Jared Bowers's Profile

Few labels can boast both the longevity and pedigree that Topshelf Records does, while also still maintaining the “wait, what label are they on?” quality when it comes to the bands on their roster.

Cincinnati ex-pat and all-around music geek Ill Poetic returns home with a new record in tow.

Is “punk rock” still a thing? Depends on who you ask, one supposes. The idea is alive and well, to be sure, but we’re knee deep in contrived notions of so many things, it’s almost impossible to tell sincerity from, well, most everything else.

Few bands are able to transition from heaviness to subtlety, sledgehammer sound to ambience, the way that mewithoutYou has managed. Over the course of 15 or so years, this post-hardcore/post-rock band has gone from overwhelmingly abrasive to downright weird to both, somehow, at the same time. And, somehow, they’ve remained absolutely true to themselves the entire time.

A co-worker is a big Hail The Sun fan. I told her that I hadn’t listened to them yet, and had no intention to do so, as it’s been awhile since I’ve gone into a show cold, with little or no knowledge of one of the bands performing. And I asked her to explain them to me, why she liked them.

Always thinking about what’s next - even while working on something for the here and now - Frontier Folk Nebraska are ready to premiere a brand-new video for their Record Store Day 2017 release. A Shake It Records and Rhinegeist joint release, this 45 split with The Tillers was offered in-store only during Shake It’s annual Record Store Day celebrations.

The trials and tribulations of creating music - and really, any kind of art - can be daunting. But change is inevitable, and even when it's expected it can cause some interesting things to happen. For Cincinnati progressive garage rock band Tooth Lures a Fang, change is more or less a part of who they are.

I honestly thought the highlight of the night was going to be getting to see Every Time I Die play new tracks from Low Teens, one of the best heavy albums to come out in the past half-decade and a personal favorite album from last year. I hadn’t actively listened to Taking Back Sunday for probably that whole half decade or so, much to my chagrin.

As they approach a milestone most bands never see - 20 years of existence - Tegan & Sara are looking back and keeping an eye on the future at the same time, with a poise and sense of purpose that’s hard to comprehend. Indie stalwarts turned mainstream hitmakers, Tegan & Sara find themselves on a trajectory neither saw coming.

It would be easy to dismiss the return of most bands after a lengthy “hiatus.” Money grabs and nostalgia mining are common occurrences, rarely indicative of any kind of actual desire to either perform or recapture what made a band so special in the first place. Sometimes, it’s a...

It’s something I’ve touched on before - the fact that musicians with any kind of solid foundation could always make the choice to coast on past accomplishments. Most don’t, some do, and others just go, “Yeah, well. Whatever. We have other plans.”  R.Ring falls...

Friends Frontier Folk Nebraska Rolls Out The Welcome Mat  The goal of most musicians is, more or less, to exhibit and express originality. Sometimes that means taking timeworn and road tested chords and ideas and making them your own. Sure, you run the risk of sounding fake or like...