AltWeeklies Wire
Deerhunter Confounds and Delights Againnew
Deerhunter doubly rewards fans' faith and rebuffs critics who dismiss the band as all reverb/echo flash and no songwriting chops -- literally, because Microcastle is actually two albums in one: Microcastle proper and a bonus disc of odds and ends titled Weird Era Cont.
Baltimore City Paper |
Raymond Cummings |
11-04-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Deerhunter, Microcastle
Religious Knives, Surprisingly, Create Order Out Of Chaosnew
So far this year, Religious Knives have issued two proper albums that mark monster steps away from noise-drone doldrums and into classic rock/no-wave terrain. In both cases, the quartet starts out with a head fake.
Baltimore City Paper |
Raymond Cummings |
10-28-2008 |
Reviews
Solange Knowles Tries to Seperate Herself From Her Sisternew
While Beyonce's primary persona is fiercely independent, domineering, and largely overconfident, her little sister presents as fragile, unsure, and in need of male protection.
Baltimore City Paper |
Raymond Cummings |
09-30-2008 |
Reviews
Kimya Dawson Winds a Strange Path to 'Alphabutt'new
Who'd have imagined--back when she and fellow Moldy Peach Adam Green were waxing anti-folk rhapsodic about downloading porn with Davo, about Duran Duran boyfriends, about what to stick their dicks in--that Kimya Dawson could ever be closer than an NFL football field to household name status?
Baltimore City Paper |
Raymond Cummings |
09-16-2008 |
Reviews
'Take Me to the Sea' Announces Jaguar Love as Its Own Entitynew
Johnny Whitney's new project with ex-Blood Brother Cody Votolato and ex- Pretty Girls Make Graves member Jay Clark, finds him dialing the histrionics down to suit the trio's relatively broader musical palette.
Baltimore City Paper |
Raymond Cummings |
09-02-2008 |
Reviews
Stereolab Pleasantly Regresses to the Dullest Point in Its Careernew
Chemical Chords is the sort of record where you hit play and all of a sudden you're halfway through the thing without even realizing how you got there.
Baltimore City Paper |
Raymond Cummings |
08-26-2008 |
Reviews
Portishead Forgets Everything It Knows About Dreadnew
Third feels like an exploratory exercise and a reintroduction rolled into a somewhat flat, frowny package, wrapped in rough burlap. In 2001 or '02 it might have registered as a rudderless junior slump; in 2008, it's just lame.
Baltimore City Paper |
Raymond Cummings |
04-29-2008 |
Reviews
Challenging the Limits of Inaccessible Music with Popnew
The appeal of pop-based music generally lies largely in its accessibility, its ability to capture and hold one's attention right away. But artists like Sightings, Yellow Swans and Fiery Furnaces do the opposite.
Baltimore City Paper |
Raymond Cummings |
10-23-2007 |
Reviews
