John Cale, “Mercy.” John Cale‘s musical life has divided itself between rock and roll and the avant-garde. The Velvet Underground founder and droner-in-chief’s latest album, Mercy, feels more like the minimalist compositions of La Monte Young than VU’s rollicking and raucous “Sweet Jane.” But at 80, that’s probably to…

Red Rum Club, courtesy. We’ve got Canadian pop from Dan Mangan, alt-country gone minimalist from Rhett Miller of Old 97’s, folk from Hand Habits, a synth-pop lullaby from mmeadows, bruk revival from WheelUP and Kaidi Tatham, trumpet-flavored rock from Red Rum Club, shoegaze dream-pop from Bolinas and folk-pop harmonies…

Sylvan Esso performs at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley on Sept. 9, 2021. Adam Pardee/STAFF. BERKELEY — Sylvan Esso took took over the Greek Theatre on Thursday during the second stop of its Shaking Out The Numb Tour. Amelia Meath and Nick Sanborn wore their hearts on their sleeves in a music…

Sylvan Esso performs at The Greek Theatre in Berkeley on July 12, 2018. Norm de Veyra/STAFF. BERKELEY — On its current tour, North Carolina electro-pop and dance duo Sylvan Esso is sharing the stage with several handfuls of different artists. While most of the openers fit into the indie…