The SunBreak » ARTS_FEATURED

SunBreak premiere! Watch Murder Vibes’ new video “Wicked Girl” here

Tony Kay — Mon, 27 Oct 2014 10:52:28 +0000

We here at the SunBreak are genuinely stoked to be premiering the newest video from Seattle-based duo Murder Vibes. Vocalist/rhythm guitarist Peter Hanks and multi-instrumentalist Jordan Evans have crafted a sterling debut—eleven tracks that flow between sinewy, gothic dance pop and epic heart-on-sleeve romance. Hanks’ soaring voice provides a beating, passionate heart amidst the glacial shimmer of Evans’ atmospherics, in a blend that evokes everything from Roy Orbison to David Bowie to The The. “Wicked Girl” is one of their new album’s indisputable highlights, an achingly lovely slice of grand balladry that gets richer and more thrilling with each listen. […]

Ecstasies sometimes, sometimes not

Philippa Kiraly — Mon, 13 Oct 2014 14:52:35 +0000

Choral Arts’ program, Bach Plus: The Ecstasies Above, performed at St. Joseph Parish Friday night, was a draw for anyone who loves Bach cantatas and for those who love the adventures of new choral music, knowing they would be sung by one of our most accomplished choirs under conductor Robert Bode. The new choral works, “The Ecstasies Above” from 2006 by Tarik O’Regan and “The Deepness of the Blue” from 2012 by William Averitt, met every promise in both quality of the music and performance, as did two sacred pieces from the 19th century, Rheinberger’s “Sanctus” and Mendelssohn’s “Richter mich, […]

Kasabian Gives an Arena-Sized Performance at the Showbox

Tony Kay — Thu, 09 Oct 2014 16:59:25 +0000

It seems patently absurd to call a band who’s routinely enjoyed sold-out arena gigs in Europe (and a decade of superstardom in their native England) underrated, but damned if Kasabian isn’t just that—in the States, at least. On this side of the pond, the band went relatively unheralded in the explosion of UK acts that recharged pop in the early ’00’s (Arctic Monkeys and Franz Ferdinand, among them), and despite the odd festival gig, they never really rose beyond cult status in the US. Our loss. Initially slagged as derivative publicity mongers, Kasabian’s honed an addictive merger of Madchester dance […]

The Bad Things Carry On, ‘After the Inferno’

Tony Kay — Tue, 16 Sep 2014 16:55:12 +0000

[The Bad Things celebrate this week's release of their new album, After the Inferno, with a release party at Columbia City Theater Friday evening, September 19. Doors at 8:00 p.m; show at 9:00 p.m. Tickets--$10 advance, $12 day of show--are still available here.] It sounds strange to call a series of songs about death, alcoholism, thwarted love, larceny, and suicide inspiring. But After the Inferno, the latest full-length from Seattle underground cabaret stalwarts The Bad Things, always maintains a fighter’s spirit—and a brotherly bear hug of love—no matter how grave things get. The Bad Things have always reveled in that […]

Tony’s View of Bumbershoot, Day Three

Tony Kay — Fri, 05 Sep 2014 19:47:51 +0000

So in case you’re still playing along at home, here’s the view of Bumbershoot’s final day (Monday, September 1), from my cramped perspective. The Great: La Luz, per usual, oozed kitten-in-a-motorcycle-jacket coolness for their early set; Smokey Brights continued to forge a catchy through-line between heartland rock, new wave, shoegazer music, and garage rock—and they did it with buckets of energy and passion live; Shaprece commanded the End Zone Stage while her band and producer IG88 lent able accompaniment. If you’re looking for a beating, soulful heart amidst the incalculable coolness of modern electronic dance music, look no further. Speaking of the […]

Tony’s View of Bumbershoot, Day Two

Tony Kay — Fri, 05 Sep 2014 16:26:30 +0000

Maybe Bumbershoot 2014 should’ve renamed itself Reunion-palooza. Several of the acts playing throughout the weekend were either recently-reunited veteran bands on the comeback trail, or bands reuniting for one last big show before calling it quits. That phenomenon was resplendent on Sunday, with half of the 14 acts I saw falling under the reunion umbrella. Amazingly, every reunion band playing that day delivered solid-to-stellar turns onstage, contributing to a Day Two of remarkable consistency. Simply put, I loved (or at least really, really liked) every band I saw in action that day. The Great: The highly-anticipated reunion of The Replacements on the […]