Author Archives: Kiran Puri

This is “The Animal Years”: folky, affecting and simple, but with all the individual pieces merging together to form something greater, something better. It does not pretend to be groundbreaking in style, but instead focuses on reinforcing the groundwork of folk music with its own personality. First and foremost is a penchant for insightful lyrics, […]

There is a stigma which seems to reside primarily among young people that classical music can be stiff and unapproachable. Last Thursday night, there were definitely coattails, high heels and compositions from over 200 years ago. But as 23-year-old Chinese phenomenon Yundi Li began his recital in Royce Hall, all those assumptions became obsolete. After […]

Percussive elements can often be the driving force behind a piece of music, encompassing its energy and guiding the direction of the song. But they are often limited or underexplored in popular music, as the melody tends to dominate the listener’s attention. Of course, that’s mostly with regard to what you hear on the radio. […]

Sondre Lerche and the Faces Down Quartet “Duper Sessions” Astralwerks Records A lot of pop music flirts with the influences that inspired its artist. It catches a seventh chord here and there and people can call it jazzy, or the lyrics tell a story and automatically it becomes folk. But more often than not, the […]

It is undeniable that Web sites like MySpace have served as catalysts for the growing popularity of smaller musicians over the past few years, providing them with a free method by which to spread word of their music. The Internet overall has essentially eliminated the barriers between fans and their favorite musicians, and newer artists […]

Neko Case “Fox Confessor Brings the Flood” Anti- Records With five solo albums and a stint with indie-rockers The New Pornographers under her belt, Neko Case has already garnered praise for her haunting voice and fresh approach to music. But she has never been as strong or developed as she is in “Fox Confessor Brings […]

From misogyny to Sept. 11, 2001 to a safety deposit box filled with feces, no subject is off-limits for comedy group the Upright Citizens Brigade. Nothing is dull. Well, almost nothing. March 4’s crew of UCB comedians, which included Andrew Secunda, a writer for “Late Night with Conan O’Brien,” and Sean Conroy from “Crossballs,” flexed […]