AltWeeklies Wire
Sax Ruins Breaks Down Category Wallsnew
Just when you thought nothing more could be done in the jazz-based idiom with a saxophone and a drum kit, along comes Sax Ruins, a deadly duo featuring improvisational sax player Ono Ryoko and Ruins skinsman Tatsuya Yoshida.
Tucson Weekly |
Jarret Keene |
07-29-2009 |
Reviews
Evan Dando's Cover Album 'Varshons' Could Easily Be Filed Next to Loretta Lynnnew
Unbelievably, Dando does Townes Van Zandt ("Waiting Around to Die") better than the late songwriter's disciple, Steve Earle, giving the song a hazy, horse-ride-at-dawn touch. If you enjoyed Robert Plant and Alison Krauss' Raising Sand or Cat Power's covers, the Lemonheads' Varshons will dazzle and delight.
Tucson Weekly |
Jarret Keene |
07-23-2009 |
Reviews
Dinosaur Jr. Isn't Just Punching the Clock for Post-Reunion 'Farm'new
Farm, the band's ninth album and their first for the Jagjaguwar label, picks up where 2007's Beyond, a brilliant return from a 10-year hiatus, left off, even if it exchanges streamlined song structures for a varied attack.
Tucson Weekly |
Jarret Keene |
07-16-2009 |
Reviews
The Church's New Album is an Indistinct Effortnew
Although Untitled #23 contains a couple of marvelous tracks and has received glowing reviews, it's mostly a return to the cluttered, swirling, noncommercial sound that The Church has long specialized in.
Tucson Weekly |
Jarret Keene |
07-02-2009 |
Reviews
Heaven and Hell Moves Into Mainstream Territorynew
Due to legal wrangling, a Ronnie James Dio-fronted Sabbath has to work under the name Heaven and Hell--which is exactly what the band delivers: awesomely heavy riffs (heaven), with all of them sounding similar (hell).
Tucson Weekly |
Jarret Keene |
06-25-2009 |
Reviews
Leonard Cohen Is a Balladeer for the End Timesnew
Leonard Cohen's new two-disc set, recorded in London in 2008 with a nine-member band, sounds as beautifully apocalyptic as anything he's ever done.
Tucson Weekly |
Jarret Keene |
06-11-2009 |
Reviews
Get Out the Neck Brace for Warbringer's Latestnew
Warbringer nails another pure thrash-metal bull's-eye that evokes the classic '80s sound pioneered by bands like Metallica.
Tucson Weekly |
Jarret Keene |
06-04-2009 |
Reviews
Dance to the Decades with 1990snew
This homage to the 1980s is uneven, but worth spinning before hitting the clubs.
Tucson Weekly |
Jarret Keene |
05-07-2009 |
Reviews
'Wyllt' Is the Stuff of Nightmaresnew
For every horrendous indie-rock act praised in the virtual pages of music blogs, there's a musically accomplished group of post-headbangers knocking on hell's door--and one such group is Black Math Horseman.
Tucson Weekly |
Jarret Keene |
04-23-2009 |
Reviews
Leaving the Lights On: Cannibal Corpse's 'Evisceration Plague'new
If you're an extreme metalhead with any sense of history, Evisceration Plague likely sounds better than it is.
Tucson Weekly |
Jarret Keene |
04-16-2009 |
Reviews
Warm and Fuzzy: It Hugs Backnew
Like kittens playing in yarn, It Hugs Back, from Kent, England, revels in soft cuteness.
Tucson Weekly |
Jarret Keene |
04-08-2009 |
Reviews
'Best of Contemporary Mexican Fiction' Introduces Readers to Living Writers from Across the Bordernew
Chances are that a recognizable literary talent is already dead. This is the challenge that confronts a book like Best of Contemporary Mexican Fiction. It features 16 writers, all of whom still walk the Earth.
Tucson Weekly |
Jarret Keene |
04-08-2009 |
Fiction
Serrated Lyrical Edge: Elvis Perkins in Dearlandnew
With Dearland, Elvis Perkins leaves behind any resemblance to the quirky indie-folk acts he was sometimes compared to, broadening his vocal range and attack.
Tucson Weekly |
Jarret Keene |
03-12-2009 |
Reviews
Comic-Nerd Chicnew
On first spin, the novelty of Kirby Krackle seems better-suited for the convention circuit than a discriminating CD collection. However, repeated listens reveal accomplished songcraft that will reward anyone wishing Weezer's Rivers Cuomo would return to writing about D&D.
Tucson Weekly |
Jarret Keene |
02-26-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: indie rock, Kirby Krackle
The Creepshow Isn't Afraid to Take on U.S. Customs -- Almostnew
Like the bastard offspring of Elvis Costello and Elvira, The Creepshow is a Canadian "hellbilly" (horror-punk-rockabilly) act that hits every known musical sweet spot.
Tucson Weekly |
Jarret Keene |
02-26-2009 |
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