AltWeeklies Wire
Cut and Pastenew
Embellished with clarinet, trumpet, cello, and saxophone, these 13 tracks vacillate between effervescent chamber-pop and rattletrap free jazz, folktronic freakouts and luminous art songs, skittish beat pastiches and free-association ramblings.
Illinois Times |
Rene Spencer Saller |
07-11-2005 |
Reviews
Hard to Hatenew
If you turn off your brain and your conscience, it’s possible to enjoy the burbly bass line and urgent whisper that Kaine and D-Roc use to deliver their heinous message.
Illinois Times |
Rene Spencer Saller |
07-08-2005 |
Reviews
A Risky Band's Radical Departurenew
Although any one of the 10 tracks would have been a highlight on any other album, the overall quality is so consistent, the sequencing so inevitable, the juxtapositions so compelling, that singling out a particular track does a disservice to the others.
Illinois Times |
Rene Spencer Saller |
06-21-2005 |
Reviews
Tags: Sleater-Kinney, The Woods
Two Great Tastes Taste Great Togethernew
This album is a study in bleak romanticism, 10 stunning tracks in which luminous harmonies materialize from moody maelstroms and dark dirges give way to ravishing lullabies. Also reviewed is Jim White Presents Music From Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus.
Illinois Times |
Rene Spencer Saller |
06-21-2005 |
Reviews
An Embarrassment of Richesnew
The sheer multiplicity of this miniorchestra's sound can be a bit nerve-wracking, but when Head of Femur hits a groove, the results are breathtaking. Also reviewed is the Mercury Rev's The Secret Migration.
Illinois Times |
Rene Spencer Saller |
05-27-2005 |
Reviews
The Best of Highbrow Musicnew
Mugam Sayagi, Kronos’s first album since 2002’s Nuevo, consists of four pieces by the Azerbaijani pianist/composer Franghiz Ali-Zadeh, three of which were commissioned by the quartet.
Illinois Times |
Rene Spencer Saller |
05-23-2005 |
Reviews
Indie-Rock's Joyce Carol Oatesnew
The quality of Jill Johnson’s songwriting for South San Gabriel is so consistently excellent that it seems petty to carp about his prodigious output. Also reviewed is Nouvelle Vague's Nouvelle Vague.
Illinois Times |
Rene Spencer Saller |
05-13-2005 |
Reviews
Songwriting Geniusnew
Although John Darnielle, who records as the Mountain Goats, once disdained the reductive narcissism of confessional singer/songwriters, he has come to embrace the creative possibilities in his own life story.
Illinois Times |
Rene Spencer Saller |
05-09-2005 |
Reviews
A Voice Like Sorghumnew
No matter how dramatically Vic Chestnutt's sound has evolved, his style is unmistakable, stamped with an acerbic wit and an oversized heart. Also reviewed is the Radar Brothers' The Fallen Leaf Pages.
Illinois Times |
Rene Spencer Saller |
05-06-2005 |
Reviews
Folk Music for the 21st Centurynew
Spectacularly foulmouthed and surprisingly tender, Martha Wainwright demands to be confronted on her own terms.
Illinois Times |
René Spencer Saller |
04-22-2005 |
Reviews
Familiarity Doesn't Necessarily Breed Contemptnew
The golden boy of ’90s indie rock is getting older, and his latest gives evidence that he's matured.
Illinois Times |
Rene Spencer Saller |
04-15-2005 |
Reviews
Former Squirrel Nut Zipper Has It Allnew
Andrew Bird is to the violin what Jimi Hendrix was to the guitar, which is to say not merely a virtuoso but also a visionary. Also reviewed is Snowglobe's Doing the Distance.
Illinois Times |
Rene Spencer Saller |
04-15-2005 |
Reviews
From Muse to Non-Lolitanew
Keren Ann Zeidel's lyrics are both commonplace and enigmatic, a series of ordinary observations that accumulate meaning obliquely, transparent layer by transparent layer, like a Rembrandt painting or a Raymond Carver story.
Illinois Times |
Rene Spencer Saller |
04-05-2005 |
Reviews
Not Quite a Sea Changenew
The consensus on Low’s seventh full-length album and first for Sub Pop, is that it represents a Great Departure. Also reviewed is The Fiery Furnaces'EP.
Illinois Times |
Rene Spencer Saller |
03-25-2005 |
Reviews
Songs About Poseursnew
Underneath the surface mockery of Clem Snide's fifth album is a deep and abiding sympathy, a generosity of spirit that refuses to succumb to despair. Also reviewed is Petra Haden's Petra Haden Sings: The Who Sell Out.
Illinois Times |
Rene Spencer Saller |
03-25-2005 |
Reviews
