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Dont Let Me Fall: Hip-Hop in the Age of Austerity
Rappers have always wrestled with the question of how to succeed in a society where the odds are stacked against them. The biggest difference now is that their middle class listeners have the same worries. [9.Feb.12]
Playing Guarde: Music Metacreation and the Vanguard
To create something or to create something that creates something; that is a question. But if you lead an electric horse to art, does it dream of the avant-garde? [9.Feb.12]
Sharon Van Etten: Tramp
The way we heal is a huge part of the sweet exhaustion of Tramp, but it is a double-edged affair. [9.Feb.12]
Dierks Bentley: Home
It leaves you with the impression that Bentley has made something special here -- not just his most consistent album and 2012’s first great country album, but even more. [9.Feb.12]
The Dark Pop-Punk of the Shadow Delivers
Unlike potboiler musicians with kiss-off egos, the Shadow proves that Blank Generation music was open-ended and robust, a welcome home to punk brands of all stripes. [9.Feb.12]
Reviews
ThuWedTueMonFri
The way we heal is a huge part of the sweet exhaustion of Tramp, but it is a double-edged affair.
It leaves you with the impression that Bentley has made something special here -- not just his most consistent album and 2012’s first great country album, but even more.
Math whiz Lawrence Ball adds another baby step of progress for Pete Townshend's "Lifehouse" project.
While heckles are raised when terms like "vintage" and "retro" are tossed about, the Devil's Blood has undeniably evoked the electrifying rush of '60s and '70s occult rock. What other sprits they have invoked along the way, well, that's a whole other story.
Orchestra of Spheres should be recognized for its willingness to take chances and experiment with instrument-construction and sound in general. Unfortunately, the band’s ratio of hits to misses on this album is right about 50/50.
Stalactites in the canyons of your mind.
After eight years spent growling for others, Mark Lanegan returns with his most musically diverse album to date.
Die Antwoord may be strange and engrossing, but are they making good music? Yes and no.
A modern take on disco music; an old-fashioned take on male wish fulfillment.
Lost rock 'n' soul classic from spiritual seeker.
Sultan blends together his doo-wop, garage, and punk influences, presenting himself as a peerless artist.
Tuareg rock youngsters are fatally hampered by bad production.
The feeling that this is your neighborhood bar band gives the music a punch of energy that’s memorable. At the same time, the stories in the music, and the ways they’re told, are less distinct, even generic.
As musical interpretations of romance go, Kisses on the Bottom may only get you about halfway there, flowers in hand wondering whether a second date is on the cards, unsure if that’s even what you want at all.
The band name is silly. The album cover art is atrocious. The opening song is merely a wall of noise. But once you get past all of that, Ester is a rewarding slice of shoegazey dream pop that’s evocative of ‘50s R&B and surreal movie and TV soundtracks.
The preeminent Mexican guitar duo rattles Havana with a Cuban orchestra.
Absorbing Snakeoil is one of this "how did they do that?" kinds of experiences.
Driven to be better than what his former band was forced to become, ex-Sonic Syndicate vocalist Richard Sjunnesson has finally created what he had envisioned all along.
For any intent or purpose, you are encouraged to spend as much time as possible with this recording. It is as edifying as it is enjoyable.
Kevin Barnes takes Of Montreal out of its sexy funk phase and into its...20th century atonal minimalism phase? Yikes.
Pretty Good Dance Moves are pretty, pretty, pretty... well, fair to middling, actually.
There’s a drunken fight, a couple grappling in the back seat of a car and other typical Saturday night scenes found outside a bar, but the lyrics give the participants a sense of dignity.
Buzzcock Pete Shelley's label reissues its entire three album run with a bonus disc. Sometimes, there's even real music.
Both of these records, while markedly different, are strong indications that classical music, like any other genre, is one rife with innovation.
The felt itself is an additional instrument, a scrape of percussion as each key is played and released.
The Internet-famous chanteuse releases her highly-anticipated debut album. Does it live up to the hype?
Up-and-comers Hospitality are like the characters of their songs: accomplished and bright, with room to grow.
By Edward Whitelock
During their short existence, the Primitons were grouped into that mid-'80s sub-genre of “jangly Southern bands that sound like R.E.M.” This was unfair to both.
Frère Jacques: Round About Offenbach is a reverent tribute to an irreverent man. Despite that, it's fantastic.
The Renderers prove once more that they don't have to sacrifice their experimental side to sound accessible, and 20-plus years in, they're as good as they've ever been.
In 1999 Wynton Marsalis ushered us into the 21st century with an incredible effort, proving yet again why he is already a legend.
Capsule Reviews
Events
Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein were not out to throw a big production, nor re-enact characters and sketches. Instead they were onstage as Fred and Carrie, real people with a knack for casual conversational comedy looking to hang out. [09.Feb.12]
Features
Rappers have always wrestled with the question of how to succeed in a society where the odds are stacked against them. The biggest difference now is that their middle class listeners have the same worries. [09.Feb.12]
Crusty walls of distortion co-exist with pop hooks in the second and latest solo album from Liam Finn. Here the songwriter talks about taking a break from life on the road to write FOMO in far-off New Zealand, working with producer Burke Reed and percussionist Glenn Kotche to seriously tinker with his sound and taking inspiration from, of all people, Beyoncé. [07.Feb.12]
Columns
The Difference Engine
To create something or to create something that creates something; that is a question. But if you lead an electric horse to art, does it dream of the avant-garde? [09.Feb.12]
Sound Spectrum
In 1982, with the charts ruled by “Physical”, “Don’t You Want Me” and “Eye of the Tiger”, along came a low-tech record about killers, small-time thieves and other forgotten souls -- and it's still one of the best albums in American music. [06.Feb.12]
From The Blogs
Unlike potboiler musicians with kiss-off egos, the Shadow proves that Blank Generation music was open-ended and robust, a welcome home to punk brands of all stripes. [09.Feb.12]
DVD Reviews
Loud guitar, astrophysics, little people, S&M clubs, positive thinking, and nude women on bicycles are all part of the Queen saga, darling. [30.Jan.12]
The US Festival's "Country Day" in June 1983, featured both Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson. [24.Jan.12]
Now on PopMatters
The Dark Pop-Punk of the Shadow Delivers (Sound Affects) [Thu, 11:00 am]
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Faith vs. Sonic (Moving Pixels) [Thu, 7:00 am]
Ben Gazzara and The End Of An Aura (Short Ends and Leader) [Thu, 5:00 am]
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