Music Reviews: April 2008

This is the soda shack where punk and electronica meet the rhythm of a diasporic dub addiction.

The U.S. re-release of Dizzee's latest album still feels as exciting and vital as it did when it first came out last year.

Yeah, another live Rush album. And yeah, they sound as good as they ever have.

A collection of half-baked bedroom folk songs, The Last Tycoon brings to mind an age-old retort: don't quit your day job.

The young king of modern piano does Godfather Bill Evans proud once again with another winning live album at the “Carnegie Hall of jazz".

Legendary Delta bluesman returns with a collection of 2007 recordings and older unreleased tunes.

This disc collects the entire discography of a forgotten early '70s folk-rock band. It's the first time their music has been released beyond their original pressings of 100 copies.

Eighth studio album from Philly's legendary hip-hop crew, a minor-key rush of synthesizer-heavy vamps and distrustful rhymes, features cameos from Mos Def, Talib Kweli and more.

An album of beautiful contrasts from Brooklyn, Germany, and outer space.

On hearing Faulkner's debut album, it's not so surprising that so much press attention has been focused on his hair.

An A-list family of sisters, with blood ties to both folksinger Tom Chapin and horror meister Wes Craven, sings soft, pretty songs about violence and betrayal.

A terrific sampler from one of the best labels in contemporary folk.

Blissful disco- and classical-tinged electronic music: Who wants to go out, anyway?

Are Cherry Ghost "Oprah-friendly losers" aping Wilco, or something more?

Over a decade in the making, this legendary UK trio has buried trip-hop under a pile of creepy analog gear with their painfully long awaited third (duh) album.

This old-fashioned, newly-polished soul music is pretty much impossible to resist.

New York Dolls seldom disappoint in concert, but an amazing live album continues to elude them.

Another year, another joyous blast of humppa from the perpetually lovable Korpiklaani.

Cahoone's album is a very good piece of solid country, though it stops short of being uniquely memorable.

“The Chief” and fellow Chicago blues legend Ronnie Baker Brooks have teamed up to produce a vivid album that celebrates and extends Clearwater’s living legacy.

Soundtracks to the exhilarating speed and momentum of transcontinental locomotion.

Tapestry: Legacy Edition is the definitive genuflection to Carole King's 1971 masterpiece. Nearly 40 years later, it's still a thrill to feel the earth move.

Four jam-packed discs still represent a truncated guidebook to the maze that is Willie Nelson’s life work.

K Records has reissued the Microphones' stunning 2001 album, and it's no surprise it still astounds today.

Low's main man speeds up (more), rocks out, draws blood.

Ike Reilly’s hit parade is poisoned with a strong but inessential new compilation.

The third album from least-known LOX/D-Block member continues a trend of exceeding medium-sized expectations with logarithmic artistic progression.

A solid, if unspectacular, set of indie-pop tunes from the New York trio perennially trying to shake off the "one-hit wonder" tag.

Be sure to listen in its hour-long entirety, not mixed and mashed on an iPod. It is a manifesto, after all, and an inspiring one at that.

Nearly three years after its initial Swedish release, one of the best records of 2005 finally gets an official, slightly reworked, U.S. issue.

The Swede's third album is far from depressing, but it sure as hell is miserable.

It's difficult to find fault in this excellent sophomore album from Australia's foremost electro/rock crossover act.

Debut album from underground hip-hop super group continues Masta Ace’s two-decade-long streak of creating good, unpretentious indie music.

The "Prince of Americana" has done it again on his fifth album, and he manages to do it without wearing purple velvet.

Thank God for small miracles and the holy number 7! With Rage! the seven artists in Lettuce raise the dead and uplift the living.

Prime cuts of soul-pop danceability from 1960's England rescued from the musical abyss by an indefatigable collector of lost and obscure gems.

Elbow has once again proved that it’s a band that’s looking forward and doing things in its own inimitable way.

Massive in his hit-making legacy, yet enigmatic for his seeming ordinaryness, George Strait returns with his 37th album in 27 years.

For a debut so long on anticipation, Elephant Shell is short on a lot of things.

Armed with clean, tight rock and soul rhythms, Paddy Casey coasts on the waves of pleasant, studio-perfect pop.

Stirring up hazy imagery of sleepy home towns and lazy tumbleweeds, Neva Dinova has composed a fitting soundtrack for those laid-back summer evenings.

Ray J continues his quest to shed the label of Brandy’s little brother by getting more and more sexually explicit.

What happens when you mix a Jazz Project with a Bop Alliance?

Mr. Love & Justice is, for all its faults, a solid record. But in Bragg's hands, it could have been much more.

Four Tet’s jazz residency with drummer Steve Reid has fine-tuned his ear for the subtle yet beautifully complex mannerisms, melodies, and polyrhythms that flourish on Ringer.

The protean trumpeter records a bold quintet date in his native New Orleans, reinventing himself as a mature, romantic modernist.

Hamburger's persona is so deeply set in obvious irony that it inevitably fails to surprise us or make us laugh.

The sparse, metaphysical atmosphere has given way to a more developed sound, but the emotions conveyed still feel spontaneous and ambivalent.

The last rockin’ hurrah from San Diego’s premier meaty, melodic punk band.

Kamera is as pure a retro throwback as you may ever find.

Dance-punk darlings the Gossip get live -- and loud -- in Liverpool.

South are perpetually on the verge of releasing that next great British rock album, but they always end up sabotaging themselves in the process.

Since his debut, Jim Noir has matured into a fuzzy pop pleasure.

The "tapping jazz guitarist" of the 1980s is back.

The time spent listening for the fleeting moments of greatness on this disc might better be spent returning to Golden Shoulders' earlier Let My Burden Be.

Dans Les Airs has the air of a good democracy, a core stability that doesn't stifle the inhabitants.

Both catchy and cliché, this electro-jazz album flirts with hip-hop and R&B for a diverse, but ultimately lacking, listen.

Air's Moon Safari invented the hip Easy Listener, an icy plateau that merged film music, jazz exotica, and analogue soft prog. Now a decade old, Air adds a bonus disc and a DVD.

Here's a riddle for you: How is a promising Welsh septet like an American political candidate?

Sex, Love, Party, Vodka, Summer, Puberty, Red Bull. The Teenagers spray their fantasies over an impressive debut of electro-filth-pop.

Indo-jazz on a venerable scale as the cream of Miles Davis’ electric era players reconvene, not so much to reminisce on the old times as to reinvent them.

It's all great fun, but spending so much time flitting from one role to another seems to prevent Deschanel from finding her own voice, and together the band rarely transcends the cloak of their influences.

The shadow of Radio Birdman looms long over this second edition in an exhaustive Aussie proto-punk series.

The reclusive Swedish musician becomes so focused on the otherworldly nature of his music he fails to notice that, in all actuality, it’s quite dull.

OMD's concept album about Cold War-era technology and tension was a flop upon its original release in 1983. But seen through modern eyes, it's a brilliant precursor to OK Computer.

The legend confronts mythology and manages to produce a very compelling album while solving a few existential crises along the way.

The Autumns continue their quest to deliver rock music that feeds your brain.

Cloud Cult once again prove that their passion for self-expression and music is inexhaustible, and succeed with their eighth release .

Cash, expensive clothes, cars for each day of the week. Wanna see how it's done? Watch him "do him".

Not all of the songs work around the drone and the whip, but it's these yips and yelps that have lingered; the intense sound of high-pitched and precise female explosions.

The funky saxman gets with the WDR Big Band and plays Brother Ray, as well as his own well-honed brand of groove music.

It's been a wild ride, but the vast talents of Anton Newcombe have finally cracked and dried up in full-length form.

Warren’s son finds virtue in pretty melodies, but has yet to find an identity.

Unconventional trio works with electronic producer to put a little more zazz in their jazz.

Regardless of how well dressed the master’s bedroom might be, it's not worth spending a night in.

This compilation of U2 cover songs by African artists mostly succeeds as a pure listening experience, a cool idea, and a fine introduction to some great musicians.

A trio of bloody kittens are starving and their favorite meal is dying. Will they get fed?

This 14-track set of Duke Ellington and his outstanding orchestra thankfully leaves in all of the between-song banter, highlighting Ellington’s gift as a showman as well as a musician.

Anthony Gonzalez revisits his youth affectionately, but without the angst.

Frightened Rabbit is back and they prevail once again with an addictively successful follow-up to their debut Sings the Greys.

Get past the atrocious cover art, and you've got a quality album from the Swedish veterans.

A young alto player with a great quartet rises to the top of the class with his fourth disc of brilliant originals.

This album is refreshingly fun and catchy at a time when the underground hip-hop scene has become oversaturated by generic, wanna-be golden age rappers.

A Hat is is a brisker, less plaintive album than many of its post-rock peers.

The Vincent of Van Gogh is a deeply troubled young soul, desperate to find his way in the world.

On his 14th studio album, Australia’s crown prince of goth manifests into its unheralded king of rock.

The Kooks step into Ray Davies' studio, name an album after it, and come away with a disc full of punchy riffs, chords, and provocative lyrics.

Indie Noise-Poppers try to show some thanks before calling it quits.

Ryan teams up with longtime friends to create robust music that's the equal of his weighty rasp.

Rock has not created a new standard with this album, but he has created an alternate universe, reminding us that hip-hop can still be anything we make it.

Folklore’s debut is a lovely opaque work that should appear on all serious Best of 2008 lists.

Inventive composition can only go so far, and Yoav’s debut Charmed & Strange is neither intriguing nor charming.

In the 90,000 capacity Wembley Stadium, Muse may finally have found a venue big enough for them.

As a solo performer, Meloy acts knowingly awkward and charming, but when he sings he plays it straight, making for a disc with few surprises.

Gaye put his frustrations and anger into one of the most painfully intimate song cycles in musical history and then released it to the public, creating a time-delayed classic.

Is it too early to name Iron & Diamonds the best bluegrass album of the year?

Looking at the familiar and the obscure, these two discs provide fascinating snapshots of the amazing music of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff.

The Canadian trio have crafted a warm, organic debut as inviting as its title suggests.

The Teenage Prayers are a throwback to another day. Raw, rambunctious, and sexually charged, the NYC-based band knows how to blow the top off a rock song and create three-to-four minute long musical parties.

I'm beginning to lose hope in the idea that Clinic have yet to unleash their opus.

A greatest hits compilation that draws heavily on the fruits of Morrissey's 'second coming'. The result? A vulgar picture.

On their sophomore effort, Panic at the Disco make the vast, illogical leap from two-bit, 'in-with-the-emo-crowd' sensation to Beatles tribute band. But hey, wait, it suits them!

Carll’s voice sounds like he’s halfway laughing and halfway crying, but he’s always a sucker for a good joke. He knows there’s more depth in humor than pathos -- and it’s a lot more fun.

This Atlanta trio's long-awaited debut is a political cornucopia of jungle, rap, downtempo, acid, and much more. History will remember it as the stuff of legends and revolutions.

Let’s hope it’s not another 16 years before Was (Not Was) is again.

In this 2007 show, Lee Perry proves himself to be as energetic and exciting as performers half his age.

On Walk It Off, Tapes 'n Tapes have moved slightly beyond their Pixies and Pavement mimicry. But a new influence is at work: Dave Fridmann.

Groups like this particular Tra-La-La Band must be careful, lest they swallow themselves in their unapologetic, flailing attempts at true artistic merit.

While this collection's substance is mostly tangential, it would be unfair to deem it a complete misstep artistically.

The fourth of the trumpeter's ingenious transformations of Jewish music, this gorgeous mass of guitars, horns and drums fuses Bitches Brew to the synagogue.

This reissue accomplishes exactly what we've come to expect from the best titles in the Deluxe Edition series, but that may not be enough for the regular fan.

Chicago lounge-pop vets John and Frank Navin deliver plenty of cool, but not enough feeling, on their sixth album.

Golden Ball's Gillian and David Chadwick conjure dark medieval chants, early musick string arrangements and 1960s psych rock overload in their first album as Ex Reverie. See if you can find your way out of this dream.

As musically rambunctious and jubilant as Man Man’s earlier releases, but underneath its trademark cacophony is some of the darkest subject matter the band has tackled to date.

Pleasant as it is, this bloated American product is ultimately dwarfed by more efficient European models.

Meet the new P.O.D. same as the old P.O.D. (minus the hip-hop, that is.) Marcos is back! Cue the power ballads and let the dance begin, again.

Another Apple-endorser proves she has deeper and more respectable music than just a Macbook Air ad.

This appears to be the final nu breaks release for one of the genre's founders. If it is, it's a classy way to go out.

Somewhere in the runaway life cycle of capitalism, empathy becomes the great need of the hour, and with that in mind, The-Dream has something few hitmakers can claim: a wide-angle lens.

All hail the Quincy Jones of South American jazz: Jaime Delgado Aparicio’s magnum soundtrack sits more than comfortably among the Hollywood competition.

Kim Deal cures her Pixies reunion hangover with another challenging classic from her long-standing side project.

Jack Dangers makes intimations and considerations of dubstep that evoke hell and back. Then, for better or worse, he throws a Meat Beat Manifesto album into the mix.

Fuck Buttons offer a delightful and frightening wall of sound that will guarantee you're never sure of which side you're on.

Although slightly more dance-oriented, this album is disappointingly more of what you would expect from the Austin, Texas, electro-rock duo, but with a glossier finish.

A crash-course in Central Africa’s rumba and soukous that (for the most part) won’t make you feel like a musical tourist.

Gorgeous and grounded, the album presents a slightly more colorful and interesting view of real life that should resonate with listeners.

An academic scholar with a passionate attack on alto sax drives his quintet through a focused set of truly modern jazz scenarios -- an Out to Lunch for today.

Consolers is a labored album, the product of much studio tinkering and a desperate need for the band to prove themselves as a "serious" outfit.

For nighttime dwellers, Ashford & Simpson's music was a sanctified libation. This set showcases why they held court on the steamiest of nights.

Listening to this compilation is a little like watching Revenge of the Sith... you knew it had to exist to bridge the gap, but you can't find another reason for its necessity.

You must know about the biggest indie hip-hop and electronic label by now. If you don't, and you'd like to maintain an iota of self-respect, this three CD compilation is a superb starting point.

Producer Terry Manning propels the group in a unique, darker direction that will indelibly enhance the Panic’s live performances for sold-out shows to come.

Joe Higgs’ brilliant album is as calm, fluid, and uplifting as Willie Nelson, and as soulful as James Carr on a Jamaican vacation.

It is in the ways that The Residents have changed the story of "Der Sandmann" that The Voice of Midnight most suffers.

Van Morrison takes us on the simple route to salvation.

A shake-up in the line-up causes Mystery Jets to revamp their sound toward playful pop, for a more palatable album the second time around.

The Warp powerhouse returns to show us the current limits of electronically based music.

Mattea may claim to have coal mining in her blood and bleed whenever a mountaintop is sheared for ore, but that doesn’t really matter. What matters is the music, and the music is terrific.

Instead of running from the shadow of Kyuss, Hermano's third album settles right down and enjoys the shade.

Zane Lewis' blend of "country" and "rock" somehow manages to be neither.

Witty Nova Scotian minstrel makes the perfect party record for people who are tired of party records.

Dan and Patrick have decided to abandon the old blues garage for a more modernized one, but they somehow manage to retain most of the dirt and musty smell.

With his first album of new material in over five years, Mark Kozelek winds up playing to his strengths and offering little innovation on his trademark acoustic yearnings.

The latest expanded edition of Costello’s classic looks extremely enticing on paper. Unfortunately the two-disc set ends up re-hashing material in an uninspired fashion.

Minimal techno examplar makes his pop debut, which is funnier than you might think.

Bluegrass music's dorky uncle shows why he's one of the best pickers in the business. Oh, and he's a damn good songwriter too.

A two-disc anthology spanning Santana's years at Columbia, Polydor, and Arista, providing a peek into the spiritual side of one of music's most revered innovators.

The vast collective Army of the Pharaohs may lack the mainstream recognition of Wu-Tang, yet prove to be a force to be reckoned with on their second album.

Is this a return to favor for the man whose melodic, gospel-infused dance rock has been alternately scorned and grudgingly acknowledged over the past 10 to 15 years?

Minogue returns with an album that sums up both halves of her two-decade career: one half is all filler, and the other is filled with the best dance-pop singles you're likely to hear all year.

Mysterious pedal steel, extraordinary songwriting, and the best goddamn drummer in the world. What it is.

Colour Revolt spearhead the revolution -- against their better instincts.

De Novo Dahl make discombobulated dance music for the psychedelic cartoon cowboy and the flashback kid.

Latent pop sensibilities get free reign for a glossy sample-collage sound, something like Jason Forrest re-imagined as a slick electro producer.

The little-heard and long-obscure 1964 debut from Brazil’s most underrated guitarist, back on import and worth every cent.