AltWeeklies Wire
Blonde Redheadnew
Blonde Redhead is always sad. But Penny Sparkle relies too much on that one emotion.
The Inlander |
Leah Sottile |
09-30-2010 |
Reviews
Tags: Blonde Redhead, Penny Sparkle
Pop Meets Soul in Sharon Jones' New Releasenew
Something a little different is definitely happening on album No. 4 by Daptone Records flagship act Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings.
Tucson Weekly |
Carl Hanni |
04-15-2010 |
Reviews
The Best Soundtrack to an Italian Horror Movie You've Ever Heardnew
Though it doesn’t specifically tell you what happens in the film H2Odio (it's entirely instrumental), you can gather a lot about it from the music on Harvestman's 'Trinity.'
The Inlander |
Leah Sottile |
04-08-2010 |
Reviews
Tags: Harvestman, Trinity
Pavement's Latest: 'Quarantine the Past'new
This is the year of Pavement, though they’ve been building up to it for the last several, reissuing expanded versions of their ground-breaking albums from the ’90s, which set the bar for a quirky, at times punk-angry yet always literate, version of indie rock.
Salt Lake City Weekly |
Brian Staker |
03-30-2010 |
Reviews
Tags: Quarantine the Past, Pavement
Righteously Energetic: Ted Leo's 'The Brutalist Bricks'new
The Brutalist Bricks is more of Ted Leo's signature brand of surging, thinking-man's punk rock, with soaring melodies to counterbalance the cranked amps and pummeling drums.
Tucson Weekly |
Eric Swedlund |
03-25-2010 |
Reviews
Breakthrough Record: Backyard Tire Fire's 'Good to Be'new
An all-too-common trap for Americana bands is to lay down an easy beat and dial in some twang. Backyard Tire Fire settles in miles away from that cookie-cutter approach, mixing barreling roadhouse rockers with lean, catchy, soulful tunes.
Tucson Weekly |
Eric Swedlund |
03-25-2010 |
Reviews
Tags: Backyard Tire Fire, Good to Be
The Tradition of Essential Music That's as Mechanized as it is Carnalnew
I hate electronic music that's devoid of any humanity; the best electronica reframes human experience in a compelling way. Think Tricky's derelict spacecraft love ballads on 1995's Maxinquaye.
Tucson Weekly |
Sean Bottai |
03-17-2010 |
Reviews
Tags: Causers of This, Toro Y Moi
Good Background Music: Efterklant's 'Magic Chairs'new
If Denmark exists primarily in the imagination of Hamlet's "unweeded garden" of "things rank and gross in nature," then Efterklang is here to put a shiny veneer over those dark currents.
Tucson Weekly |
Sean Bottai |
03-17-2010 |
Reviews
Tags: Magic Chairs, Efterklang
How Dancing Desert Stars Informed YACHT's New Albumnew
“YACHT is not a cult,” reads the mission statement of the electronically inclined Portland, Oregon pop duo, who perhaps protest too much. They have a philosophy, a belief system, followers, mystical symbols, a grand council (the YACHT Trust) and a work method that involves trance states
Montreal Mirror |
Lorraine Carpenter |
03-07-2010 |
Reviews
Tags: YACHT, See Mystery Lights
Xiu Xiu Pulls Off the Theatrical, Self-Loathing Thing Pretty Wellnew
Look past the twittering electronic blips and beeps on Xiu Xiu’s latest record and you find some pretty heavy, caked-on, manic-depressive drama (not to mention just plain batshit-crazy weirdness).
The Inlander |
Leah Sottile |
03-05-2010 |
Reviews
Gov't Mule's Main Man Says He Takes Time Off, But We Don't Believe Himnew
Warren Haynes reveals the depth of his blues knowledge on Gov't Mule's latest album, last year's By a Thread, which he released on his own Evil Teen label.
Houston Press |
Chris Gray |
02-23-2010 |
Reviews
Tags: By a Thread, Gov't Mule
With its Fourth Album, Story of the Year Stays the Coursenew
Four albums into its career, the St. Louis quintet continues to defy critics – and resist pigeonholing. Exhibit A: The Constant, the band's second LP for Epitaph Records and fourth album overall, which it recorded last summer with producer Elvis Baskette
Riverfront Times |
Annie Zaleski |
02-19-2010 |
Reviews
Tags: The Constant, Story of the Year
Everything You'd Expect From Johnny Cash, Reallynew
An album full of hurt, devotion, malaise and dejection — American VI: Ain't No Grave is everything, really, that you’d expect from a well-rounded Cash album.
The Inlander |
Leah Sottile |
02-17-2010 |
Reviews
Sade's 'Soldier of Love' Worth the 10-Year Waitnew
On her long-awaited new album, Sade continues to practice a now-classic style of exquisite heartbreak and desperate desire while slipping from blissed-out funk to heady R&B revivalism.
Tucson Weekly |
Gene Armstrong |
02-17-2010 |
Reviews
Tags: Sade, Soldier of Love
The Thermals Write An Olympic Anthemnew
Well, isn’t this good timing. Just three days before the Winter Olympics start in Vancouver, BC, everyone’s favorite punk band the Thermals have penned an ode to the land of hockey, poutine, and mounties.
Willamette Week |
Michael Mannheimer |
02-10-2010 |
Reviews
