AltWeeklies Wire
Polvo Returns With All the Answers on 'In Prism'new
If you only ever hear one Polvo song, make it eight-minute In Prism centerpiece "Lucia." Haunting and elegant at the start, it takes a hair-pin tempo turn around the 2:20 mark and -- voilà -- it's damn near the best foot-to-the-pedal drive song ever.
Las Vegas Weekly |
Spencer Patterson |
09-10-2009 |
Reviews
A.A. Bondy: Devilishly Awesomenew
Bondy's high-decibel background recedes further into his rearview with his second folk-music effort.
Tucson Weekly |
Jarret Keene |
09-02-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: When the Devil's Loose, A.A. Bondy
Jack Penate: Taffy and Bassnew
Everything actually isn't new on Peñate's sophomore effort, but several bright tracks are worth the purchase price alone.
Tucson Weekly |
Sean Bottai |
09-02-2009 |
Reviews
Greymachine: Apocalypse Knockingnew
This collaboration may not be everyone's cuppa, but for connoisseurs of the heavy, it is unrelenting and earth-shaking.
Tucson Weekly |
Gene Armstrong |
09-02-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: Disconnected, Greymachine
The Beatles: I'm Looking Through Them
Rediscovering something that wasn't lost: A few words on the Beatles remasters.
Oneida's 'Rated O' Feels Like a Watershednew
There aren't many (any?) indie-ish rock bands of whom it can be said that their 11th full-length is their best, especially given that said full-length comes out to much more than "full length" -- nearly two solid hours of music spread across three CDs or LPs.
Baltimore City Paper |
Lee Gardner |
09-01-2009 |
Reviews
Blind Boys of Alabama Founder Clarence Fountain Returns With a Soul Albumnew
Stepping Up and Stepping Out stands as an exceptional gospel and soul release that you can spin anytime, anywhere—at a family barbecue, in your car on the way to work, at home alone.
Tucson Weekly |
Jarret Keene |
08-31-2009 |
Reviews
The Arctic Monkeys Go in a New Direction on 'Humbug'new
Humbug is the Monkeys at their most sincere and plaintive, and if you're not too cynical to follow them in this new direction, it should make your heart skip a beat or two.
Tucson Weekly |
Sean Bottai |
08-31-2009 |
Reviews
Joe Henry Creates His Own Dark Americana on 'Blood From Stars'new
Record-producer extraordinaire Joe Henry takes his own brand of pensive Americana a step deeper into the underworld on this dreamy and brooding album that just may be the peak of his career.
Tucson Weekly |
Eric Swedlund |
08-31-2009 |
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
At War Offers Right-Wing Thrashnew
With its pro-military message, Infidel is purest thrash, centered on fierce guitar riffs.
Tucson Weekly |
Jarret Keene |
08-28-2009 |
Reviews
The Skygreen Leopards' Latest Album is Purely Californianew
Gorgeous Johnny is laid-back folk-rock with pre-formed images of sunlight streaming through palm trees at the ocean.
Tucson Weekly |
Eric Swedlund |
08-28-2009 |
Reviews
Depression-Era North Carolina String Band is Generously Anthologized on New Two-CD Setnew
The subtitle of the anthology, The Complete Recordings of the Red Fox Chasers (1928-31), is truthful: The two discs contain the entire recorded output of Brooks, Miles, A.P. Thompson and Bob Cranford.
John Surman's Jazz Quartet Shakes Things Up on 'Brewster's Rooster'new
Brewster's Rooster is more of an outlier than it might seem. Granted, aside from the occasional skronk, the album is rather tuneful and approachable. But, in a genre that is contracting rather than expanding, what could be more radical than a musician who sees the entirety of jazz as part of a single lovely continuum?
Washington City Paper |
Brent Burton |
08-27-2009 |
Reviews
Brandon Patton's 'Underhill Downs' is Full of Smoothly Produced, Heavily Overdubbed Tracksnew
Though his debut Should Confusion was released near the beginning of the decade, Staten Island, N.Y., singer/songwriter Brandon Patton didn't put out his second album, Underhill Downs, until now, owing to his steady gig as bassist for nerdcore rapper MC Frontalot.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Ben Westhoff |
08-25-2009 |
Reviews
