Monday, February 6 2012
Various Artists: The Total Groovy
Buzzcock Pete Shelley's label reissues its entire three album run with a bonus disc. Sometimes, there's even real music.
Due East: Drawn Only Once (The Music of John Supko) / Gregory Spears: Requiem
Both of these records, while markedly different, are strong indications that classical music, like any other genre, is one rife with innovation.
Nils Frahm: Felt
The felt itself is an additional instrument, a scrape of percussion as each key is played and released.
Friday, February 3 2012
Lana Del Rey: Born to Die
The Internet-famous chanteuse releases her highly-anticipated debut album. Does it live up to the hype?
Hospitality: Hospitality
Up-and-comers Hospitality are like the characters of their songs: accomplished and bright, with room to grow.
Primitons: Don’t Go Away, Collected Works
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.
Gianluigi Trovesi / Gianni Coscia: Frère Jacques: Round About Offenbach
Frère Jacques: Round About Offenbach is a reverent tribute to an irreverent man. Despite that, it's fantastic.
The Renderers: A Rocket Into Nothing
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.
Wynton Marsalis: Swinging into the 21st
In 1999 Wynton Marsalis ushered us into the 21st century with an incredible effort, proving yet again why he is already a legend.
Thursday, February 2 2012
Chairlift: Something
The Brooklyn Chairlift works differently, obviously. It lifts you up but won't bring you down.
Buxton: Nothing Here Seems Strange
As solid as Buxton is, they're doing nothing to set themselves apart from other bands in their genre, and they don't quite have the songwriting chops to overcome that lack of character.
The Soul Rebels Brass Band: Unlock Your Mind
The Soul Rebels Brass Band make a case for the greatness of the horn section.
Gonjasufi: MU.ZZ.LE
MU.ZZ.LE is Gonjasufi's first artistically cohesive statement: a bold first stab at playing with space and mood. It’s a compelling reason to keep watching to see what he’ll do next, because if this is what Gonjasufi sounds like muzzled, we should all be very afraid when he finally decides to unleash.
Paul Kelly: Greatest Hits, Songs From the South (Volumes 1 & 2)
While pinning down Kelly’s style is impossible as he’s always changing, his lyrics are always literate and innocently romantic. He may understand love hurts, but that doesn’t stop him from being sucker punched.
JJ Grey and Mofro: Brighter Days
CD/DVD combo pack documents an American treasure: Florida swamp-rock-boogie-blues at its finest.
Wednesday, February 1 2012
Black Bananas: Rad Times Xpress IV
Jennifer Herrema, ex of Royal Trux, and her cohorts deliver a confounding record that is clearly a candidate for most audacious album of the year, a mere five weeks into 2012.
PJ Harvey: Let England Shake: 12 Short Films By Seamus Murphy [DVD]
These videos deftly match Harvey's exploration of England's wartime past with artfully filmed images of its present.
pacificUV: Weekends
The stately winter mood evoked by Longplay 2 has given way to the lullaby dreaminess of Weekends, trading post-rock for shoegaze. The results are often excellent, though the record isn't without its missteps.
Kammerflimmer Kollektief: Teufelskamin
Kammerflimmer Kollektief present an ambient electro-jazz album without much bite to it.
