Reverbiage: Stories from NPR tagged 'intricate'

One Day International: Irish Indie-Pop

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 14:54:00 EST

Produced by Bell X1 guitarist Brian Crosby, One Day International's Blackbird is full of melodic and intricate lullabies. Frontman Matt Lunson's emotional vocals tell stories of lovers and strangers, while the band's string and piano arrangements draw comparisons to Rufus Wainwright and Keane.

North Carolina's Annuals: 'Such Fun'

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 14:22:00 EST

Intricate, melodic and vivid: The sound of North Carolina's Annuals is the epitome of sunny indie-pop. The band's thoughtful harmonies, anthemic orchestration and percussion, and bright electronics are given an excellent showcase on Annuals' new album, Such Fun.

Nick Cave, A Dark, Intricate Songwriter

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 09:37:00 EDT

Australian singer Nick Cave and and his band, the Bad Seeds, are best known for angry, twisted, ballad-like lyrics. Their 2008 album, Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!!, was inspired, in part, by the Biblical story of Lazarus. It is Cave's 14th studio album.

Dr. Dog: The Lillywhite Session

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 10:13:00 EDT

Dr. Dog's fifth album, Fate, has already drawn great praise from critics and fans. Here, the rapidly rising Philly band performs four songs with the legendary Steve Lillywhite at the production board. The group remains true to its bouncy rock style throughout the set, mixing intricate harmonies with '60s pop beats.

Chasing The Melodies of Conlon Nancarrow

Sat, 26 Jul 2008 16:00:00 EDT

When people think of the player piano, they usually think of Sting-era ragtime music. But during that era, a composer named Conlon Nancarrow created incredibly intricate pieces for the player piano that sound like a turn-of-the-century roadhouse gone berserk.

Mike Meier: 'Rosenbach'

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 10:40:00 EDT

Making solo, instrumental acoustic guitar work engaging outside of live performance is very difficult. Washington, DC guitarist Mike Meier manages to do so on his flamenco style classical guitar record, appropriately titled Acoustic Guitar, offering interesting and concise musical ideas through masterful fingerpicking. The highly intricate, live-recorded instrumental guitar work makes the record immediately enticing — at times captivating.

Nellie McKay Reveals 'Cavendish'

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 17:01:00 EDT

Witty singer-songwriter Nellie McKay had three days to write and record a song. The end result is an intricate three-part tune named after a London hotel.

The National: Hauntingly Reflective

Thu, 30 Aug 2007 16:12:00 EDT

The National's intricate wordplay, catchy choruses and elegant arrangements have earned the indie-rock band comparisons to groups both stately and unpredictable. The band combines countrified folk and traditional rock, with a doomstruck grace that gets under the skin.

In 'Deep Water,' a Sailor Who's Lost His Bearings

Fri, 24 Aug 2007 00:00:00 EDT

British documentary is disturbing, unnerving and wire-to-wire involving -- the story of a dream that got so wildly out of hand that it ensnared the dreamer in an intricate trap of his own creation.

Minus the Bear: Intricate but Heartfelt

Mon, 16 Jul 2007 16:35:00 EDT

Minus the Bear's brightly appealing indie-pop may be dispensed with remarkable technical prowess -- complete with precise guitar work and complex time changes -- but it also benefits from the band's sweetly personal lyrics and flair for writing power-pop hooks.

Low's Hypnotic New Album: 'Drums and Guns'

Tue, 20 Mar 2007 13:15:00 EDT

Hailing from Minnesota, Low made a name for itself by playing slow, intricate songs. The band's eighth album, Drums and Guns, presents hypnotic, textured drones that are punctuated with cranky guitars.

Medieval Mosques Illuminated by Math

Thu, 22 Feb 2007 08:59:00 EST

Historic buildings in the Islamic world are often covered with breathtakingly intricate geometric designs. Both artists and mathematicians have long puzzled over them, wondering how the patterns were created. A new study suggests the artisans worked from templates that drew upon advanced math principles.

The Intricate, Cinematic World of 'Hugo Cabret'

Fri, 09 Feb 2007 10:53:00 EST

In The Invention of Hugo Cabret, author and illustrator Brian Selznick uses a striking combination of text and drawings to tell the story of Hugo, an orphan in Paris, and a reclusive genius from the early days of silent film.

The Slip: A Jam Band Turns to Rock

Thu, 11 Jan 2007 14:05:00 EST

The Slip's music seems at first like straightforward indie-rock, but its subtle and intricate layers -- the likely product of the group's jam-band roots -- reveal themselves over time. Its three members have been together since the early '90s, when they attended high school together.

The Slip in Concert

Fri, 01 Dec 2006 13:00:00 EST

The music of The Slip seems at first like straightforward indie-rock, but its subtle and intricate layers reveal themselves over time. After meeting and graduating from college, the trio went on an intense touring schedule that's seen it at Bonnaroo, South by Southwest and Bumbershoot.

Dorothy Ashby and a Harp That Swings

Wed, 15 Nov 2006 21:42:00 EST

Ashby swings, plain and simple. When she plays some mid-tempo scooting-along tune, all the stock riffage and jazz bravado common on so many '50s records disappears. Leading her chamber group, she operates in an unassuming way, leaping through intricate arpeggios that no other jazz instrumentalist could attempt.

In Wheelchair, College Trumpeter Marches Along

Fri, 03 Nov 2006 16:15:00 EST

Among the members of this year's University of Louisville marching band is a musician who is blind and doesn't walk. At last night's game against visiting conference rival West Virginia, Patrick Henry Hughes was in the trumpet section, in a wheelchair pushed by his father. The blonde young man, holding his silver trumpet in a white uniform, was spun around the field by his father, who wore a red Louisville jacket. The two attend all practices and halftime performances, even through the most intricate formations.

Rodrigo y Gabriela: Elegant and Rollicking

Tue, 31 Oct 2006 15:11:00 EST

The music of Rodrigo Sanchez and Gabriela Quintero attempts to reconcile their love of heavy metal music with their traditional style of Mexican guitar playing. Their self-titled debut combines Sanchez's intricate fingerpicking with Quintero's smooth melodic style -- and works wonderfully.

The Slip: Rock with Intricate Layers

Mon, 30 Oct 2006 16:56:00 EST

The music of The Slip seems at first like straightforward rock, but its subtleties reveal themselves over time. The band's intense touring schedule has included appearances at Bonnaroo, South By Southwest and Bumbershoot.

Gran Bel Fisher: The Wonders of Being Alive

Tue, 03 Oct 2006 16:15:00 EDT

Fisher's music revels in the wonders of being alive through intricate piano-voice-and-guitar arrangements: From melodic ballads to rocking anthems, it all traces back to his early encounters with mortality.

Waiting Game: A Reporter's First Launch

Mon, 03 Jul 2006 18:16:00 EDT

This is the first space shuttle launch I have ever covered. And it turns out that the trip to Kennedy Space Center isn't anything like I expected. In a world of contrasts, a horde of reporters rush past surf shops and ice cream stands to hear intricate analysis of the weather.

At the Intersection of Folk and Pop

Mon, 22 May 2006 14:20:00 EDT

Tim Seely's debut, Funeral Music, is a beautiful and intricate folk-pop album brimming with atmosphere. Seely briefly made a name for himself as the frontman of The Actual Tigers, an ambitious and talented pop unit that was cruelly lost in record label woes back in 2001.

Hip-Hop to the Nth Degree: Hyphy

Tue, 04 Apr 2006 16:11:00 EDT

Youth Radio's Tapan Munshi explains hyphy, a rap style out of the suburbs of San Francisco that is defined by a fast pace and intricate wordplay. It has been popular in the Bay Area for a while, but it's just now getting national attention. The godfather of hyphy -- rapper E-40 -- has an album in Billboard's top 100.

Matt Pond PA Powers Up the Chamber Rock

Thu, 08 Dec 2005 00:00:00 EST

Several Arrows Later is the latest release from the chamber-pop quintet that is Matt Pond PA. On it, the group aims attains a more focused and energetic sound to back up intricate arrangements and pithy lyrics.

Noli Novak: Portrait of a Stipple Artist

Sun, 24 Jul 2005 00:00:00 EDT

The trademark illustrations in The Wall Street Journal look like engravings. But they're actually intricate pointilist portraits. Petra Mayer visits stipple artist Noli Novak at her New Jersey studio.