Andy Downing

Despite his intimidating name and his forceful, cinderblock-to-the-chest flow, Atlanta rapper Killer Mike (aka Michael Render) insists most of his days are filled with laughter. "I've been out on the...

Japandroids are en route to a gig in San Francisco and singer-guitarist Brian King has a boner. In fact, he's had many of them in the weeks since the hard-rocking...

Volcano! albums arrive about as frequently as the Summer Olympics, so it's fitting the art-pop trio took its name from a geological feature known for long periods of dormancy.The band...

Welcome back, Kelly Hogan. More than a decade after the release of her last solo effort, "Because It Feel Good," the singer makes a long-overdue return to the spotlight with...

Hollows kept things light on its self-titled debut, bashing through an array of catchy, summer-ready tunes steeped in '60s girl-group pop and melodic garage-rock.The hooks on the quintet's excellent sophomore...

Hollows kept things light on its self-titled debut, bashing through an array of catchy, summer-ready tunes steeped in '60s girl-group pop and melodic garage-rock.The hooks on the quintet's excellent sophomore...

Willis Earl Beal has a biography that sounds as if Charles Bukowski could have penned it. Beal's lived, at times, a harsh life, drifting between countless miserable part-time jobs, the...

Band name: BJ the Chicago KidSound: BJ, born Bryan Sledge, does Chicago's rich soul tradition proud on his latest album, "Pineapple Now-Laters," veering between socially conscious head-nodders (a cover of...

Band name: BJ the Chicago KidSound: BJ, born Bryan Sledge, does Chicago's rich soul tradition proud on his latest album, "Pineapple Now-Laters," veering between socially conscious head-nodders (a cover of...