Indie megastar Chan Marshall, better known as Cat Power, has a new philosophy that goes something like this: When life gives you lemons, you kick life’s ass and make a damn good album about it. Cat Power Sun Alternative Dive Verdict: 4 of 5 stars
At a certain point, the desire to explore these great states we call home from top to bottom, east to west and everything in between is manifested. For Dan Deacon, perhaps it’s his latest album, America, that cements these road tripping dreams. Dan Deacon America Electronic Dive Verdict: 3 1/2 of 5 stars
In “(500) Days of Summer,” 15-year-old Chloë Grace Moretz teaches, “Just because she likes the same bizzaro crap you do, doesn’t mean she’s your soulmate.” Rashida Jones is 36 and still hasn’t gotten the memo. “Celeste and Jesse Forever” Dive verdict: 1 1/2 of 5 stars
Ryan Gustafson has long been active in the Triangle music scene, and is finishing up a highly anticipated follow up to his 2009 debut.
“Premium Rush” exhilarates audiences in an unlikely manner, satiating the “need for speed” through the perspective of a cyclist. “Premium Rush” Dive Verdict: 3 of 5 stars
Filmmaker Dax Shepard wants to toss you into a souped-up Lincoln and race through towns that promise black eyes and broken noses. You want to go, too, but then you get in the car and realize he can’t drive stick. “Hit and Run” Dive Verdict: 2 of 5 stars
Pensive as it is playful, inventive as it is grounded in tradition, The Flute Flies’ debut is a triumph for a band formed amid tragedy. The Flute Flies Yes Means Maybe Indie Rock Dive Verdict: 4 of 5 stars
Musical compilations tend to capture the highlights of the represented genre, while also showcasing the individual sounds of the artists. Various Artists Viva Cackalacky! Latin Dive Verdict: 3 1/2 of 5 stars
While there’s plenty of local produce at the farmers’ market, Raleigh’s airwaves themselves will soon be teeming with homegrown material. Enter Little Raleigh Radio.
Rarely does a group of people come along whose mission is as infectious as its music. The Flute Flies, a collaboration of musicians from three separate Triangle-area bands, is best described as half supergroup and half troupe of cancer-battling crusaders. While The Flute Flies stand alone as a successful musical act, the pairing of the band’s music with the nobility of its cause makes it a prevailing humanitarian force. Comprised of Ivan Howard (The Rosebuds), Reid Johnson (Schooner) and Zeno Gill (Pound of Miracles), The Flute Flies first formed in the summer of 2008 to help one of their friends, Cy Rawls.
The latest release by Raleigh’s American Aquarium finds beauty in defeat. Burn. Flicker. Die. is the sixth studio album by the alt-country quintet, although it sounds like the sixteenth. But although bandleader and vocalist BJ Barham thinks he’s past his rock ‘n’ roll prime, the way he expresses this sentiment proves quite the opposite. American Aquarium Burn. Flicker. Die. Alt-country Dive verdict: 3 1/2 stars out of 5
As summer break comes to a close, student gamers have to begrudgingly abandon their controllers and keyboards in favor of textbooks and highlighters. While the concept of free time becomes a sorely missed pleasure, gamers are left only with memories of the high scores and boss battles of the past months.
Artists fry bigger fish than first-world woes. They don’t care about your misplaced Hilton reservations or your cold coffee. Neither do filmgoers, for that matter. “Queen of Versailles” Dive Verdict: 2 of 5 stars
I Was Totally Destroying It has long penned instantly accessible songs with an edge of raw emotion that set the band apart. But on Vexations, bold becomes mediocre and pop with a rock soul becomes rock with no soul. I Was Totally Destroying It Vexations Pop Rock Dive Verdict: 2 of 5 stars
The premise of Sumner James’ debut 29 Days was to create an album from start to finish over the course of one month. He managed that while embracing a new personal style of music to boot. Summer James 29 Days Electronic Folk Dive Verdict: 3 1/2 of 5 stars
Following in the steps of its well-known predecessor, “Coraline,” “ParaNorman” was expected to be equally astounding. However, the abnormal film came nowhere close to its counterpart. “ParaNorman” Dive Verdict: 2 of 5 stars
Greensboro-based band Holy Ghost Tent Revival showcases an energetic style of folk rock performed by its seven members. Drummer Ross Montsinger talked to Diversions writer Alex Dixon about the band since the departure of its founding bassist, Patrick Leslie, and its new album, “Sweat Like the Old Days,” due out Sept. 4. The band will perform at Cat’s Cradle on Friday.
Coming off a recently released live album recorded in Raleigh, Chatham County Line will bring its eclectic take on acoustic bluegrass to Cat’s Cradle on Saturday. Mandolin and fiddle player John Teer talked to Diversions writer Alex Dixon about plans for a new studio album, playing in the Triangle and old, abandoned gold mines
The dB’s have not released an album of new material in 25 years. But in their newest album Falling Off the Sky, they merge the jangle-pop sounds of their early 1980s works with a more mature take on lyricism. The dB’s Falling Off The Sky Alternative rock Dive Verdict: 3 1/2 of 5 stars
Whither the action movie of late? Now that we’re mired in pre-summer doldrums that comprise the film industry’s post-Oscar season hangover, the only offerings to fans of cinematic violence have been displays of mediocrity like “Act of Valor” and “Wrath of the Titans.” “The Raid: Redemption” Dive verdict: 4 of 5 stars