matt ashare

Latest Articles

On the racks

Nelly Furtado, Frank Black, Pearl Jam, Fatboy Slim, and Luna.
June 20
By MATT ASHARE | October 27, 2008

Lack of talent, charisma, and/or personality can prevent a good band from achieving greatness — but too much of a good thing can also be a problem.
Joan As Police Woman lets her guard down
By MATT ASHARE | September 16, 2008

Rock therapies

A little over four years ago, the Boston music scene lost one of its cuter couples when singer-songwriter Blake Hazard and guitarist/producer John Dragonetti left town for LA.
Blake Hazard and John Dragonetti work it out
By MATT ASHARE | July 22, 2008

Boston music news: July 11, 2008

The New Year, a band the Kadanes started with Chris Brokaw on drums a decade ago, are still a going concern.
Notes on the New Year
By MATT ASHARE | July 08, 2008

Fortunate one

It was no surprise to find Chris Brokaw in Hawaii last week, just two Saturdays before he’s due back in Cambridge to pull a double shift upstairs at the Middle East.
Chris Brokaw is booked solid
By MATT ASHARE | July 07, 2008

Geography lessons

"You could put us in Anchorage or Alaska or Antarctica or even somewhere in the Himalayas, and at heart we’d still be from Boston.”
Street Dogs remain Boston to the core
By MATT ASHARE | June 24, 2008

Boston music news: June 13, 2008

After three EPs, Ketman are ready to release a full-length album.
Notes on Ketman and more
By MATT ASHARE | June 10, 2008

Remasters of the universe

The adage “All things come to those who wait” tends not to find too many useful applications in rock and roll.
The ‘definitive’ Mission of Burma
By MATT ASHARE | June 09, 2008

Rock relaunched

Jeff Robbins is something of a rock star — just not the kind who plays Super Bowl halftime shows or collects Grammys.
Orbit resume their aborted mission
By MATT ASHARE | June 02, 2008

Boston music news: June 6, 2008

The local rap duo 7L & Esoteric head east on their new full-length.
Notes on 7L & Esoteric, Travels, and Mission of Burma
By MATT ASHARE | June 02, 2008

Quitting time

Sometimes you just gotta eat shit.
Lock and Key close up shop
By MATT ASHARE | May 28, 2008

’Round the outside

Although music isn’t necessarily getting more political in content these days, it does seem to be borrowing a trope from the political world.
The most popular artists in our BMP have indie roots
By MATT ASHARE | May 19, 2008

Boston music news: May 23, 2008

There are two worthwhile benefits coming up this week.
Notes on the Submarines and two great local benefits
By MATT ASHARE | May 19, 2008

Jazz hands

There was a time when it was easy to hate Geoff Farina. Well, maybe hate is too strong a word.
Geoff Farina’s new Glorytellers
By MATT ASHARE | May 19, 2008

Hot and cold

Bands and artists do have a way of coming and going here in Boston.
A revved-up Bang Camaro and techno Freezepop lead the way
By MATT ASHARE | May 07, 2008

Buggy

Seattle’s Presidents of the United States of America were the right band from the right place at the right time when their homonymous debut flew up the charts back in 1995.
Chris Ballew’s POTUSA
By MATT ASHARE | May 06, 2008

Scoring points

A tap-dancer, a magician, and an eight-piece horn section. According to a recent Web-site missive from Tiger Saw, the latest incarnation of the Newburyport-based indie collective includes all three.
Tiger Saw show some animation
By MATT ASHARE | May 06, 2008

Dead Child

From the first monster-metal riff and warlock scream, it’s pleasantly obvious where Dead Child are headed on their full-length debut.

Attack | Quarterstick/Touch and Go

By MATT ASHARE | April 29, 2008

Zedek’s æsthetic

Thalia Zedek is hunched over a pint at the Cambridge Brewing Company, looking a bit like a grizzled veteran of some sort of mythical rock-and-roll war.

Thalia continues to move beyond Come

By MATT ASHARE | April 29, 2008