Elastic Dance Moves: Still Woozy Jon Simmons January 28, 2019 Concert Reviews, Featured, Reviews Still Woozy nails the dance moves, but needs more music. 1/22/19 - The Sinclair On a Tuesday night at The Sinclair, a sold-out crowd trickled in to see Jonathan Something, a three-person band, play the...
Album Premiere: Rock City by The Maxims Jon Simmons November 5, 2018 Featured, Local Spotlight, Premiere Some albums invite you into a time capsule; others strap you in the cockpit and press light speed ahead. Rock City, The Maxims' debut full-length album, kicks down the garage door and enters a 1970s punk...
Song Premiere: “Always Wasted” by The Drunk Monkeys Jon Simmons May 22, 2018 Featured, Local Spotlight, Premiere Formed in early 2014, The Drunk Monkeys are out to subvert expectations. “Always Wasted,” the title of the single from their debut eponymous album (out May 29), might conjure up imagery of wild,...
Song Premiere: “House Party” by Floyd Fuji Jon Simmons March 29, 2018 Featured, Local Spotlight, Premiere "A house party from hell would be one where a bunch of people come in and don't dance. Someone plays ‘Bodak Yellow,’ twice. Everyone stands against the wall and they don't move around. It's crowded and...
Album Premiere: Glory the Night by Atlas Lab Jon Simmons July 10, 2017 Featured, Local Spotlight, Premiere The refrain of "Glory Be" from Atlas Lab's new album, Glory the Night, goes, "Glory be the fast food / glory be the rest stops / glory be the pavement / glory the night." The repetition is more than just...
Keyboard Defibrillation: COIN Jon Simmons May 8, 2017 Concert Reviews, Featured, Reviews Frontman Chase Lawrence was electrifying. Everyone else—not so much. 5/3/17 – The Sinclair A synth base droned, the crowd yowled, and lights flickered across a looming gravestone prop whose...
Song Premiere: “Bully” by Alec Hutson Jon Simmons April 17, 2017 Featured, Local Spotlight, Premiere If you visit the Holocaust memorial in Boston, you may notice a poem engraved into a black marble slab. It’s written by German Lutheran pastor Martin Niemöller: First they came for the Socialists, and I...
Boston’s Best Local Albums of 2016 Jon Simmons January 18, 2017 Featured, Local Spotlight The time for year-end lists has passed, but it's not too late to call attention to the albums our staff selected as 2016's best local releases. From funk to homegrown folk flavors, we were impressed by...
8Pivot!? Damn, It’s Lit: Saba Jon Simmons November 8, 2016 Beantown Beats, Columns, Concert Reviews, Featured, Reviews 11/4/16 – The Middle East - Upstairs If you know Saba, you probably know him because of ties to Chance the Rapper. Saba, a 22-year-old rapper from the west side of Chicago, grew up trading bars with...
7.5Skintight Funk Album Review: Young Love by Biscuits & Gravy Jon Simmons October 4, 2016 Album Reviews, Featured, Local Spotlight, Reviews Sometimes, you just wanna dance to some funky pop songs about sexual tension. With their sophomore album, Young Love, Biscuits & Gravy secure their spot as Boston’s horniest pop-funk balladeers. The...