Recent Music Reviews

Flores has added a few valuable numbers to her discography and a bunch of sassy standards that suggest once again that she will be happiest strapping on an electric guitar and rocking out on a stage.

Various Artists: Fire in My Bones: Raw Rare & Otherworldly African American Gospel (1944-2007)

By Michael Miller

Bizarro-world gospel music that will make you re-think the genre.

Squirrel Nut Zippers: Lost at Sea

By Andrew Gilstrap

Lost at Sea is fun enough, but it mainly serves as a placeholder until the band's new material sees the light of day.

Ray Charles: The Genius Hits the Road

By Bill Holmes

Another expanded edition of Brother Ray’s 1960 album of themed travel songs. Like most journeys, highs and lows abound.

Hecker: Acid in the Style of David Tudor

By Timothy Gabriele

A massive scatological machinal mess, squirting rust and oil all over this island of misfit sounds.

Wednesday, November 11 2009

Wale: Attention Deficit

By Mehan Jayasuriya

Insecurity, bulimia, infidelity, intra-racial discrimination, self-loathing and coked out, aspirational celebrities: welcome to Wale's coming out party.

The Cribs: Ignore the Ignorant

By Emily Tartanella

Ignore the Ignorant might be a technically better album than earlier Cribs efforts, but it’s a hell of lot less fun.

LCD Soundsystem: 45:33 Remixes

The music has not only been remixed, but has also had its original purpose radically reconfigured.

Carolyn Mark and NQ Arbuckle: Let’s Just Stay Here

Hopefully this collaboration will be more than just a one-shot deal, for Mark and NQ Arbuckle really bring home the goods.

Kate Miller-Heidke: Curiouser

Miller-Heidke’s album cover may give rise to many worried questions, but her music speaks for itself.

Bell Horses: The Loves Last Time

By Saxon Baird

For better or worse, Bell Horses debut of melancholy electro-pop goes down like water and acts like a sleeping pill.

J. Holiday: Round 2

By Tyler Lewis

A a pleasant, but ultimately unremarkable, black pop album.

Tuesday, November 10 2009

Tori Amos: Midwinter Graces

Imagine the surprise to find that a holiday album is Amos' best work in years.

Asobi Seksu: Rewolf

By AJ Ramirez

Asobi Seksu's new album of acoustic reworkings of old material is not a startling musical reinvention, but it does allow the group to emphasize its melodies and songcraft.

Rickie Lee Jones: Balm in Gilead

By David Gassmann

Rickie Lee Jones's 11th album shows inspiration, but only fitfully.

Modeselektor: Body Language Vol.8

By David Amidon

Thom Yorke's favorite German DJ duo takes us on a tour through 2009's best dubstep-influenced hits and a few other loose ends.

The Blakes: Souvenir

By Ryan Marr

On their second major release, this Seattle-based garage-rock trio clean up their dirt-dragged riff rock and demonstrate an impressive knowledge of their musical roots.

Matt Wilson Quartet: That’s Gonna Leave a Mark

By Will Layman

A bouncing, joyous offering from a jazz drummer chock-a-block with wit.

Black Mold: Snow Blindness is Crystal Antz

By Chris Conaton

Songwriter Chad VanGaalen makes an album of brief instrumental tracks using a wide variety of synthesizers and occasional acoustic instruments. His keen ear for melody keeps this record grounded and listenable.

Monday, November 9 2009

Echo & the Bunnymen: The Fountain

By John Bergstrom

Rest in peace Ian McCulloch's voice.

Ray Davies and the Crouch End Chorus: The Kinks Choral Collection

By Steve Horowitz

Because the more thoughtful songs outnumber the straight-forward rockers, and the harder songs are camped up, the album works as a whole.

Efterklang and the Danish National Chamber Orchestra: Performing Parades

By Matt Vittone and Brady Nash

Efterklang, a Danish band, teams up with the national chamber orchestra for this CD/DVD performance of their latest album

Lisa Germano: Magic Neighbor

By Dave Heaton

More than the backdrop to fiction, this seems a very individual soundtrack to lives lived with questions and conflicts: human beings as living musicals.

On Fillmore: Extended Vacation

By Matthew Fiander

There's something to be said for the power of their dreamy mood, but for all the searching On Fillmore does here, when they return to the light, it turns out the dark didn't hide as many treasures as they'd hoped.

Anjulie: Anjulie

By Christian John Wikane

For all its misfires and blemishes, Anjulie is by no means a bad album. It's just that the limitations of Anjulie's vocal range wear you out early on.

Various Artists: Si, Para Usted: The Funky Beats of Revolutionary Cuba Vol.2

By Deanne Sole

A theme like the one Zacks has chosen gives crate-digging an exceptional purpose, putting a non-Cuban audience in touch with music that might otherwise be lost to them, giving a shape to an idea that might otherwise sound like a non-sequitur.

Friday, November 6 2009

Say Anything: Say Anything

By Evan Sawdey

Max Bemis and co. have returned with one of the most self-referential albums to ever grace the emo-rock canon, and lo' and behold, it's one of Bemis' best.

Wolfmother: Cosmic Egg

By Ross Langager

This is not a new castle, but it's a fairly impressive renovation of the existing foundations.

The Swell Season: Strict Joy

By Chris Conaton

The duo from Once return with a fine new album. It's mostly about how their real-life relationship fell apart, but with strong songwriting and gorgeous singing.

Neon Indian: Psychic Chasms

By Dan Johnson

Synth pop, effects-heavy rock, and dreamlike euphoria are the driving forces behind Neon Indian’s pleasurable and bright look at pop psychedelia.

Karen O and the Kids: Where The Wild Things Are

By Zach Schonfeld

Karen O’s lively soundtrack sounds best where the wild things aren’t: in the most straightforward bits of childlike indie-pop.

Slaraffenland: We’re on Your Side

By Ian Mathers

This slightly unclassifiable Danish quintet are good to have on your side, like a friend whose support is rock-solid if uneffusive.

Gloria Jones: Share My Love

By Christian John Wikane

With generous remastering by Reel Music, the luster of Share My Love is ever-glistening. A rare gem from the Motown catalog finally gets its due.

Thursday, November 5 2009

Slayer: World Painted Blood

By Adrien Begrand

Not surprisingly, World Painted Blood is, well, a Record Made Metal.

Molina and Johnson: Molina and Johnson

By Matthew Fiander

Few get more lonesome on record than Will Johnson (Centro-matic) and Jason Molina (Magnolia Electric Co.).

Vince Guaraldi: The Definitive Vince Guaraldi

By Andrew Zender

An individual at Coca-Cola's ad agency proposes the idea of a Charlie Brown Christmas Special, with music by Vince Guaraldi. And a new American institution was born...

Spiral Stairs: The Real Feel

By Daniel Ross

Scott Kannberg's solo debut is aesthetically assured but ultimately a little empty.

Sliimy: Paint Your Face

By Luke McGrath

Electric pop confections by a twee Frenchman that sings like an English woman.

Cale Parks: To Swift Mars

By Joseph Pickert

To Swift Mars samples the ‘80s pop zeitgeist to various effect, but is strongest in its least nostalgic moments.

Jim Byrnes: My Walking Stick

By Sarah Moore

The American-born Canadian actor/blues musician's songs are as textured as his vocals.

Wednesday, November 4 2009

Morrissey: Swords

By Craig Carson

Morrissey's uneasy expression on the cover notwithstanding, Swords is a worthy collection of 18 b-sides from his last three studio albums.

Various Artists: Light on the South Side

By Andrew Zender

Sounds like golden outtakes from lost sessions where James Brown's backing band got together with Booker T and the MGs at the Stax studios with an insanely talented batch of unknown singers.

Brilliant Colors: Introducing

By Zachary Houle

Introducing might make a case for Brilliant Colors being a knock-off group, a carbon copy of the Vivian Girls with subtle differences. But Brilliant Colors are a good carbon copy.

Mayer Hawthorne: A Strange Arrangement

By Michael Kabran

It's that classic biblical tale: little known DJ from suburban Michigan takes on soul god from Motown. And the winner is...

AA Bondy: When the Devil’s Loose

Bondy fuses imagery of moonlit nights and limitless oceans with religious mysticism to evoke a beauty in nihilism.

The Cave Singers: Welcome Joy

By Joshua Kloke

The Cave Singers attain an unheralded harmony between the back porch and the road on their sophomore masterpiece.

Roman Candle: Oh Tall Tree in the Ear

By Mark W. Adams

Here are 11 refreshingly earnest and brazenly straightforward anthems that both rattle your floor and stick in your head. To this reviewer's ears, Roman Candle happily play non-hyphenated, non-adjective-ized Rock and Roll.

Tuesday, November 3 2009

Julian Casablancas: Phrazes for the Young

The singer-songwriter of the Strokes has finally released his solo debut. The wait was worth it.

Idlewild: Post Electric Blues

By David Smith

Former Scottish noiseniks get better with age on their sixth album -- available as a free download.

Lackthereof: A Lackthereof Retrospective or I Was a Christian Emo Twentysomething

By Justin Cober-Lake

This compilation offers more than its title suggests, even making an emo Christian compelling.

The Black Heart Procession: Six

By Matt Gonzales

Still bleak after all these years, the Black Heart Procession has failed to, well, proceed much.

Jamie T: Kings & Queens

I’m sorry, I know England loves this guy, but something about him rings false.

David Mead: Almost and Always

By Steve Leftridge

Gentle-rock softy crafts a pop-standards beauty for the Paul Anka lover in your home.

Amy Speace: The Killer in Me

Yes, Amy Speace is another girl with a guitar. But on this album, she proves that she's more than fierce enough to rock the scowl that she bares on its front cover.

Monday, November 2 2009

Weezer: Raditude

By Evan Sawdey

Weezer are now writing nothing but unabashed pop songs, aiming for nothing but the top of the charts and hoping you'll come along for the ride to multi-platinum glory. Word of advice: don't.

Max Richter: Memoryhouse

Fat Cat reissues Max Richter's debut album from 2002.

Tickley Feather: Hors D’oeuvres

By Matthew Collins

Psychedelic experiments from Paw Tracks up-and-comer.

Soulico: Exotic on the Speaker

By Andrew Dietzel

Deftly incorporates a multitude of rhythmic structures and vocal styles that are distinctly Middle Eastern, hip-hop, or, as the case may be, both.

Kris Kristofferson: Closer to the Bone

By Steve Leftridge

Don't look so sad. Kris Kristofferson keeps on turning out warm and tender songs, like the shadows on the wall.

The Donnas: Greatest Hits Volume 16

By Jayson Harsin

For partiers, perverts, and the girl power posse, Greatest Hits: Volume 16 is a must have. For everyone else -- well, if you don't love them by now, this ain't gonna hook your gills.

Rhonda Vincent: Destination Life

By Will Layman

The full-throated bluegrass singer in her first studio outing with her wonderful touring band.

Friday, October 30 2009

Bad Lieutenant: Never Cry Another Tear

By John Bergstrom

A new, guitar-based band from these Manchester vets. It's New Order minus Peter Hook! Or 1/2 The Other Two + Bernard Sumner!

Kings of Convenience: Declaration of Dependence

Quiet is no longer the new loud and the Kings may need to up their game if they're to leave work of lasting value.

Henry Threadgill: This Brings Us To, Volume 1

By Sean Murphy

Henry Threadgill's new release is not music for everyone, but it is music for anyone.

Nouvelle Vague: 3

By AJ Ramirez

Diminishing returns are beginning to set in for Nouvelle Vague's French pop reinterpretations.

Beastie Boys: Hello Nasty

If Hello Nasty seems less unusual than it did on its appearance in 1998, its inventiveness should not be overlooked.

The Black Dahlia Murder: Deflorate

By Adrien Begrand

After years of underachieving, the popular Detroit band starts to live up to expectations on their fourth album.

The Reverend Horton Heat: Laughin’ & Cryin’ with the Reverend Horton Heat

By Christel Loar

Laughin' & Cryin' finds the Rev back with a brand new barrel of licks, playing the rockabilly rodeo clown.

Thursday, October 29 2009

Chuck Prophet: Let Freedom Ring

Between his top-notch previous albums and his work with other artists, Chuck Prophet had already developed a superior artistic cache before Let Freedom Ring, but this is hands down his best work.

Flight of the Conchords: I Told You I Was Freaky

By David Gassmann

Flight of the Conchords' new album, like their second season, is frustratingly uneven.

BK-One: Radio Do Canibal

By Andrew Martin

This is the album that producers/DJs should look to when crafting their next project. Rarely does a record of this kind sound so natural or cohesive.

Sam Bush: Circles Around Me

Circles Around Me provides an excellent showcase for Sam Bush's talents as mandolin player, fiddler, singer, and songwriter, as well as a reminder of his role in promoting the "newgrass" phenomenon of the 1970s.

Finn Riggins: Vs Wilderness

By Saxon Baird

Math-rock Idahoans Finn Riggins make a mess on their fourth full-length, to mixed results.

Grand Archives: Keep in Mind Frankenstein

By Mariana Gudino

Grand Archives' sophomore effort really is worth the listen.

Meg & Dia: Here, Here, and Here

The hardest part of reviewing Meg and Dia's Here, Here, and Here is avoiding comparisons to If It Was You-era Tegan and Sara.

Wednesday, October 28 2009

Hudson Mohawke: Butter

By AJ Ramirez

Scottish musician creates an enjoyable, captivating blend of R&B production and electronic experimentalism on his full-length debut.

Do Make Say Think: Other Truths

By Mike Newmark

Other Truths finds the Toronto post-rock quintet in excellent shape, still hitting the sweet spot where skilled musicianship and rugose sonic textures meet.

Thao: Know Better, Learn Faster

By Jayson Harsin

An unassumingly seductive album, simultaneously groove-ridden, playful and melancholic.

Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson: Summer of Fear

By Ben Schumer

The extravagantly named troubadour makes good on the promise of his ramshackle debut and fights his demons on an excellent sophomore album.

Eva & The Heartmaker: Let’s Keep This Up Forever

If the whole band thing doesn’t work out Eva and her husband could easily replace Dr. Luke and Max Martin as the go-to pop hit makers.

Chris Smither: Time Stands Still

By Steve Horowitz

Smither’s folk blues are the aural equivalent of good American spirits like Knob Creek or Maker’s Mark, and listening to him will make you thirsty for more.

We Fell to Earth: We Fell to Earth

Have you ever left an art installation remembering the overall impression of the paintings, but unable to account for the details of a single one?

Tuesday, October 27 2009

Pelican: What We All Come to Need

By Andrew Dietzel

What We All Come to Need is as aphoristic about living as it is metaphoric about dying. It’s a musical version of Picasso’s Guernica where the instruments are the paintbrushes and your ears are the canvas.

Tegan and Sara: Sainthood

By Mariana Gudino

Sainthood , an experimental mesh of their last two efforts, explores new scopes for the Quin twins.

Fuck Buttons: Tarot Sport

By Daniel Ross

The UK duo return, this time nimbler and more adept.

Meshell Ndegeocello: Devil’s Halo

By Tyler Lewis

With Devil's Halo, Meshell Ndegeocello reinvents herself yet again and creates her best album since the one-two punch of her masterworks, Bitter and Cookie.

Rival Consoles: IO

By Mike Schiller

In the foreground, it's a solid slab of dance beats and sequencers; in the background, it's something more.

The Ettes: Do You Want Power

By Stephen Haag

Co-ed garage trio expand their sound with some help from Greg Cartwright.

Twista: Category F5

By Chris Catania

Twista can slice and dice words like a razor-sharp Ginsu knife. But F5 finds him getting twisted by the torque of his own tornado.

Monday, October 26 2009

Devendra Banhart: What Will We Be