Bruce Springsteen

Twenty-five years after the release of its acclaimed second studio album The Lonesome Crowded West, American indie-rock band Modest Mouse is honoring its success with an explosive anniversary tour.

The effect is one of cheap maximalism buoyed only by stellar production and an exceptionally sparse smattering of pathos.

The album is an amalgamation of sounds and emotions from all over the musical indieverse — it’s a sampling platter, the ultimate indie tasting palette.

This aptitude for arena-worthy music makes Imploding the Mirage an overall exhilarating experience, one that offers much needed escape, excitement and hopefulness.

If music is a conversation, then I can block my ears to everyone around me; I commune only with the past. 

Not only did it pay homage to an era of rock that’s phasing out, but it was also an evocative image of Allison’s initial foray into music — alone, singing to herself in her bedroom.

Niall Horan brought his humble Irish charm to Mountain View last Saturday on the Bay Area leg of his “Flicker World Tour.”

Before you read any further, open up Spotify or Apple Music or Tidal or whatever service you use to listen to music, and put on “Called Out In The Dark.”

The club’s open mic Sept. 8, located at SoDoI Coffee Tasting House, included an amalgam of covers of classic crowd favorites and prodigious original student work.