Sep 11th, 2008 · Artist Hillary Carlip interprets shopping lists as if they were Rorschach ink blots. She selected a list sent by an NPR listener and created a character based on "clues." The result was "a little sinister" according to the list's actual author.
Jul 18th, 2008 · A more sinister cousin to short selling stocks is naked short selling.
May 20th, 2008 · Burial's "Ghost Hardware" features a warm Middle Eastern vocal hook, along with a clipped soul-singer sample featuring the words "love you" that hints at a desire for warmth and connection. But the crackly lo-fi production, the fall-off-a-cliff bass line, and nervous drums invoke existential terror.
Nov 17th, 2006 · Not content with musical convention, Chris Garneau restricts his soft voice to starts and stutters, as if it refuses to leave his lips. At its most fluttery, it brings to mind the likes of Elliott Smith and Sufjan Stevens, but Garneau breaks free of easy comparisons in "First Place!!!"
Oct 27th, 2006 · World/Inferno Friendship Society's countless members convene around Jack Terricloth, whose grinning, genial stage persona only amplifies what appears to be a sinister intent. It should be a mess, but it coalesces instead into a combination of Bruce Springsteen, The Pogues and the noise the devil makes as cities burn.
Jul 13th, 2006 · A vivid and unnerving ode to vampirism, "Red Hot Drops" does an exceptional job capturing its subject's sinister allure -- the surrender and ease of "draining with no pain" -- before rupturing into a rare moment of oddly funky release.
May 25th, 2006 · In his new project, Sunset Rubdown, Wolf Parade's Spencer Krug expands his compositional grasp to create a full-fledged rock opera. The jaunty "They Took a Vote and Said No" arrives complete with a hummable chorus and a sinister underbelly.
Mar 21st, 2006 · Donald Fagen has always been at his best when the forces arrayed against him have sinister motives and shady backstories. As a lyricist, he gravitates to the unseemly side of things, and when he finds them, he morphs into a crime-novel detective.