Tuesday, May 29 2012
King Tuff: King Tuff
In the days of insipid and precious bedroom projects, King Tuff’s return to rock and roll, its insistence on loud guitars and fun, is a sublimely radical move.
Theresa Andersson: Street Parade
Theresa Andersson breaks down the sounds of a New Orleans parade and reconstructs them into wonderfully idiosyncratic, introspective pop. No beads or revelry required.
Jason Mraz: Love Is a Four Letter Word
The "I'm Yours" feel-good guy returns with his most expansive set yet. The results are (mostly) better than you might think.
Lee Bannon: Fantastic Plastic
Bannon's beats may vary from spastic breakdowns to golden-age bangers, but they come together to form a surprisingly dope and cohesive whole.
Friday, May 25 2012
Saint Etienne: Words and Music
With the aptly titled Words and Music, Saint Etienne offers a statement of purpose for its existence more than 20 years after its founding in what’s essentially a love letter to musical fandom.
fIREHOSE: lowFlOWs: The Columbia Anthology (‘91-‘93)
lowFLOWs is a great rock 'n' roll story, the story of musicians pushing on in the face of heartbreak and finding new sounds, new music, and new creative heights.
Carina Round: Tigermending
Carina Round's third full-length is a perfectly crafted record from an amazingly talented songwriter.
Carole King: The Legendary Demos
The music from the middle of the decade shows how much things have changed in such a short time. The songs are serious, even when they do concern love, such as “So Goes Love”, about the end of a relationship. But these more adult concerns are still wrapped in pop conventions.
Pumice: Puny
Noise music is supposed to be challenging. That's someting that Pumice understands and has taken to heart as Puny makes clear. Fortunately, like the best noise releases, their are breaks from the madness where everything makes sense, at least for a little while.
Robin Trower: Farther on Up the Road: The Chrysalis Years 1977-1983
The great Robin Trower shouldn't have strayed this far.
Laurent Mignard Duke Orchestra: Ellington French Touch
A new concert recording by the formidable Duke Orchestra of Paris led by Laurent Mignard collects Ellington’s French-inspired compositions, including a wealth of unheard music. The album brings into focus the triumphant late period of jazz’s greatest composer.
Thursday, May 24 2012
Killer Mike: R.A.P. Music
Killer Mike and El-P revive the spirit of early '90s Bomb Squad productions from Ice Cube and Public Enemy as faithfully and forward-thinkingly as possible.
Shannon Stephens: Pull It Together
Instead of spending so much time pulling things together, Stephens and company would have done well to break a few things down.
The Brian Jonestown Massacre: Aufheben
A theme of deliberate confusion runs throughout Aufheben's 11 songs. Hell, even dubbing them “songs” is a bit of misnomer, as structure is largely forsaken for instrumental pastiches and all-enveloping grooves.
Paul Thorn: What the Hell Is Goin’ On?
Thorn should know a good song when he hears it. His own works are filled with saints, sinners and the strange whose lives cannot be viewed through the prism of the sacred or the profane. The same is true of the people he sings about on the new cover record.
Wes Montgomery: Echoes of Indiana Avenue
Other than a crackling record on a turntable, there is perhaps nothing more satisfying to a jazz aficionado than the release of never-before-heard material from a great player.
Soulfly: Enslaved
On their eighth album, Soulfly strikes back at critics, proving why change is both overrated and unnecessary for them.
Wednesday, May 23 2012
Garbage: Not Your Kind of People
Garbage's first new record in seven years is precisely what you would expect from a band who peaked in the late '90s.
Father Yod & the Source Family: The Thought Adjusters
A decorated veteran, a stuntman, a monk, a restaurant owner, a spiritual leader, and a frontman. Father Yod was all these things and more, becoming a LA cult figure until his death in 1975. Drag City releases some of Father Yod & the Source Family's most sought-after material.
