Sunday, January 1 1995
Madison Avenue: The Polyester Embassy
This is club music that is hardly cutting-edge, but a solid collection of synths, samples, cymbals and beats on six songs (three of which preceded…
David Murray Power Quartet: Like a Kiss That Never Ends
It’s a little tiring when critics praise those living, breathing parts of the product they’re touting - movies, plays, music, and the like - for…
Maquiladora: White Sands
Anyone who has visited White Sands can’t help marveling at the sparse, still beauty of the place. On Maquiladora’s album named after that area of…
Mahavishnu Orchestra: Birds of Fire
After appearing on Miles Davis’ landmark opus Bitches Brew, the 30-year-old British-born guitar wizard known as Mahavishnu John McLaughlin birthed his own band and christened…
My Favorite, Love at Absolute Zero
How do you sound retro and contemporary at the same time? Ask My Favorite because they’ve pulled off a minor coup in co-opting the sounds…
Mathlete: Telstar Parthenon
Mathlete’s Telstar Parthenon. Dear God, what a willfully frustrating recording. When I was in high school in the late ‘80s, one of the counselors brought…
Marshmallow Coast: Seniors and Juniors
I’m sick of the Elephant 6 retro-pop collective. Sure, they have their share of transcendent bands, of which Neutral Milk Hotel and Apples In Stereo…
Pat Metheny: Trio 99-00
The latest from Pat Metheny, Trio 99-00, smokes through a few great post-bop jazz tunes, before hitting the wall that is repetition and typicality. Then…
Marine Research, Sounds From the Gulf Stream
Sounds From the Gulf Stream is this year’s pure pop gem, and maybe last year’s too. Can 13-year independent pop veterans make a credible record about staying young? “Yes, Yes, Yes”!
Rob McConnell Tentet: self-titled
The press release for this album has it that trombonist Rob McConnell is “One of the world’s most recognized composers and arrangers for large ensembles.”…
Lucy Mongrel: self-titled
On the surface, Lucy Mongrel has created a fun combination of world beats, classic country, heartfelt folk, and electric guitars. It sounds like little else,…
The Master Musicians of Jajouka featuring Bachir Attar with Talvin Singh: Master Musicians of Jajou
The Master Musicians of Jajouka are amazing. Players of double-headed drums and various traditional wind and string instruments are born into this ancient Moroccan troupe…
Minus: Jesus Christ Bobby
Is Minus even making music? On Jesus Christ Bobby, vocals are screamed over a cacophony of guitar feedback, drums that are pounded rather than played,…
Bob Marley and the Wailers: Babylon by Bus / Confrontation
“Any interpretation of the significance of Rastafari must begin with the understanding that it is a conscious attempt by the African soul to free itself…
mister nobu: c’mon wid your c’mon
Retro is back baby! And this does not just apply to the latest disco-infused dance song or samples from TV shows of yesteryear that are…
The Mayflies USA, Summertown
For true pop fans, the mere mention of Chris Stamey’s name in reference to a record ensures a stamp of credibility and quality. So while…
Gary Myrick: Waltz of the Scarecrow King
In the summer of 1992, T-Bone Burnett released a quiet, thoughtful yet provocative album called Criminal Under My Own Hat that featured acoustic guitar with…
Matchbox 20: Mad Season
When I first heard Matchbox 20, a couple of years ago, my first reaction was “Man, those guys sound too much like Live.” They did,…
Bill Monroe, Live From Mountain Stage
Bill Monroe is one of those rare figures in the history of music credited with inventing a genre.
Maggie, Pierce & E.J.: For
There is something so effortless about what Maggie, Pierce & E.J. do as a band. Truly eclectic in sound, they seem to have a great…
