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Friday, May 16, 2008
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Alina Orlova - Laukinis Šuo Dingo (Metro Music) [audio] [upcoming shows]
Music in another language tends to sound better than it probably is, and Lithuanian Alina Orlova's album is no exception. The handful of songs in English show Orlova to be an artist in possession of a fearlessness born more from naivete than audacity. Who would dare recast "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" as a dark (and shockingly effective) ballad other than someone who doesn't know better? Proving Polonius right, the brief running time of her album also works in her favor. A record this concise and inviting makes repeat listens an easy decision.
- troy
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Released 01.29.2008
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Thursday, May 15, 2008
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Hiawata! - Blacks on Blondes EP (Sellout) [audio] [upcoming shows]
I welcome the '90s revival Hiawata! and a few other bands (Times New Viking, Wet Paint) are ushering in with their imperfect musicianship, bent vocals and inexhaustible energy. The five little songs on Blacks on Blondes remind me of the years before the internet made finding good music so easy, when the only real option was scouring mailorder catalogs and taking inexpensive risks. Their melody-rich guitar-heavy music would have fit nicely between Sebadoh and Built to Spill on mixtapes, and I might have to throw "Good Looks" on one now.
- paul
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Due out 05.20.2008
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Wednesday, May 14, 2008
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Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan - Sunday at Devil Dirt (V2 Music) [upcoming shows]
The first collaboration between these two was a belabored borefest that hardly reflected well on those who blindly praised it. However, this second effort from Campbell and Lanegan actually does deliver on what that the first album only hinted at recreating. Sunday at Devil Dirt sounds brilliantly tossed-off, and the looser arrangements free the other She & Him to enjoy the possibilities of their chosen format.
- troy
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Released 05.06.2008
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Tuesday, May 13, 2008
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Various Artists - Jerome Derradji Presents: The American Boogie Down (BBE Music) [audio]
Unlike many archival compilations which dig songs up from nowhere that may not even be any good, this Jerome Derradji-curated album unearths some fantastic urban disco that coulda/shoulda/woulda been commercially hot in the late '70s had it ever been heard by anyone. In its continuous mix form, it's a non-stop good time. But as a bonus, the second disc features these same tracks individually for when you don't have time to dig them out yourself—like The Fabulous Kings' "If You Like What We're Doing". I do, I like it.
- paul
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Released 04.29.2008
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Monday, May 12, 2008
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Martina Topley-Bird - The Blue God (Independiente) [audio] [upcoming shows]
Forget the pre-millennium tension of those Tricky records, when Martina Topley-Bird did little more than supply the vocal wallpaper for Tricky's musical exploits. Now she's front and center, working with producer Danger Mouse. Though the sound of The Blue God is still more identifiable by its producer than its artist, it's a much sexier, groovier record than we'll ever hear from Gnarls Barkley. More pop than soul, more contemporary than nostalgic, singles like "Poison" and "Carnies" will anchor a lot of mix cds this summer.
- paul
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Released 05.13.2008
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Friday, May 09, 2008
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Earles & Jensen - Just Farr a Laugh Vols. 1 & 2 (Failed Pilot/Matador) [audio]
Prank phone calls aren't funny, but this double-disc set often is—I think there's an SAT question in this review somewhere. The best moments usually result from either the hyper-specific pop culture references (Garfield Takes the Cake, "Lawyers in Love," Cocoon II), brilliant emphasis on word choice, or absurd physical descriptions. Earles and Jensen have elevated pranking to an art. It takes real talent to describe yourself as wearing "The Eddie Murphy Golden Child / Tom Tom Club / Do the Right Thing Worldbeat-style Hat" without breaking.
- troy
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Released 05.06.2008
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Thursday, May 08, 2008
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Lindsey Buckingham - Live at the Bass Performance Hall (Reprise) [audio]
Notoriously pitch-perfect in the studio, Lindsey Buckingham's in-the-moment live performance is full of missed notes and strained vocals...and it's a hell of an exciting listen. This set is split evenly between songs with a backing band and those with just Lindsey and his guitar, the latter completely stealing the show. "Trouble" shines the brightest in its stripped arrangement, along with the now familiar solo take on "Big Love". The bonus DVD is also great, including onstage and backstage footage alike.
- sam
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Released 03.25.2008
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Wednesday, May 07, 2008
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Duchess Says - Anthologie Des 3 Perchoirs (Alien8 Recordings) [audio] [upcoming shows]
Duchess Says goes in the "difficult to accurately describe with so few words" column. The Montreal four-piece is high energy, high aggression synthpunk with one foot in disco and the other in the spaz/noize scene. Annie-Claude barrels out of your speakers like Kathleen Hanna at her most severe, but the sounds behind her constantly evolve. "Ccut Up" opens like Rush's "Tom Sawyer", yet ends like a CSS remix. "Tenen no Neu" rumbles along early PIL-style; the best wobbly bassline this year. Harsh, but huggable.
- paul
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Released 04.15.2008
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Tuesday, May 06, 2008
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Shwa Losben - Chop Chop (self released) [audio] [upcoming shows]
The independent release Chop Chop is the first solo effort for singer/songwriter Shwa (Joshua) Losben. This is the kind of album you find yourself listening to over and over again, while gleaning something new and insightful each time. Losben's vocals are reminiscent of early Neil Young but the songwriting reminds me more or bands like R.E.M., Radiohead, Jack Johnson and others. This is a rare and great find; a true indie release that doesn't suck.
- j.p.
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Released 02.19.2008
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Monday, May 05, 2008
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Alien Father - Paste (Brother & Brother) [audio] [upcoming shows]
23 tracks of distorted shambolic lo-fi space rock boombox recordings. While some of it will have you scrambling for the 'skip' button and are clearly meant to punish the listener ("Fgt Lawbuster" for example), others will leave you filled with the feeling of great potential, especially when they sound like the early days of Sebadoh, Minutemen and The Grifters. I'm not sure if these songs were recorded in order but just when it starts to have momentum and blow you away, it's over.
- mark
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Released 12.11.2007
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Friday, May 02, 2008
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Neil Hamburger - Sings Country Winners (Drag City) [upcoming shows]
Every time I think Neil Hamburger's schtick needs reinvention, Neil Hamburger's schtick gets reinvented. This very specific parody of the tossed-off celebrity cash-in albums of the '60s and '70s succeeds beyond its base novelty record pedigree. Amazingly, the album is far superior both lyrically and musically to the forthcoming album by labelmates Silver Jews. Look, you knew before you read this review whether this is something you'd like or not, but it really is a lot better than it needed to be.
- troy
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Released 04.22.2008
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Thursday, May 01, 2008
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Intelligence - Debt & ESP/Chateau Bandit 7" (Plastic Idol) [audio] [upcoming shows]
There's something about the music coming out of the drizzly Northwest the past 20+ years that's indescribably identifiable. Lars Finberg (ex-A Frames) has made a couple records now as Intelligence, and his new single continues more or less in the same geographical tradition. The recording levels were pushed way into the red... then beyond. And though these two songs trudge along without much melody, the grooves provide some unfuckwithable hooks. Your neighbors will hate this, but it demands to be played at maximum volume.
- paul
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Released 04.22.2008
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Wednesday, April 30, 2008
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Santogold (Downtown) [audio] [upcoming shows]
As shiny and pretty as the gold glitter vomit that adorns the album cover, Santogold's self-titled album is yet another absurdly catchy, well-produced, instantly palatable ethnic pop indie sensation. However, in eighteen months, when a date stumbles upon this forgotten treasure in your CD collection and gives you that look, there'll be no coughing and backpedaling regarding their discovery. You'll say with pride, "That's right, and it still holds up." He or she won't believe you, but you'll be right.
- troy
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Released 04.29.2008
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Tuesday, April 29, 2008
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The Breeders - Mountain Battles (4AD) [audio] [upcoming shows]
A Pixies fan is not necessarily a Breeders fan. Sure, the Deals had a couple radio hits fifteen years ago, but the rest was a total snoozefest. Early reports of Mountain Battles failed to mention how "German Studies" persuades you to pump up the volume, or how "It's the Love" flat-out compels you to dance. The Breeders are both playing around with minimalism and nodding their heads toward alt-classics of yesteryear like Nirvana and Young Marble Giants, and it's all paying off. Alternative rock is not dead.
- cormac
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Released 04.08.2008
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Monday, April 28, 2008
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Jong Pang - Bright White Light (Tigerspring) [audio] [upcoming shows]
The opening moments of "A House in Heartbeats" make it very clear that Anders Rhedin creates vertically instead of horizontally. Layers of sound are stacked one by one until the songs are so full they have nowhere to go but outward in all directions, which actually holds true for most of Bright White Light. It's percussive, but divinely melodic throughout. It's not "all-sound-all-the-time", though. Rhedin leaves breathing room in everything he writes, which is good. You'll need to catch your breath.
- paul
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Released 03.25.2008
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Friday, April 25, 2008
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Sump Pumps - Revenge of the... (8 Bit) [audio] [upcoming shows]
The Sump Pumps offer the unusual combination of high speed double synth-driven punk with four members—all singers—sharing distorted vocals. Recalling predecessors such as Brainiac, Rocket From the Crypt and Six Finger Satellite, with their matching outfits they have a little Devo in them too. Almost all the songs stretch past the three-minute mark, disqualifying them from the hardcore punk rock club, but it's high octane from beginning to end regardless.
- mark
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Released 05.13.2008
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Thursday, April 24, 2008
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Joe Jackson - Rain (Rykodisc) [audio] [upcoming shows]
It's easy to say Rain is the best Joe Jackson album in years: his discography reads like a free-falling line chart of both popularity and listener satisfaction. Beginning in '79 with one of the best albums ever, Mr. Jackson has faced an uphill battle, and his triennial release of disappointments hasn't helped his standing. Maybe it's getting the old band back together or maybe it's his previous collaboration with Ben Folds (who inspired who?), but Rain is the first album worth hearing since Night and Day.
- cormac
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Released 01.29.2008
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Wednesday, April 23, 2008
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Paddy Casey - Addicted to Company, Pt. 1 (RCA Victor) [audio] [upcoming shows]
It's not altogether surprising that a busker-styled singer/songwriter like Paddy Casey has had difficulty making a dent on the American pop music consciousness, because we're certainly already overrun with our own hordes of them. The fact that he's deliriously popular in his native Ireland makes no difference. A shame, really, because I've enjoyed him since his debut album nine years ago. He's not rough around the edges—sometimes his voice even recalls James Taylor—but he's honest, earnest and real.
- paul
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Released 04.01.2008
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Tuesday, April 22, 2008
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Hans the Double - Vessels EP (self released) [audio] [upcoming shows]
With heavy, distorted guitar rifts and colorful transitions akin to Smashing Pumpkins, the musicality on this album is spot-on. At times, the instrumental work dominates the vocals, which seem to fade against a vibrant back drop; but, the contrast of their mellowy, smooth vocals doesn't go unnoticed—just a brush of raucous vocal rage will highlight their brilliance. The purely instrumental track, "When the Moors Conquered Sicily", is a true testament to this band's talent.
- christina
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Released 12.11.2007
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Monday, April 21, 2008
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Various Artists - Wayfaring Strangers: Guitar Soli (Numero Group) [audio]
A missing link this ain't. Some of it is noodly puppy puke. One composition sounds a whole heck of a lot like something written specifically for The Weather Channel. Hold on now, though! About half the record is just terrific! Some of it is best described with the word "haunting." "Brilliant" even (if you're some kinda pervert). Clearly the whole thing owes its entire existence to John Fahey and his ilk, but this is still a truly enjoyable compilation of solo guitar formerly lost to those sweaty weirdos you see crouched on the floor at Goodwill.
- muffin
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Released 01.15.2008
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Friday, April 18, 2008
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Head of Femur - Great Plains (Greyday) [audio] [upcoming shows]
You're washing dishes and then... bang!, you're humming "Great Plains". You're helpless. "Jetway Junior" makes your feet shuffle. "Leader & The Falcon" makes you realize that, yeah, this band is good enough to open for Wilco and Andrew Bird. It's progressive pop, combining Flaming Lips with '70s rock, or maybe Elvis Costello with Apollo Sunshine. It's all over the map: strange, frantic, and fun all in the same song. It's taken several listens to conclude that I still don't know what to think.
- cormac
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Released 03.25.2008
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Thursday, April 17, 2008
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Low Scores - Battling the Grid (self released) [audio] [upcoming shows]
This is a free, downloadable collection of beats of uncleared samples and unfinished ideas, most of it laid back, the perfect background music or possibly the groundwork for your next
remix project. Easily digestible, these tracks bounce between tranquil mellowness and the more heavy bedroom hip hop beats. While this "album" contains 47 tracks, most are around one minute long and won't overwhelm you with a lack of variety in their sampled and not so sampled beats—mostly instrumental with the occasional voice mixed in. Download and enjoy it here.
- mark
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Released 02.05.2008
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Wednesday, April 16, 2008
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M83 - Saturdays=Youth (Mute) [audio] [upcoming shows]
Saturdays=Youth takes the title of a previous M83 single, "Teen Angst," as something of a mission statement here. Synth-driven waves crowd juvenile musings, with the results forming miniature epics of ennui and unease. Though the album hits its peak early with "Kim & Jessie," which is the best thing M83 has ever done, the album thankfully spreads its wealth for the duration of the running time. An ideal album for summer, the season of the Saturdays, this is the soundtrack to reliving every problem you've long since left behind.
- troy
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Released 04.15.2008
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Tuesday, April 15, 2008
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Gachupín (self released) [audio] [upcoming shows]
The first song sets the stage; starting with a groovy Irish jig on a rhythm guitar, "Irish Juju" neatly transcends into an Egyptian-inspired horn section then finishes with West African drums blended with a funky electronic keyboard. This is a cleverly-composed album laced with African-Columbian and Brazilian rhythms, and jazzy, psychedelic world beats that are sure to lure the listener into a tribal dance-trance! And the gritty, raunchy ending to "Las Armas Secretas" leaves no room for argument—these cats can jam.
- christina
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Released 01.15.2008
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Monday, April 14, 2008
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Nine Inch Nails - Ghosts I-IV (The Null Corporation) [audio] [upcoming shows]
If you like to work on your music rather than enjoy it, this might be the recording for you. I suppose if I had a month to listen to 1-2 tracks a day, reflect upon them, and fill out a journal decorated in electrical tape about the feelings it inspired, this might be a fun project. I don't. There are moments of beauty here and interesting ideas, but they are sketches without a central theme or anchor. Almost anyone could dig through here and find 30 minutes of great stuff, but I can't imagine you have the time.
- tom d.
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Released 04.08.2008
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Friday, April 11, 2008
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Stephin Merritt - The Man of a Million Faces (Nonesuch) [audio/video] [upcoming shows] Digital Single
In November 2007, NPR's All Songs Considered commissioned songwriter Stephin Merritt (The Magnetic Fields, The 6ths, etc.) to create an original piece of music in just two days based on the theme "1974" and this photograph. Interesting concept, but would it be any good? Well, in my estimation, it's the absolute best piece of music Merritt has delivered since anything on 2004's "i" and possibly even since 1999's 69 Love Songs. Yes, it's that good..and it was written basically on a dare.
- paul
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Released 04.08.2008
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Thursday, April 10, 2008
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Nick Lowe - Jesus of Cool: Anniversary Edition (Yep Roc) [audio] [upcoming shows]
This reissue was long, long overdue. And boy is it ever a kinder egg of a pinata package. You get all kinds of extra stuff that I won't go into here. Most of the songs are of the early Elvis Costello caliber, and I was excited to read in the liner notes that ol' Basher played just about every instrument. It gives me a special kind of joy to hear Lowe sing about "castrating Castro" over and over again on "Nutted by Reality." He starts the whole thing off with the absolute worst song, though.
- muffin
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Released 02.19.2008
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Wednesday, April 09, 2008
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Mission of Burma - The Horrible Truth About Burma: The Definitive Edition (Matador) [audio] [upcoming shows]
Normally my ears are not able to distinguish between a remaster and an original version unless it comes out worse but I wasn't prepared for the clarity of the layers of noise and screams being sped up, slowed down and looped over each other into a giant pile of abrasiveness. A reissue done right—the original producer takes the original analog tapes, restores the tracks into the correct order, adds four tracks left off the first time, then includes a 32 page booklet and a DVD of a live show from March 12, 1983.
- mark
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Released 03.18.2008
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Tuesday, April 08, 2008
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Rustic Overtones - Light at the End (Velour) [audio] [upcoming shows]
Everyone has a band like this. Guys you've loved for years, seen live multiple times, and yet every one of their CDs demands qualification. "It sounds much better live... it rocks harder than this... let's just skip this track...." Then, before they really "get it", they break up. Now, imagine they reunite 6 years later and just fucking nail it. The album you always knew they had in 'em. This is it. A perfectly produced pop rock album. Horns without being ska, drive without being loud... awesome.
- tom d.
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Released 03.18.2008
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Monday, April 07, 2008
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Silje Nes - Ames Room (Fat Cat) [audio] [upcoming shows]
The danger of providing a description of Silje Nes' music is that it will only evoke everything it does not sound like. Nes expertly arranges her multi-tracked home recordings of eclectic instrumentation and shy vocals to maximum effect, resulting in an album which is both inviting and mysterious in equal measure. The dirty weapon which propels the record is the impressive, unavoidable catchiness of the melodies as tempered by the charm of their eccentric presentation. Ames Room is an album of filtered yet inescapable beauty.
- troy
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Released 03.11.2008
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Friday, April 04, 2008
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Leona Lewis - Spirit (J Records) [audio] [upcoming shows]
Among all the winners of the American Idol and X Factor shows on both sides of the ocean, very few have turned contest success into an actual radio/video presence. 2006's X Factor winner Leona Lewis ably follows in the footsteps of Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood, not only breaking several records regarding US chart appeal of British singers, but by making a debut record actually worth listening to. "Bleeding Love" is a brilliant r&b-influenced pop single, percussive and moody, but "Take a Bow" is the real lion in waiting.
- paul
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Released 04.08.2008
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Thursday, April 03, 2008
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Beach House - Devotion (Carpark)
[audio] [upcoming shows]
Guess what? The new Beach House record sounds exactly like the old Beach House record. Guess what? Somehow this exactly-the-same-sounding record is about ten times better than the last one. But the last Beach House album was terrific, you say? See where I'm going here? Who knew that vocals, slide guitar and crummy organ would have such longevity? It helps that songs 1, 2 and 3 are the third-best, second-best and best (respectively) tunes they've written.
- muffin
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Released 02.26.2008
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Wednesday, April 02, 2008
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Have a Nice Life - Deathconsciousness (Enemies List) [audio] [upcoming shows]
Sometimes 75 words just aren't enough. Exasperatingly bad album from a band that has possibly the most dedicated and devious street team in the history of the internet. A double album that overstays every one of its eighty-five minutes, this muddled attempt at post-every-sound is one step above Myspace death metalheads jammin' together with dentist drills and a Radio Shack mic. The laughable attempts at grandeur from this band are no match for anyone with ears. Avoid by any means necessary.
- troy
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Released 01.29.2008
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Tuesday, April 01, 2008
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Louis XIV - Slick Dogs and Ponies (Atlantic) [audio] [upcoming shows]
Louis XIV, if you haven't heard them, are some bizarro blend of T. Rex and Ziggy Stardust-era Bowie with a singer who frequently sounds like the prancing younger brother of Bon Scott. It's not a bad recipe on paper. Even I liked them for about five minutes back in 2005 at the time of their first major-label album, but this shit gets old faster than sushi on a hot day. Unfortunately, it probably still gets them all laid.
- paul
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Released 01.29.2008
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Monday, March 31, 2008
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Tantric - The End Begins (Silent Majority) [audio] [upcoming shows]
Hugo Ferreira, Tantric's only remaining original member, has assembled a new group to record what may be deemed the band's strongest release to date. The sound is heavier than previous efforts and the addition of violinist Marcus Ratzenboeck gives the band's sound an affecting twist for a hard-rock album. Ferreira's occasional deadpan style of singing and some spotty guitar production can be somewhat deterring, but admittedly after several spins The End Begins has started to grow on me.
- j.p.
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Released 04.22.2008
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Thursday, March 27, 2008
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Harmonica - Miaow Miaow Bark! EP (Weewerk) [audio] [upcoming shows]
Harmonica made a ripple across mp3 blogs in 2006 with a couple of great sugary pop songs ("Boys & Girls" and "Friday Night"), so it's really disappointing that neither of them appear here. What's even more disappointing, however, is what does appear here. Two years was apparently just long enough to dull Harmonica's lustre, because these four tracks—buried under an ill-advised mall punk makeover of compressed guitars and painted-on sass—don't demand to ever be heard a second time.
- paul
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Released 01.22.2008
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Wednesday, March 26, 2008
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She & Him - Volume One (Merge) [audio] [upcoming shows]
The highest compliment I can pay Volume One by She & Him is that when I first heard the album, I assumed every song was a cover, when in fact only three are. The second highest compliment I can pay to Zooey Deschanel's musical debut as backed by M. Ward is that it's the first musical release by an actor that doesn't simply affirm their primary career choice. These are new standards in more ways than one.
- troy
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Released 03.18.2008
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Tuesday, March 25, 2008
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The Seabellies - Wave Your Fingers to Make the Winters EP (self released) [audio] [upcoming shows]
My apologies to The Seabellies for discovering them so late, having just found out about the EP they released a year ago. It's the kind of music I usually find perfect for spring. Wave Your Fingers to Make the Winters collects six songs, spacious enough to allow room for a reluctant melancholy to coexist alongside the soaring choruses and spirited rhythms that aren't unfamiliar to fans of Broken Social Scene or The Arcade Fire. "Day of the Bees" steals the show, while the five remaining songs all share second place.
- sam
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Released 03.27.2007
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Monday, March 24, 2008
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Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks - Real Emotional Trash (Matador) [audio] [upcoming shows]
Yeah, we get it. You're too cool to wear tie-dyed shirts and go weeks at a time without showering. You have a job, after all. You'd never let your likewise cool friends see all those Dead and Phish bootlegs you have, so you keep them in a suitcase under your bed and only pull them out when your husband or wife is out of town. So how do you satisfy your inner hippie while simultaneously keeping up a non-stanky appearance? Listen to Stephen Malkmus albums. All the stoner jamz with only some of the guilt.
- paul
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Released 03.04.2008
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Friday, March 21, 2008
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Angus & Julia Stone - A Book Like This (EMI) [audio] [upcoming shows]
Aussie brother/sister duo Angus & Julia Stone are like other familial groups in that there's a perceptible connection going on which doesn't exist in other musical line-ups, one that seems entirely organic and natural and adds a warmth to the music they perform. And speaking of that music, it's some pretty gorgeous folk pop with nary an ironic or hip leaning to be found. If only the Friedbergers weren't so busy screwing around with convention, The Fiery Furnaces might sometimes be half as listenable as this record is.
- paul
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Released 09.18.2007
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Thursday, March 20, 2008
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Cryptacize - Dig That Treasure (Asthmatic Kitty) [audio] [upcoming shows]
Nedelle Torrisi had already proved she plays well with others on Summerland, and Dig That Treasure finds her working with strange, often atonal, completely anarchic pop structures in partnership with two men who aren't primarily known by their first names. The hit-to-miss ratio of these self-consciously fractured tunes is hard to overlook, but the album's not without passing charms. Nedelle still hasn't found quite the right musical match to compliment her voice, so this is just another approach she can scratch out.
- troy
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Released 02.19.2008
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Wednesday, March 19, 2008
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Dark Captain Light Captain - Jealous Enemies/Mid-Session Interval 7" (Lo Alternative Frequencies) [audio] [upcoming shows]
Beats, acoustic guitars and angelic harmonies: people love to call it "folktronica" when these things get mixed together, but that sounds kind of stupid. Though it's thoroughly modern, "Jealous Enemies" is every bit as good as its folk-rock ancestors—songs by Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span—that once had the audacity to combine pastoral melody with pop tempos. You could group them with contemporaries like Tunng or The Memory Band, but you'll be listening to these dudes twice as often.
- paul
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Released 11.13.2007
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Tuesday, March 18, 2008
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The Billionaires - Really Real for Forever (Too Soon) [audio] [upcoming shows]
Attention hip teenage indie popsters!!! If lyrics like "We're gonna get high after school" and "Let's go out and get fucked up to forget" speak to you, then this is the first record of 2008 you must buy. Or shoplift, you degenerate. The Billionaires are here to corner the market on catchy sing-a-long dance pop for the all ages crowd. Unfortunately, the immature lyrics can be particularly distressing when you consider the band's ability to produce some pretty serious harmonies in the same vein as The New Pornographers.
- cormac
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Released 04.01.2008
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