Luis Torres

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The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart: Your new best friend

By Luis Torres | September 23

New York‘s The Pains of Being Pure At Heart, who blend emotionally driven teenage drama with the fuzzed-out noise rock of bands such as Sonic Youth, were launched into the national indie rock limelight thanks to rave reviews from their self-titled debut album. In what is sure to be one of the most buzzed over shows in Chapel Hill this year, The Pains will appear at Local 506 next Tuesday with fellow critical darling Cymbals Eat Guitars.

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The Pneurotics are a musical ‘Match’

By Luis Torres | September 16

Many aspiring musicians turn to the Internet when hunting for a new drummer or bassist. Rich McLaughlin, lead singer and guitarist of Chapel Hill trio The Pneurotics, logged onto the Web in 2004 and found something more than a new band member — he found his future wife.“We met on Match.com,” said Mimi McLaughlin. “We could be in one of those commercials. I joke that Rich was on Match looking for a new bass player, and our first date was an audition.”

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ASG fails to 'Win Us Over'

By Luis Torres | January 24

Wilmington, N.C., four-piece ASG (formerly All Systems Go) is at its best for exactly three minutes and four seconds of its fourth full-length album, Win Us Over. That's how long opening track "Right Before Death" lasts, establishing the false image of a band with a healthy grasp of alternative rock and metal. Over palm-muted guitar experimentation that supplants a chorus, the band opens its album in regal fashion. Well-harmonized soaring vocals complete a track that is distinctive, energetic and entertaining.

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Hip-hop duo only half great

By Luis Torres | September 20

Grayskul is unknown, even speaking relatively for underground hip-hop artists. But on the act's sophomore album, Bloody Radio, some more established acts deem the record worthy of their presences. Obviously the no-name rap duo, consisting of the melodramatically named Counts Magnus and Draven, must have something drawing respect and attention to its otherwise standard goth-rap style. As soon as Count Magnus grabs the mic on the first track, that mystery is solved. As far as underground rap goes, he's destined for greatness.

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Lil' Wayne: American hero

By Luis Torres | September 13

In this day and age, the Billboard Top 40 yields almost no good music by my standards. A true music snob, I grimace at the thought of most of today's popular music, yet there is one artist blowing up right now who's trying new things on every release, and you can hear him on the radio on a daily basis. I'm speaking, of course, of New Orleans wordsmith Lil' Wayne, a.k.a. Weezy F. Baby. I can't quite put my finger on what it is about Wayne that appeals to me so much.

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Kanye comes out stronger than 50

By Luis Torres | September 13

Kanye West Graduation hip-hop 4 stars 50 Cent Curtis hip-hop 3 stars 50 Cent and Kanye West. They're rap's bad guys, rap's spoiled brats and rap's two biggest stars. The media - and the rappers themselves - have hyped their simultaneous album releases as an old-fashioned show down, with the loser getting out of town. 50 went as far as promising to stop doing solo music if he sells less than Kanye on opening week. Well, if sales reflect overall album quality, it may be time for 50 to start job hunting.

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Timbaland releases first album

By Luis Torres | April 26

Music Review Timbaland Shock Value 3 stars Five years ago, the possibility of a song featuring both Dr. Dre and Justin Timberlake would be met with doubt and disbelief. On Timbaland's Shock Value, though, such a song is almost commonplace given the group of oddball collaborations that highlight an otherwise spotty album from the Virginia hip-hop mogul. Dr. Dre laid out the blueprint for what a hip-hop producer's solo album should be like: not solo at all.

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Good Charlotte was never good, but come on

By Luis Torres | April 12

Music Review Good Charlotte Good Morning Revival 1 star When Chris Rock hosted the MTV Video Music Awards in 2003, Good Charlotte took the stage at the peak of its fame. That is, until Rock took the band down a peg with the one liner, "Good Charlotte? More like Mediocre Green Day." The members of Good Charlotte must have taken great offense to that, because with Good Morning Revival the band has set out to make Rock's criticism ring untrue.

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Mosaic almost up to Matador reputation

By Luis Torres | April 12

Music Review Love of Diagrams Mosaic 3 Stars Naturally there's pressure on any rookie band releasing its debut full-length on the revered Matador record label to be impressive. With Mosaic, Love of Diagrams is almost up to the challenge. The Australian trio is already a finely tuned post-punk band. Vocalist/bassist Antonia Sellbach and guitarist/vocalist Luke Horton trade singing duties throughout the album's 13 songs with perfect, frenzied delivery. Drummer Monika Fikerle matches their energy with her speedy style.

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Bang, Bang might be simple but that's OK

By Luis Torres | April 12

Music Review Bang! Bang! The Dirt That Makes You Drown 3.5 Stars Among waves of distorted bass and overdriven guitars, Bang! Bang! attacks bearing the energy suiting a band that sports two exclamation points in its name. With power chords and emphatic bass drums in tow, the band stampedes through The Dirt That Makes You Drown with the vigor of a Jack White who never gave up rock for art. Though the group hails from Chicago, Bang! Bang! sounds like it formed in the Franz Ferdinand-era British wave of jangly-rock.