about contributors submissions book series advertising contests tour dates Mixed Media PopMatters Picks
|
|
David BernardReviews
Get Set Go: Ordinary WorldGet Set Go deal with vices and death and make them both fun to listen to. You've got 80 free minutes to listen to songs about suicide, right? [3 March 2006] Songs of Green Pheasant: Songs of Green PheasantJoin me on the murky banks of whatever river might exist in Sheffield. There we will find pheasant, green pheasant, and it will be folky and delicious. [20 February 2006] 
The Dammitheads: The Heart of the MatadorThey have the name of a heavy metal band, but they are as sparse and muscular as a rock and roll band can be. [16 February 2006] 
Toothfairy: FormativeVerbosity without the appropriate vocal melodies makes Toothfairy's electronic pop a frustrating 30-minute experience. [3 February 2006] 
Panic! at the Disco: A Fever You Can’t Sweat OutPretty boys in fancy suits want to make you dance to their heartbreak. Please refrain. [24 January 2006] 
Film School: Film SchoolThe search for America's Radiohead continues, but Film School might be in the running a few years down the road. [19 January 2006] 
Rocky Votolato: MakersThis is an album of refreshingly earnest songwriting and sweet vocals. Makers is as relaxed as cold lemonade on a summer afternoon. [18 January 2006] 
Cinderpop: Their Skies Are BeautifulAnother Canadian pop band delivers a CD that is anything but ho hum. [16 January 2006] 
Coloma: DovetailThis is a persistent record that is both haunting and comforting. It's not for fans of genres and subgenres, but for fans of music. It definitely applies to you. [13 January 2006] 
Ben Folds and WASO: Live in Perth [DVD]What is it about rock music mixed with an orchestra that makes people giddy?" [12 January 2006] 
Amandine: This Is Where Our Hearts CollideSwedish roots-folkers are steeped decidedly in Americana. I guarantee that a taste test will surprise you. [4 January 2006] 
Rosie Thomas: If Songs Could Be HeldSub Pop's singer/songwriter is sweet-voiced and oft-hyphenated. Her new album will turn you home stereo into a coffee shop soundtrack. [15 December 2005] 
The Paddingtons: First Comes FirstIf you found this Paddington in a British train station with a polite tag attached to it, you would probably decide to leave it rather than accept it into your quaint home. [1 December 2005] 
Page France: Hello, Dear WindGive a man two chords and a grab bag of religious imagery, and he'll give you a song. Teach him to create two chords, and he'll never be hungry for new material again. [22 November 2005] 
Johnny Society: Coming to Get YouA CD that sounds like bar band classic rock. Only it ain't classic, and the rocking ability is hidden under labored lyrics. [21 November 2005] 
Snowglobe: Doing the DistanceIndulge your inner child and satisfy your outer adult with Snowglobe's ever-shifting pop rock. [18 November 2005] 
Ashton Allen: DewdropsPleasant, lazy pop music with not enough specifics and too many tried and trues. Beware, or Ashton Allen will steal your girlfriend. [14 November 2005] 
The Crimea: Tragedy RocksTalented UK band The Crimea release an amazing UK album. Americans will have to wait until 2006 to buy a bloated, merely great version. [9 November 2005] 
Tim Fite: Gone Ain’t GoneGood 'ole white homeboy from Brooklyn mixes bargain bin samples and a southern accent. Oh, and he perpetuates a myth that he was born without blood. Are the two related? Do we care?" [8 November 2005] 
The Happy Bullets: The Vice and Virtue MinistryThe Happy Bullets' new album shares its name with the Afghani governing body that was in charge of keeping cassette tapes and short skirts out of its country during the Taliban's rule. The adage, 'You can't judge a book by its title related to extremist Islamic groups,' rings true. [1 November 2005] 
Liz Phair: Somebody’s MiracleLiz returns from her experiment in mainstream pop with another mainstream pop record. She's as catchy and as banal as ever. [25 October 2005] 
Mew: And the Glass Handed KitesProg rock dynamics with easily digestible pop song lengths might make American rock fans spring for a European import. [21 October 2005] 
Death Cab for Cutie: Drive Well, Sleep Carefully [DVD]The goodness of this film relates directly to the viewers' like or dislike of Death Cab for Cutie songs. [19 October 2005] 
Castanets: First Light’s FreezeThis spare, creepy album is often pleasant and always surprising. Bearded zombies in love: I've got your soundtrack. [12 October 2005] 
The Sun: Blame It on the YouthThe first DVD album in the world comes from the Sun. Fourteen videos plus 14 songs equals 28 things that could go wrong. Surprisingly, not many things do. [23 September 2005] 
The American Analog Set: Set FreeOne of the quietest bands in the world (sporting a drummer) prove that you can record some excellent songs without a Marshall stack (most of the time). [20 September 2005] 
Jack’s Mannequin: Everything in TransitSomething Corporate's lead singer softens the band's already pretty soft edge and creates the first adult contemporary CD with a parental advisory sticker. [14 September 2005] 
Stellastarr*: Harmonies for the HauntedIf good artists borrow and great artists steal, then Stellastarr* need to pull on the ski masks, conceal the handguns, and park the getaway car nearby. Libraries are for hacks. [13 September 2005] 
Novillero: Aim Right for the Holes in Their LivesLeave it to a band of Canadians to create one of the most literate, catchy pop records of the year. Dust of your hippest pair of reading glasses and most vintage pair of dancing shoes; you'll need them both. [9 September 2005] 
Richard Swift: The Collection Vol. 1As a means of introduction, Secretly Canadian has lovingly repackaged two Richard Swift discs into one two-disc volume. You'll be glad you met him. [8 September 2005] 
Fine China: The Jaws of LifeFine China aren't from China at all. But is their quite good pop music British or American? Let's discover, shall we?" [6 September 2005] 
José González: VeneerThe O.C. discovers the next Nick Drake. His blood's Argentinean; his passport's Swedish; his music is mope-folk; your reaction is pleasant. [31 August 2005] 
Kate Earl: Fate is the HunterKate Earl proves that the world is big enough for two attractive Alaskan women to mix pop, jazz, and blues. [18 August 2005] 
Windsor for the Derby: Giving Up the GhostQuestion: How can a 30-minute CD sound much longer? Answer: Give each song only a verse, play only two chords, forget to boost the vocals in the mix, buy a drum machine from 1987, and stretch each song longer than it was ever meant to stretch. [11 August 2005] 
Absentee: Donkey Stock EPAbsentee's lead singer often sounds emotionally absent from the excellent folky backing music, giving the idea that he should be absent altogether. [5 August 2005] 
Baby Teeth: The Baby Teeth AlbumTeetering between campy fun and just plain bad, Baby Teeth offer a confusing and ultimately frustrating platter of head-scratching rump-shakers. [20 June 2005] |
Now on PopMatters
Features
:. Re-Meet the Beatles: PopMatters Salutes the Still Fab Four :. Hitting ‘The Road’ with Director John Hillcoat
Columns
Negritude 2.0: The Death and Rebirth of Black Glossies The Rockist: We All Know the Way to Sesame Street
Blogs
Short Ends and Leader: Poitier Portraying Another Magic Negro: She’s Blind, So Race Don’t Matter
Music
:. Lady Gaga: The Fame Monster :. Felt: Felt 3: A Tribute to Rosie Perez :. Mark Eitzel: Klamath :. Michael Hurley: Ida Con Snock :. Brock Van Wey: White Clouds Drift on and On :. The Paper Chase: Someday This Could All Be Yours, Vol. 1 :. The Melloncollies: Goodbye Cruel World
DVDs
:. Virtual JFK: Vietnam If Kennedy Had Lived :. Easy Rider 40th Anniversary :. Eminem: Live from New York City
News
:. ‘Modern Warfare 2’ video game scores record sales in launch :. INTERVIEW:Tom Arnold is a lovable loser , and open about it :. Jazz pianist reflects on his influences in his first piano concerto :. INTERVIEW:Wes Anderson meets Roald Dahl in ‘Fantastic Mr. Fox’ :. INTERVIEW:It’s ‘Tuesday Night’ again for Sheryl Crow :. Libraries turning a page with cafes, chat rooms and flat screens
|
