This... is BoomBox

Featuring Zion Godchaux, the son of ex-Grateful Dead singer Donna Jean Godchaux, BoomBox offers a refreshing new spin on the jam band genre, incorporating elements of electronic music into the usual blend of jazz, dub, blues, funk, and rock. Treating musical ideas in an Igor Stravinsky-esque copy/paste fashion, the two-piece develops short, catchy motives—a guitar riff, a synth line, or a head bob-worthy drum break—and creates songs through an additive/subtractive technique. The building and subsequent deconstruction of texture and timbre serve as the primary sources of musical interest. A persistent groove, however, is present throughout every BoomBox piece, making every track off of the band's debut and Live Music Archive bootlegs irresistibly danceable. In a sense, BoomBox bridges the gap between the classic Phish or Dead jam rock and genres like turntablism-centered independent hip hop and psybient. Although Godchaux's thin vocals admittedly leave something to be desired, this music is simply not about vocal chops; this is about the groove in its purest sense. As BoomBox's "Midnight on the Run" implores: "Better put 'em on, your dancing shoes." Enjoy.

Stereo
Tonight
Midnight on the Run

☢4☮

The group of musicians that once was an outlet for Thom Yorke to perform his 2006 electronic solo effort is seeming more and more like a bona fide band. Atoms for Peace now has an official website complete with a store that sells posters, water bottles, and shirts. Although the site's design is obviously a reworking of Radiohead's W.A.S.T.E., the simple fact that time (likely in the form of Stanley Donwood) was invested in created a legitimate online home for the band implies that AfP is more than a fly by night ordeal. While reports maintain that AfP's gigs are high energy and feature Yorke in peak form vocally, the Radiohead purist in me grieves at the thought of never seeing Thom, Jonny, Ed, Colin, and Phil on stage together again—no less an LP8. Whatever the case may be, you can count on Muzjiks to bring you the latest. The beast has risen again.

Jam (Live in Oakland [4/14/10])
Follow Me Around (Live in Oakland [4/14/10])