Brad Vargyas

February 9, 2006

“Woman is the Future of Man” | Sexual Evolution

By Brad Vargyas

It's utterly amazing how much action one man can get and still not have any idea about the true nature of women. In "Woman is the Future of Man," South Korean director Hong Sang-soo paints a vivid, if at times stoic, pic...

February 2, 2006

The Matador | Grabbing the Bull By the Horns

By Brad Vargyas

For an actor, few ideas are more dreaded that that of being typecast: so set in a certain role that the audience refuses to acknowledge you in other roles. Just ask Mark Hamill who still is recognized as space-age wunder...

May 19, 2005

The Dave Matthews Band | Stand Up | RCA

By Brad Vargyas

Dave Matthews Band had to have been feeling a certain amount of pressure going into the making of their new release Stand Up. With their 2001 album Everyday, they alienated some of their more core Bonnaroo-loving fans wh...

May 19, 2005

Spoon | Gimme Fiction | Merge Records

By Brad Vargyas

The image on the cover of Gimme Fiction recalls a popular image from fairy tale lore - that of the ill-fated Little Red Riding Hood. It's this sort of brooding essence mixed with colorful exuberance that Texan indie rock...

April 28, 2005

Hot Hot Heat | Elevator | Sire

By Brad Vargyas

It's become rather obvious that indie rock has taken over as the next logical progression in the popular music scene. Festival shows like Coachella have risen up from the extremely unlikely (who would have thought colleg...

April 14, 2005

Kaiser Chiefs | Employment | Universal

By Brad Vargyas

When you hear the first measures of "Everyday I Love You Less and Less" off of the Kaiser Chiefs' Employment, don't be fooled. You haven't accidentally put in a Roxy Music CD, nor have you magically been transported back...

March 31, 2005

The Mars Volta | Frances the Mute | Universal

By Brad Vargyas

The Mars Volta do not write albums for the timid. Those who seek feel good, pop songs about love and happiness that can easily fit into a radio station's play list are advised to look elsewhere.

January 20, 2005

The Hives Bring the Rock ‘n’ Roll to the Happiest Place on Earth

By Brad Vargyas

The Hives are something of the musical equivalent of Muhammad Ali, full of a sort of arrogance and swagger that lets everyone know that they distinguish themselves from the crowd. The Hives had the chance to go a full tw...

January 20, 2005

Low | The Great Destroyer | SubPop

By Brad Vargyas

Low, a slow core band hailing from the frigid icy tundra known to Westerners as Minnesota, have been around since 1994, formed as a sort of alternative to grunge. To date, they have achieved their biggest success when th...

November 4, 2004

The Black Keys | Rubber Factory | Fat Possum

By Brad Vargyas

It's certainly tempting to write off Akron, Ohio-based group the Black Keys as another one of the seemingly hundreds of the garage rock bands that have sprung up over the last few years.

October 27, 2004

Bernie Goes East

By Brad Vargyas

The death of a family member is probably the single most emotionally painful thing that we as human beings have to bear. The prospect of disappearing form this earth, never to return to our family and loved ones again, i...

October 27, 2004

Pixies Live Up to Legend

By Brad Vargyas

The Pixies are legends. Not legends in the sense of being instantly recognizable on the radio or MTV, but legends in their own right. Black Francis, Kim Deal, Joey Santiago and David Lovering were lucky enough to even b...

October 14, 2004

The Sax Man

By Brad Vargyas

When asked the question, "What is jazz?" by an onlooker at a session before his Sunday night performance, jazz saxophonist Branford Marsalis retorted with another question. "What is French? It's a language. Jazz is the l...