave outstanding back to back performances at San Francisco's Warfield Theater on the 3rd and 4th. A relatively new group on the meteoric rise to fame, this Hip-Hop collective produced three albums in 2017 alone, gaining a cult following in the millions. Celebrating the completion of their Saturation Trilogy (Named after their debut album), Brockhampton has been on tour since mid January 2018, marking March 3rd as their first ever concert in San Francisco. The group will conclude the Love Your Parents   Tour  on March 8th, at The Van Buren in Phoenix, Arizona. Self proclaimed as "The Internet's First Boy Band" the members of Brockhampton (stylized as BROCKHAMPTON) all met online, exchanging messages and information over a Kanye West fan forum actively known as KanyeToThe . The band's founder, Kevin Abstract, posted on the forum asking if anyone would like to form a band with him, to which 30 peo...