For as long as we’ve known her, Jenny Lewis has been intransient—jumping labels, dabbling in solo work, changing vocal styles. As Rilo Kiley’s royal couple—Lewis and guitarist Blake Sennet—joins Filter for a swanky evening in downtown Los Angeles, they walk the thin line separating maturity and, well, its inverse. Between ballsy comments of headstrong self-assuredness following stories of breaking down under grown-up studio pressure, it becomes apparent that after 10 years, Rilo Kiley is still figuring itself out.
Elsewhere, Filter takes an incisive look at the church of Common, learning how he manages to turn the other cheek in a world of gun-toting rappers as he discusses his feelings about being the unsung hero who’s already made it. Iron and Wine’s Sam Beam finds symbols in his geography, taking his tried-and-true formula of nomadic family myth-making to a bigger level. And, embroiled in a relationship rife with both bipolar disparities and genetic similarities, twin chanteuses Tegan and Sara reunite with their latest effort—a stark characterization of the middle class dream of white picket fences and financial security as a well-dressed lie.

Also, Filter gets an exclusive inside look at the legacy of the Happy Mondays as we pay tribute to some of Madchester’s maddest and brightest originals; we show some much deserved respect to the hilarious but short-lived MTV series and comedy troupe The State; get sweaty with the U.K. dance scene; and take a look at Joaquin Phoenix, Michael Muller and Marcos Johnson’s pet art project, “Another Night Upon Us.” In addition, St. Vincent, Maps, Earlimart, J*DaVeY, Savath & Salavas, Meat Puppets, directors Seth Gordon and The King of Kong and Danny Boyle and Sunshine, funnyman Bob Odenkirk, and some carefully chosen favorites care of Interpol. Join us, won’t you?