Vancouver’s Japandroids headlined a great triple bill at the Turf Club in St. Paul late Sunday night (and early into Monday morning). Unfortunately, copious amounts of booze lead to the end of Japandroids set dissolving into a bit of a train wreck, marring what until then had been a great night of music.

The over the top, prog-rock histrionics of Devonshire, England’s Muse certainly aren’t for everybody, and there seems to be a definite line drawn firmly in the sand between the band’s detractors and their supporters. That line is only bound to get more defined with the release of the trio’s relentlessly theatrical new record, The Resistance.

The best of the month of August as chosen by Culture Bully contributors.

There was plenty of room for dancing at the 7th Street Entry on Wednesday night as Seattle’s Throw Me The Statue came to town in support of their excellent new record Creaturesque, and it was a good thing too, as a lot of the people that were in attendance had their dancing shoes on and frolicked about to the band’s lively and entertaining set.

The fuse was never truly lit under the sparse crowd, and the show unfortunately fell flat despite the best efforts of the evenings headliners, Talib Kweli and DJ Hi Tek, performing together as Reflection Eternal once again.

Stories is not only my favorite album ever by a female artist, it’s one of my all-time favorite albums period…

Music video for “The Great Escape” by London’s the Rifles from “The Rifles EP.”

The Canadian two-piece does away with any hint of excess on this 36 minute record, thoroughly avoiding anything inessential to the spirit of the song, leaving only the good bits that truly burn and blister like the sun.

Natasha Khan’s angelic vocals soared throughout the intimate performance, despite her cheeky claim that she had “a frog in her throat—I’m hoping it turns into a prince.” She did cough a bit between songs, but whatever nagging problems she was experiencing did little to hinder her incredible vocals and captivating stage presence.

The best of the month of July as chosen by Culture Bully contributors.

The album strays into darker territory on the tracks produced by Homme, while the Scott Walker sound of the Last Shadow Puppets imbues the songs produced by Ford. It makes for a tremendously uneven listen, with the band struggling to deliver something new and challenging, while also sounding careful not to repeat themselves in any way.

As Monday’s sold out Dead Weather show progressed it became quite clear that the band is much more Alison Mosshart’s “side project” than Jack White’s, as she owned the stage and the songs while White was content to mostly stay in the shadows.