Album Reviews
A collection of album and EP reviews written and published from 2004 onward.
- Teddybears “Soft Machine” Review ()
There is a sharp contrast in terms of contribution and exploration between the worlds of rock music and electronic music. Without heavily elaborating, if a punk rock icon was to release an electronic track, and in doing so expanding their previously stagnant sound base by leaps and bounds, it would be viewed as shocking and […]
- R.E.M. “And I Feel Fine: Best of the IRS Years 1982-1987″ Review ()
Had you told me that R.E.M. was an established band when I first heard them I wouldn’t have really known what to make of them. They had just released the reverb-strong, grungy knock-off Monster and were fueled by airplay from their tracks “What’s the Frequency Kenneth” and “Strange Currencies.” Once my young ears began putting […]
- Mastodon “Blood Mountain” Review ()
Mere weeks after its release Mastodon’s Blood Mountain is being hailed as an epic return to metal’s roots by one of the genre’s modern day pioneers. Not only accepted by the entire gamut of rock fan, but rock critic as well, Blood Mountain’s takes a break from modern prog and clashes with speed, grind and […]
- The Slits “Revenge of the Killer Slits” EP Review ()
What I know of The Slits is more myth than anything, with my knowledge finding its beginning back in the time when The Trouser Press Record Guide was a key influence in my daily music purchases. Recorded in the summer of 2005, Revenge of the Killer Slits, is a seemingly full-fledged return for the girl […]
- “Dan The Automator Presents 2K7” Review ()
Ask any of my friends, I hate basketball. I don’t like watching it and am absolutely horrible at the sport. Likewise, I’m not a big fan of video games. With that being said, I should by all means hate anything having to do with 2K Sports’ NBA 2K7. Fortunately I gravitate towards hip hop based […]
- TV on the Radio “Return to Cookie Mountain” Review ()
What is most unsettling about Return to Cookie Mountain is its originality. When considering how much music is released in any given year it becomes dumbing as to how much of it is uninspired or generally lacking any real unique qualities. With that, just as the weight of this crashes down with full substantive force, […]
- Duane Andrews “Caravan” Review ()
Acclaimed East-Coast folk instrumentalist Duane Andrews’ recent offering, Caravan, represents a shift towards further defining himself as a tangibly diverse musician. Throughout there are flirtations with ragtime, a variety of waltzes and boggy jazz lullabies, all proving Andrews to be either a glutton for genre-defying mood shifts or simply a wonderful musician. Caravan looks at […]
- The Black Keys “Magic Potion” Review ()
Just what happens that when a band, so powerful and marketable, takes advantage of a sound that many are using and penetrates modern pop music with it, its many contemporaries are often forgotten? In the case of The White Stripes and The Black Keys though, it is the contemporaries that deliver absolutely striking music that […]
- What Made Milwaukee Famous “Trying To Never Catch Up” Review ()
How much do I love you? That’s such a silly question, my love for you is unconditional. Well, I mean, I love you, but sometimes you really stretch my emotions and make me fear seeing you again. “It’s not no much the way you hurt me, it’s more like the way you make me want […]
- Funky Nashville “Hitch a Ride” Review ()
Funky Nashville. The name alone screams “DON’T LISTEN TO ME!” This coming from the perspective of someone who has listened to countless “funky” country bands in America’s Midwest, all dripping of country-fried arrogance, all finding it troublesome to muster any real sense of musical identity. What if, just what if, this band was an ironic […]
- Jodi Jett “Revelations” Review ()
When talking with friends that are in bands, does it ever bother you that their taste in music lacks any key influence? Not to discount a friend of mine, who is a skilled guitar player, but he swears by post-nü metal bands that typically dominate much of today’s mainstream rock radio’s playlists. Even though it […]
- “Pet Sounds” 40th Anniversary ()
I fall into a different type of category in terms of Beach Boys listener, I’m a second generation semi-fan. My mom enjoys the band, casually, but my dad hates The Beach Boys with a passion. In some respect, I did too for the longest period of time while my tastes were maturing, horizons broadening, roots […]
- Mew “Mew And The Glass Handed Kites” Review ()
When comparing Mew to its contemporaries, the Danish quartet findx little similarity within the given realm of modern rock music. Mew And the Glass Handed Kites serves as somewhat of a rock opera in which its characters appear then vanish quickly, only to reappear in its later stages in an entirely different form. It’s main […]
- The Colour “Devil’s Got A Holda Me” EP Review ()
Rather than a slow brooding rock monster, what seems to be at the core of The Colour is a bit of a paranoid, caffeine induced garage-blues. The LA-based band has a funny way about associating its modern sound with traditional rock, especially within the confines of the EP’s lead track “The Devil’s Gotta Holda Me.” […]
- Blackpool Lights “This Town’s Disaster” Review ()
Blackpool Lights led by Jim Suptic, formerly the frontman of the now expired Kansas City pop-punkers The Get Up Kids, started as far more of a new beginning for its members than a continuation of old musical habits. For Suptic, This Town’s Disaster will be released on his Curb Appeal Records, and suits itself as […]
- Primal Scream “Riot City Blues” Review ()
Primal Scream, a band with a history that precedes it…or does it? In a situation such as this, I find myself just outside of having a mainstream appreciation for the band as I haven’t been following Primal Scream since the groundbreaking days of Screamadelica. Essentially piecing together a timeline that grew out of The Jesus […]
- Grace Potter and the Nocturnals “Nothing But the Water” Review ()
Obsessively accepted as one of their own by the jam band scene, Southern-sounding Vermont natives Grace Potter and the Nocturnals accept said similarities and influence, combining lengthy waves of song with their brand of gospel based rock. And all is lead by the phenomenal 22 year old singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Grace Potter. Nothing But […]
- Soul Asylum “The Silver Lining” Review ()
Soul Asylum releasing new music is a strange thing. It sparks thoughts about a friend you had all but forgotten about a decade ago. You’ve both moved on and neither had since taken the initiative to check in periodically, both content with your current state of living without any burning curiosity as to how the […]
- The Majestic Twelve “Schizophrenology” Review ()
The Majestic Twelve are one of the only bands that will make you rethink the music you’re currently listen to and question why you’re not only not listening to more of the Majestic Twelve, but why you hadn’t listened to them sooner. (That is unless you have heard of the band, in that case the […]
- Joan Jett & The Blackhearts “Sinner” Review ()
One of the greatest points of interest on Sinner comes from its liner notes, “Thanks” in particular, as it drives an interest into where this new Joan Jett is coming from. Steven Van Zandt, Fugazi, Social Distortion’s Mike Ness and Rancid’s Lars Fredrickson among a laundry list of others are all named. See, despite being […]
- Everclear “Welcome to the Drama Club” Review ()
Everclear’s new album Welcome to the Drama Club is a wasted effort from a nonexistent band past its prime. While such a criticism might be merited, actually listening to the album proves it wrong. What has Art Alexakis done? The band is different, but the music is refreshingly enjoyable. The band that backed him to […]
- Silversun Pickups “Carnavas” Review ()
“In the brutally cold world of Big Rock Biz, there’s something very comforting about just knowing that a band like L.A.’s Silversun Pickups exist.” Something tells me that the band’s press release has an air of arrogance stemming from varied facets, the main being that it is the truth. Simply said, there is something oddly […]
- Kaki King “…Until We Felt Red” Review ()
In preparation for a new album, it becomes fitting to revisit an artists older work, and in doing so various thoughts and memories are too revisited. Re-experiencing Kaki King’s live performances revealed a longing for her music that was unbeknownst to me at the time. While refreshing memories, a number of videos became suitable preparation […]
- Brand New Heavies “Get Used To It” Review ()
Popular early 90s funk revivalists The Brand New Heavies new album Get Used To It jumps straight into a sound that precedes the group wherever it goes; acid jazz, lounge funk or even soulful grooves, if you will. Or at least history would lead you to believe this to be the case, as it would […]
- Gov’t Mule “High and Mighty” Review ()
Gov’t Mule stands out as one of those bands that are recognizable by name to many but are truly appreciated by a select sect of music fans. Historically, I do not find myself in that particular segment however, and often I have found myself making possibly unjust associations between the band and jams bands; along […]
- Midlake “The Trials of Van Occupanther” Review ()
A few years after befriending the überhip Jason Lee and Cocteau Twins bassist Simon Raymonde began working with the band on various levels, the members of Midlake now relax within their given niche of stylish retroactive rock with the release of The Trials of Van Occupanther. “The Trials of Van Occupanther is now one of […]
- NOFX “Wolves in Wolves’ Clothing” Review ()
Wolves in Wolves’ Clothing is the album that NOFX needed to make at this point in the band’s career. The title itself serves as a hint as to what the music within is, the opinions thoughts and feelings of a blunt, aging punk band. The album’s starting point is hidden far below the surface of […]
- Priestess “Hello Master” Review ()
Priestess’s release of Hello Master comes at a time in which blossoming metal revivalists are not simply becoming fashionable, but are sparking dialogue questioning which generation was better. Generation Budgie says it’s better, but Generation Priestess at a stronger, more determined level that some of the genre’s figureheads could only dream of reaching. Voted Montréal’s […]
- Burden of a Day “Pilots & Paper Planes” Review ()
Sarasota, Florida’s Burden of a Day have spent the past four years defining its sound within the scream-o realm though there have been attempts to add a twist to that; the band has devoted much of its time performing in local churches and praise meetings. Though a deeper faith may be the stem at which […]
- Prototypes “Prototypes” Review ()
Much of my first experience listening to Paris’ Prototypes lead me to believe that there was a serious connection between the band and general ’80s influences. A far broader base of pop culture influence, not simply musical—the band has seemingly jumped head first into the decade. The album’s lead single, “Je Ne Re Connais Pas” […]