AltWeeklies Wire
Addition by Subtractionnew
After two albums of wispy, hushed folk with electronic atmospherics, only vocalist John Orth and guitarist Jeff Hays remained in Holopaw - yet after recruiting a handful of new members and a smattering of additional players, the band has released album of magnificent heights and gorgeous depths.
Tucson Weekly |
Michael Petitti |
12-31-2009 |
Reviews
Making More Lists: Our Critics Keep Naming the Best Music of 2009new
Our annual saga of music Top 10 lists kicked off recently, and now we present to you the thrilling conclusion of Our Favorite Albums of 2009. One of the albums named: Vic Chesnutt's At the Cut.
Tucson Weekly |
Jarret Keene, Curtis McCrary, Michael Petitti and Stephen Seigel |
12-31-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: Year in Review
Devendra Banhart: 'What Will We Be'new
After making the transition from his early ramshackle folk into the bombastic shape-shifting of 2007's Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon, Devendra Banhart attempts here to appropriate his entire career, with mixed results.
Tucson Weekly |
Michael Petitti |
12-10-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: What Will We Be, Devendra Banhart
Why? Wades Through the Strange 'Eskimo Snow'new
Started as a pet project by Yoni Wolf, whose deadpan raps and quirky musical tastes (culled from hip-hop, rock and folk influences) made for strange bedfellows, Why? soon swelled into a full-fledged band with Yoni's brother, Josiah, and friend Doug McDiarmid joining.
Tucson Weekly |
Michael Petitti |
10-29-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Eskimo Snow, Why?
The Debut from Girls is Shaggy and Masterfulnew
A stunning success of musical pastiche, Album, like Girls leader Christopher Owens, appeals as equally touching and troubled.
Tucson Weekly |
Michael Petitti |
10-07-2009 |
Reviews
Pearl Jam's 'Backspacer' is Most Impressive for Not Making Concessionsnew
With Pearl Jam experiencing a renaissance of late -- aided by 2006's eponymous return to form and a well-deserved live reputation -- the group is moving forward with its loosest album to date.
Tucson Weekly |
Michael Petitti |
09-23-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: Backspacer, Pearl Jam
Mount Eerie's 'Wind's Poem' is Best When Quietnew
As the dust settles, it is clear that Phil Elverum's black metal is a different breed.
Tucson Weekly |
Michael Petitti |
09-16-2009 |
Reviews
New Modest Mouse Collection is a Fitting Snapshotnew
No One's First and You're Next mixes holdovers from previous LPs plus damaged pop, electrified folk and scrappy rock.
Tucson Weekly |
Michael Petitti |
08-28-2009 |
Reviews
Busdriver's Latest Album is Both Playful and Fiercenew
Like an auctioneer on speed, Busdriver's impressively fast rhyming skills help him stack the strange, intriguing Jhelli Beam with a word count generally reserved for major Russian literature.
Tucson Weekly |
Michael Petitti |
08-12-2009 |
Reviews
Los Campesinos! Refine and Conquernew
Set to embark on another globetrotting tour, Los Campesinos! barely blinked while losing a member, endlessly recording and making themselves available to fans.
Tucson Weekly |
Michael Petitti |
08-12-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Vicious Fun with the Dead Weathernew
Members of well-known decibel-heavy groups constitute the Dead Weather, who have just released a sludgy, nasty and--not shockingly--loud album of excellent blues-rock.
Tucson Weekly |
Michael Petitti |
08-05-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: Horehound, The Dead Weather
The Fiery Furnaces Return With a Very Good Albumnew
If you've ever been on the fence about this band's experimental excess, but enjoyed their more-cohesive moments, you'll be pleased by I'm Going Away.
Tucson Weekly |
Michael Petitti |
07-23-2009 |
Reviews
'Bitte Orca' is Aggravatingly Goodnew
The newest album from Brooklyn's Dirty Projectors is downright parasitic: It's an album composed of often noxious components that is deftly able to worm its way into the listener's heart.
Tucson Weekly |
Michael Petitti |
07-23-2009 |
Reviews
Jason Lytle's Debut is Like Granddaddy, Stripped Downnew
Three years after the breakup of Grandaddy, Jason Lytle returns with a collection of dreamy pop songs about nature and modernity, bathed in quirky pathos.
Tucson Weekly |
Michael Petitti |
07-16-2009 |
Reviews
Sonic Youth's 'The Eternal' is Near Perfectionnew
The group's 16th full-length album is a singular work, with idiosyncratic salutes, via song dedications, to obscure beat poet Gregory Corso and punk rocker Bobby Pyn (aka Darby Crash), and folk hero John Fahey, who painted the cover art.
Tucson Weekly |
Michael Petitti |
07-08-2009 |
Reviews