Illinois quartet American Football may have broken up right after releasing its 1999 self-titled debut, but that album’s intricate guitar work, revolving time signatures and folksy singing pervaded beyond the band itself. The sound defined Midwest emo and profoundly influenced the “emo revival” over a decade later. Such was…

Monti It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the sheer volume of music on the internet. Don’t get me wrong, I love how platforms like YouTube, Bandcamp and Soundcloud have opened the floodgates of independent artists. But navigating the flood is easier said than done. That’s where RIFF steps in. We do the…

With the Great Pacific Garbage Patch reaching an estimated 1.6 million square kilometers, the long-term negatives of plastic have begun to overshadow its short-term usefulness. The double-edged sword of plastic’s bio resistance is on the mind of experimental San Francisco power couple Matmos on Plastic Anniversary. With their 11th album,…

Floridian musician Roberto Carlos Lange has been honing his experimental combination of Latin music and indietronica since 2009 under the name Helado Negro. On his 2016 album, Private Energy, Lange took a more vulnerable approach, pouring his ethereal production and singing into socially conscious introspection. This journey inward breaks new ground…

Whether they’re remembered for playing with Nirvana on MTV Unplugged in New York, or getting spat on for playing heartland rock to the SST crowd, Pheonix’s Meat Puppets never really got the break they deserved. Curt Kirkwood (guitar, vocals), his brother Cris (bass, backing vocals) and Derrick Bostrom (drums) godfathered…

Kamaal Williams will perform Friday at the Starline Social Club for the annual Noise Pop Music Festival. Hardly anyone goes to music festivals without at least one must-watch band. Still, it’s almost impossible to properly familiarize yourself with giant lineups like Noise Pop. Everything from maddening noise rock to sexy trap…

Aurora performs at The Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles on Feb. 20, 2019. Photos: Julia Kovaleva. LOS ANGELES — Norwegian luminary Aurora dazzled at a sold-out show at Fonda Theater on Wednesday with a spectrum of emotions through her exuberant brand of art-pop. Aurora Aksnes and her band supercharged her music, from the…

My Brightest Diamond. Courtesy: Catalina Florea. The challenge of parachuting into Noise Pop 2019 isn’t lost on Detroit’s Shara Nova. The mastermind behind the luminous experimental pop project My Brightest Diamond is thoughtfully preparing to bring her blend of classical technique and catchy songwriting to audiences who may be hearing her…

The Budos Band It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the sheer volume of music on the internet. Don’t get me wrong, I love how platforms like YouTube, Bandcamp and Soundcloud have opened the floodgates of independent artists. But navigating the flood is easier said than done. That’s where RIFF steps in. We…

Jonathan Capeci and Joey Beretta of Nightly. Cousins Jonathan Capeci and Joey Beretta have turned a chance encounter with a music video director into a new artistic direction for their band, Nightly. Even after signing a major label deal with Interscope, the two have worked hard to maintain their…