Sentimentalist Magazine

Williamsburg Fashion Weekend: the Good, the Anarchic, the Freewheeling Spectacle

I’ve experienced Williamsburg Fashion Weekend since its inaugural unveiling in the ‘hood in 2006, and with the event now in its tenth season and back at Glasslands Gallery, the shows have become longer and more involved.

Billy Reid Transcends Decades at Eyebeam Studios, Fall/Winter 2012-13, Friday February 10, 2012

I may have punk roots, but a few of my favorite things have evolved to include other decades mixed with the present: glam, fur accents, worn leather jackets, slim silhouettes and floppy hats.

Southern-born gent Billy Reid had his first, full-on runway for men and women at Chelsea’s Eyebeam Studios tonight, keeping pre-show crowds tame with a scintillating mix of Dogfish ale and sultry blues… until the night began.

The Futuristic Psychedelia and Research Methods of Kasabian

This week, I had a chance to chat with Kasabian’s always-guitarist, sometimes-vocalist, songwriter Sergio Pizzorno. The chatty, upbeat Brit made for one of the easiest interviews I ever got, connecting all of the dots between my less connected stream of questions (we had to make the best of just a couple of minutes)…

Christine Owman: Now Hear This

The term “multi-instrumentalist” doesn’t really begin to describe the unconventional, über-talented Swedish singer/songwriter Christine Owman accurately. Owman is a one-woman show-stopper who takes on not merely a few, but almost twelve, instruments on her most recent album, Throwing Knives.

Sentimentalist Magazine Calls Out Top Twelve Releases of 2011

Why do the year-end lists always seem to come in tidy sums of ten, twenty-five, fifty, or a hundred? I would have gone and given you a baker’s dozen but I stopped myself at twelve, for fear of being overbearing. You know how overarching these lists can be.

Battle to the Top 5 Albums of 2011, Sentimentalist Mag Style

2010 was so much better,” I said throughout 2011, despite posting Salem’s “King Night” on New Years Eve to slam the door on that horrible chapter. I started dead-set on only doing a top five for a year where I barely spun anything released more than twice, but then I looked through my downloads and saw a lot of heavy-hitters…

Monogold: Now Hear This

Brooklyn’s Monogold brought their lush, ambient sound onto the scene in 2008 with their debut EP, We Animals, followed by a CMJ showcase, heralded as “one to see” by many. This led to immediate attention from the likes of Spin, who included their song “Feel Animal” among their year’s top ten. Not too shabby for a band just starting out.

What Would WIM Do? Aussie Rockers Dare to Dream

WIM took New York City by storm at CMJ 2011, tearing into local venues like a blizzard of glam-folk glitter and virtuoso pop force and defying any notion of simple genre categorization. The Sydney-based band, whose debut release is out on esteemed Aussie label Modular Recordings just this week…

Mandy Coon, Billy Reid, Antonio Azzuolo, Daryl K and Preen at NY Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2012

James Murphy was one of the first working Mandy Coon’s crowd as they were seated, appearing as a proud, nervous dad-to-be while the rest of us were zenning out to his intro music, which sounded like an undulating, futuristic heartbeat, building to its apex just as the show started.

The Kooks: The Future Sounds Like Sunshine

It’s been a few years since Luke Pritchard had taken up temporary residence in Williamsburg, Brooklyn for a break after the Kooks’ heavy touring in support of their debut album Inside In/Inside Out and I’d bump into him at local spots like Trash Bar. He’s now settled back in the UK, but earlier this summer, the Kooks returned to the States to play a few club venue shows and to shoot a new video in Los Angeles. I meet up with Luke in a penthouse at NYC’s Chelsea Hotel…