Music reviews, features, columns, and news. 2008-05-09T16:32:47Z Copyright (c) 2008, PopMatters.com ExpressionEngine tag:popmatters.com-listen,2008:05:09 tag:popmatters.com,2008:pm/reviews/article/5.58380 2008-05-09T07:01:01Z 2008-05-09T07:01:01Z Mike Schiller Unlike the "release everything we came up with" aesthetic of Ghosts I-IV, The Slip actually sounds like an album. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2008:pm/reviews/article/5.58074 2008-05-09T07:00:00Z 2008-05-09T07:00:00Z Kai Jones Infectious, irreverent and playful, Camille's vocal dexterity is more compelling than her comedy. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2008:pm/reviews/article/5.58181 2008-05-09T07:00:00Z 2008-05-09T07:00:00Z James Greene, Jr. HBO’s Kiwi sensation serves up some of their strongest material in a CD that could double as a pop-up book. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2008:pm/reviews/article/5.57291 2008-05-09T07:00:00Z 2008-05-09T07:00:00Z Ross Langager Ten years after Ol' Blues Eyes exited the world stage, a compilation of his movie songs reminds us of his signature vocal talents, but lacks vital context on Sinatra himself. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2008:pm/reviews/article/5.57675 2008-05-09T07:00:00Z 2008-05-09T07:00:00Z Adrien Begrand On their sixth album, the Finnish metal greats remember to provide a little substance underneath all the flash. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2008:pm/reviews/article/5.57661 2008-05-09T07:00:00Z 2008-05-09T07:00:00Z Anthony Henriques AZ releases yet another high-quality, even accessible album that is sure to fly completely under the radar of the mainstream, fueling the argument that he is one of the most underrated rappers ever. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2008:pm/reviews/article/5.57668 2008-05-09T07:00:00Z 2008-05-09T07:00:00Z Stuart Henderson The most successful world-music-for-dummies label that isn't Putumayo! ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2008:pm/reviews/article/5.58080 2008-05-09T06:59:00Z 2008-05-09T06:59:00Z Ron Hart The grimy, dirty middle-century New York City of legend made real. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2008:pm/reviews/article/5.58192 2008-05-09T06:58:01Z 2008-05-09T06:58:01Z Brendon Griffin John Coltrane makes it to Rio, as Brazil’s most unsung trumpeter pays the kind of unselfconscious tribute seldom heard up north. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2008:pm/reviews/article/5.58246 2008-05-09T06:57:00Z 2008-05-09T06:57:00Z Matthew Fiander No Use for a Name's new record has the sound of their old record, without the strong songs they used to deliver. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2008:pm/reviews/article/5.58218 2008-05-09T06:56:00Z 2008-05-09T06:56:00Z Filmore Mescalito Holmes Nice rarely gets the girl or produces a truly memorable ambient glitch record. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2008:pm/news/popwire/23.58404 2008-05-08T11:42:00Z 2008-05-08T11:42:00Z Chris Riemenschneider tag:popmatters.com,2008:pm/reviews/article/5.58352 2008-05-08T07:03:00Z 2008-05-08T07:03:00Z Daniel Rivera The legendary post-punk pioneers get Rhino's famous "Best of" treatment. Sadly, we all could have made this album ourselves. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2008:pm/reviews/article/5.58179 2008-05-08T07:02:00Z 2008-05-08T07:02:00Z Stuart Henderson Beautifully recorded, and alive with the unpredictable energy that drives their killer live shows, Kensington Heights demonstrates the band’s maturity, and their well-earned confidence. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2008:pm/reviews/article/5.58175 2008-05-08T07:01:00Z 2008-05-08T07:01:00Z Filmore Mescalito Holmes Props are in order as the seventh full-length from Ben Watkins defies expectations to be his most complete and diverse record yet. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2008:pm/features/21.57378 2008-05-08T07:00:00Z 2008-05-08T07:00:00Z Evan Sawdey Sun Kil Moon and Red House Painters' Mark Kozelek explains his unlikely inspiration, reflects on aging, and chooses beauty over catharsis. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2008:pm/reviews/article/5.58057 2008-05-08T07:00:00Z 2008-05-08T07:00:00Z Steve Horowitz Like a carnival mask, this public image really isn’t meant to fool you as much as to set the mood. The overriding vibe can be simply described as the sweetness of love. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2008:pm/reviews/article/5.57748 2008-05-08T07:00:00Z 2008-05-08T07:00:00Z L.A. Bryan It's slick. It's stolen. It's scary. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2008:pm/reviews/article/5.56855 2008-05-08T07:00:00Z 2008-05-08T07:00:00Z Will Layman The Russian-born jazz trumpeter makes a deeply felt and beautiful record that sits on the soft edge of the tradition. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2008:pm/reviews/article/5.57018 2008-05-08T07:00:00Z 2008-05-08T07:00:00Z Maura Walz Former Jump, Little Children frontman forges on with ethereal, lyrical pop melodies. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2008:pm/reviews/article/5.58173 2008-05-08T06:59:00Z 2008-05-08T06:59:00Z Dominic Umile The blend of minimal techno and house on Tanz, the debut full-length from French producer/DJs Delon and Dalcan is an all-party event. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2008:pm/reviews/article/5.56942 2008-05-08T06:58:00Z 2008-05-08T06:58:00Z Ron Hart Jacob Miller Lives On a wonderful testament to this late vocal great. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2008:pm/reviews/article/5.58191 2008-05-08T06:57:00Z 2008-05-08T06:57:00Z John Bergstrom One-time Inner City associate aims for the bargain bins with this insufferable set of pop tunes. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2008:pm/reviews/article/5.58244 2008-05-08T06:56:00Z 2008-05-08T06:56:00Z Matthew Fiander Once again, Jandek makes us question our assumptions about what music is and what it can do on. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2008:pm/reviews/article/5.57317 2008-05-07T07:01:01Z 2008-05-07T07:01:01Z Alan Brown A gutsy, experimental record which dares to be different, and proves that the Blondes are one of the more exciting groups around at the moment -- as close to synth-pop perfection as you're likely to get. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2008:pm/reviews/article/5.57434 2008-05-07T07:00:01Z 2008-05-07T07:00:01Z Marc A. Price Firewater blow up the laboratory and produce… a great pop record. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2008:pm/reviews/article/5.57628 2008-05-07T07:00:00Z 2008-05-07T07:00:00Z Michael Patrick Brady Margaret Wienk's folk noir enters a new realm, traveling through gorgeous fantasies and inspiring landscapes as she confronts the more sinister aspects of the real world. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2008:pm/reviews/article/5.57938 2008-05-07T07:00:00Z 2008-05-07T07:00:00Z Zach Schonfeld The acclaimed minimalist composer’s concept piece inspired by slain journalist Daniel Pearl is just as baffling in execution as it is in theory. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2008:pm/reviews/article/5.57091 2008-05-07T07:00:00Z 2008-05-07T07:00:00Z Dara Kartz Soulsville USA shows its relevance outside of Memphis with a pair of releases from Stax artists covering London and Detroit in their gritty soul sound. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2008:pm/reviews/article/5.58229 2008-05-07T06:59:01Z 2008-05-07T06:59:01Z Filmore Mescalito Holmes Jonathan Valentine finally follows up his classic 2005 debut with a myriad of IDM rockers compressed into EP form. Ding ding! ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2008:pm/reviews/article/5.55442 2008-05-07T06:59:00Z 2008-05-07T06:59:00Z Malia Hall Building on provocative soul, funk, and jazz, Eric Lau proves to be a heavily talented producer whose love for collaborating and creating shines through on this debut album. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2008:pm/reviews/article/5.57871 2008-05-07T06:59:00Z 2008-05-07T06:59:00Z Will Layman A seamless fusion of Jewish music and Afro-Cuban groove, this project from a Canadian trumpeter and a Cuban pianist is real "world music". ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2008:pm/reviews/article/5.58194 2008-05-07T06:58:00Z 2008-05-07T06:58:00Z Andrew Martin The Last Amateur is even more proof that Doe is one of the genre's best. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2008:pm/reviews/article/5.58071 2008-05-07T06:57:00Z 2008-05-07T06:57:00Z Lana Cooper The nerd rock favorites take too lingering of a walk down memory lane, revisiting older material in a way that seems more bitter than sweet. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2008:pm/reviews/article/5.58196 2008-05-07T06:56:00Z 2008-05-07T06:56:00Z Ross Langager There may well be an intriguing band hidden somewhere behind all of these sound washes, but a tad more structure is necessary to tease it out. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2008:pm/reviews/article/5.58076 2008-05-07T06:55:00Z 2008-05-07T06:55:00Z Aarik Danielsen The tuneful, semi-conventional folk rock of principal songwriter David Debiak and adorning it with the sounds of musical exploration. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2008:pm/blogs/sound-affects/34.58287 2008-05-06T12:30:00Z 2008-05-06T12:30:00Z Sean Murphy you rather have a beer with at The Regal Beagle? ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2008:pm/news/popwire/23.58314 2008-05-06T12:27:01Z 2008-05-06T12:27:01Z Thor Christensen tag:popmatters.com,2008:pm/news/popwire/23.58313 2008-05-06T12:21:00Z 2008-05-06T12:21:00Z Lawrence A. Johnson tag:popmatters.com,2008:pm/news/popwire/23.58312 2008-05-06T12:18:00Z 2008-05-06T12:18:00Z Luaine Lee It will be 10 years on May 14 since Frank Sinatra closed his ol' blue eyes for the last time. The singer who started as the swoon king to bobby soxers of the `40s became the legendary entertainer... ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2008:pm/news/popwire/23.58311 2008-05-06T12:15:00Z 2008-05-06T12:15:00Z Glenn Gamboa tag:popmatters.com,2008:pm/reviews/article/5.58270 2008-05-06T07:01:00Z 2008-05-06T07:01:00Z Ian Mathers Relentlessly high concept electronic duo relaxes the rules, except for one, and come up with a winning but divided record. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2008:pm/reviews/article/5.57659 2008-05-06T07:00:00Z 2008-05-06T07:00:00Z Mehan Jayasuriya Lush, Beatles-influenced pop that offers a glimpse of what a more well-adjusted Elliott Smith might have sounded like. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2008:pm/reviews/article/5.58250 2008-05-06T07:00:00Z 2008-05-06T07:00:00Z Andrew Martin Curumin is further proof of Quannum Projects' impressive roster that continues to innovate and diversify popular music. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2008:pm/reviews/article/5.57183 2008-05-06T07:00:00Z 2008-05-06T07:00:00Z Michael Keefe Americana singer-songwriter Joe Ely and accordion player Joel Guzman are very good in the intimacy of this live setting. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2008:pm/reviews/article/5.57387 2008-05-06T07:00:00Z 2008-05-06T07:00:00Z Sean Padilla A perfect fit for the Kill Rock Stars label, this Pan-African feminist baroque punk trio shows staggering promise on its debut album. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2008:pm/reviews/article/5.57673 2008-05-06T07:00:00Z 2008-05-06T07:00:00Z Adrien Begrand There's always room for a fun AC/DC rip-off, especially when it's this good. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2008:pm/reviews/article/5.57612 2008-05-06T07:00:00Z 2008-05-06T07:00:00Z Jason MacNeil Post-Smiths, pre-Britpop band the Wedding Present dust off “oldies” for this impressive, satisfying guitar-saturated record, a record you’d be a complete fool to not enjoy from start to finish, top to bottom. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2008:pm/reviews/article/5.58187 2008-05-06T06:59:00Z 2008-05-06T06:59:00Z Nils Jacobson It's extremely mixed up, yet entirely coherent: part trance, part dance, part jam, all groove. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2008:pm/reviews/article/5.57961 2008-05-06T06:58:00Z 2008-05-06T06:58:00Z Jason MacNeil This is a record that would put more woogie in your boogie, without question. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2008:pm/reviews/article/5.57930 2008-05-06T06:57:00Z 2008-05-06T06:57:00Z Kai Jones The rich consonants of the Welsh language work so well with his voice, wrapping themselves around the warm melodies. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2008:pm/reviews/article/5.58078 2008-05-06T06:56:00Z 2008-05-06T06:56:00Z Ron Hart Attention John Zorn: you may have met your match this time, pal. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2008:pm/reviews/article/5.57729 2008-05-06T06:55:00Z 2008-05-06T06:55:00Z Jason MacNeil British musician Simon Scott is the brains behind Televise, a group that would be found on a shelf between Jesus & Mary Chain as well as My Bloody Valentine. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2008:pm/news/popwire/23.58275 2008-05-05T16:23:00Z 2008-05-05T16:23:00Z Erin Podolsky It was the mid-1980s, and in Kansas City, Mo., teenager Aaron Dontez Yates decided to move from straight-up beatboxing to writing his own rhymes. All he needed was a name. Not the one his auntie and... ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2008:pm/news/popwire/23.58273 2008-05-05T15:35:00Z 2008-05-05T15:35:00Z Linda Winer NEW YORK - It was a night for the history books. Juan Diego Florez jauntily cherry-picked the nine high Cs in "La Fille du Regiment" at the Metropolitan Opera April 21. These were the same... ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2008:pm/news/popwire/23.58267 2008-05-05T13:46:00Z 2008-05-05T13:46:00Z Ben Wener INDIO, Calif. - Without question, the Eagles turned in a fantastic performance - one of their best in recent memory - to cap Friday's opening of the second Stagecoach country music festival in Indio.... ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2008:pm/news/popwire/23.58264 2008-05-05T11:14:00Z 2008-05-05T11:14:00Z Michael Hamersly British pop singer Natasha Bedingfield catapulted to fame in 2005 with her infectious songs "Unwritten" and "These Words (I Love You, I Love You)" dominating Top 40 radio for months. Two years after... ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2008:pm/reviews/article/5.58199 2008-05-05T07:04:00Z 2008-05-05T07:04:00Z Filmore Mescalito Holmes Shifting gears back from political manifesto to unerring personal exploration, it's a moderately better day for Republicans and a great one for hip-hop fans. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2008:pm/reviews/article/5.58038 2008-05-05T07:03:00Z 2008-05-05T07:03:00Z Nate Dorr Live energy and racing tempos have translated to studio recording very well, but the band's genre decisions, intentional or not, may not be maximizing their potential. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2008:pm/reviews/article/5.57592 2008-05-05T07:02:00Z 2008-05-05T07:02:00Z Andrew Martin Although it's not as groundbreaking as Endtroducing ..., this album makes a strong case for being one of the top records of the year. ]]>