AltWeeklies Wire
Travis' Sixth Album Introduces a Heavier Soundnew
The end result is an album that's good, but not great, and unlikely to move the needle on the band's evidently declining fan base.
Tags: Travis, Ode to J. Smith
The Cure's Latest Has its Ups ... and its Downsnew
With The Cure's 13th studio album in 30 years, Robert Smith and co. are back to form -- but unfortunately, Smith runs out of ideas halfway through filling out that form.
Tucson Weekly |
James Hudson |
11-14-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: The Cure, 4:13 Dream
'BBC Sessions' is an Essential Disc for Belle and Sebastian Fansnew
Released two years into the band's hiatus, The BBC Sessions should be inconsequential, yet it is an essential part of the band's discography.
Fast Forward Weekly |
Peter Hemminger |
11-13-2008 |
Reviews
A Dresden Doll Goes Solo on 'Who Killed Amanda Palmer'new
Deviance is also a key topic on Amanda Palmer's debut solo album, but she examines it in a somewhat more personalized -- and occasionally even tender -- manner.
Washington City Paper |
Casey Rae-Hunter |
11-13-2008 |
Reviews
Shiny Toy Guns' Sophomore Album is Varied and Boringnew
It's clear that Shiny Toy Guns didn't want to simply make a soundtrack to sweaty nights on dance floors. Which is admirable from an artistic standpoint, sure. But that doesn't mean Season of Poison is any fun to listen to.
Tags: Season of Poison, Shiny Toy Guns
A Depressing Trip Back To 'Berlin' With Lou Reednew
Lou Reed revisits the most depressing album ever, with slightly disappointing results.
Fast Forward Weekly |
Mark Hamilton |
11-10-2008 |
Reviews
'The Best of Jimmy Hughes' is a Long-Overdue Collectionnew
It only takes a verse and chorus of "I Worship the Ground You Walk On" to realize that Jimmy Hughes is one of the most criminally overlooked early maestros of the soul music explosion.
'Skeletal Lamping' Makes Clear that Of Montreal Doesn't Care About Pop Successnew
If this perennial indie band from Athens, Georgia, managed to break out as a mainstream pop force, it would make sense. And given the advance buzz for Skeletal Lamping, the band's ninth album, this seems to be its best shot yet ... until you listen to it.
Tags: Of Montreal, Skeletal Lamping
It Wasn't Broke, but The Haunted Tried to Fix It ... and Failednew
When a band decides to experiment with its sound, that experimentation can either further its career or completely backfire. The latter is the case for Sweden's The Haunted and their sixth release, Versus.
Tucson Weekly |
Jon Hobson |
11-06-2008 |
Reviews
'The Way of All Flesh' May Be One of the Best Metal Albums Evernew
French ecological death metal? It's the only way to characterize Gojira's fourth full-length.
Tucson Weekly |
Jarret Keene |
11-06-2008 |
Reviews
Grayceon Lets its Prog Rev Up Organically on 'This Grand Show'new
Though San Francisco's Grayceon sounds nothing like Dream Theater or Mastodon, it wouldn't sound too out of place on a bill with either band: The trio combines prog's obsession with long-form composition and unconventional orchestration with metal's crunchy guitars and hyperactive drumming.
Washington City Paper |
Brandon Wu |
11-06-2008 |
Reviews
Johnny Cash Gets the Remix Treatmentnew
Cash purists have every right to blanch at these mixing-board artistes slicing and dicing his songs, but the results suggest that even from beyond the grave, the old man is fully capable of busting a move.
Houston Press |
Chris Gray |
11-04-2008 |
Reviews
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
Gang Gang Dance Decimates Every Jam-Rock Cliche on 'Saint Dymphna'new
In short, it's an album of such bizarre ambition that even Bjork will have to remove her headdress of human hair, have a long look at the mirror, and worry about what to do next.
Washington City Paper |
Aaron Leitko |
10-31-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Gang Gang Dance, Saint Dymphna
The Spinto Band Prepares to Soarnew
Moonwink starts a few miles high and stays elevated, its tone shifting into progressively brighter colors.
The Portland Mercury |
Tobias Carroll |
10-31-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Moonwink, The Spinto Band
