AltWeeklies Wire
Workhorse Rides Roughnew
Workhorse is an animal willing to do the heavy lifting -- emphasis on "heavy."
Tags: Beasts of Burden, Workhorse
Duran Duran Was Never a Great Bandnew
The Duranies gained fame as sleek, sleazy showmen with a strong visual sense and the ability to transform other people's ideas into garish pop readymades. Massacre follows that formula.
Tags: Duran Duran, Red Carpet Massacre
Studio Pros' Fingerprints Found All Over 'As I Am'new
Their influence isn't fatal, but the disc feels less distinctive than it should given the talent of the performer pictured on its cover.
Tags: Alicia Keys, As I Am
Jay-Z Falls Shortnew
American Gangster is considerably better than 2006's lackluster Kingdom Come, if only because it returns Jay-Z to his criminal comfort zone.
Tags: American Gangster, Jay-Z
The Informants: Ably Retronew
Stiletto Angel doesn't offer anything particularly novel; its jump blues and boogie-woogie numbers connect the dots in the expected, but well-executed ways.
Tags: Stiletto Angel, The Informants
Souja Boy May be a Good Marketer, But ...new
This is what rap would have sounded like if it had been invented in the nineteenth century: simple snaps, barely pronounced syllables, minimal percussion and a guy yelling "Youuuuuu!" in the background.
Tags: Soulja Boy, Souljaboytellem.com
Tool Leader Goes Lewdnew
The most-viewed YouTube clip starring Puscifer, Tool leader Maynard James Keenan's twisted side project, is "Cuntry Boner," which features MJK, his drawers distended by a massive faux erection, twanging out lines such as "I've fucked Minnie Pearl" over a stomping hoedown beat.
Tags: V Is for Vagina, Puscifer
The Daily Afflictions Suffer Poor Productionnew
"Prescription Kills," one of the catchier tunes on Dive On In pivots on the phrase "blah, blah, bullshit." And while these words can't be applied to the disc itself, production woes prevent the album from making much of an impression.
Tags: Dive On In, The Daily Afflictions
The Eagles Maximize Profits with Deal with Wal-Martnew
Eagles Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Joe Walsh and Timothy B. Schmit may all love music, but they don't make it collectively unless there's a mammoth payday involved.
Tags: Long Road Out of Eden, The Eagles
Coheed and Cambria: Ridiculous but Rightnew
There's so much about Coheed and Cambria's work that cries out for ridicule: the '70s-art-rock-derived instrumental wankery, the skyscraping, get-your-Geddy-on vocals and more. Somehow, though, the act's latest release works in spite of itself.
Kid Rock's Cocky Swagger (Kinda) Pays Offnew
It's lucky for Kid Rock that he's an egomaniacal dipshit, because otherwise his music would be about as memorable as a Molly Hatchet eight-track sans "Flirting With Disaster."
Tags: Kid Rock, Rock N Roll Jesus
The Skivies Only Sound Like a Jokenew
The humor on Between Appliance and Apparel has a dark edge that matches the heavier-than-expected music.
M.I.A. Creates an Exotic Dance Party Par Excellencenew
Arular, the 2005 debut by Mathangi "M.I.A." Arulpragasam, got lotsa reviewers hot and bothered (and deservedly so), but only a relative handful of U.S. listeners succumbed to its multi-culti charms.
Joe Fornothin: More John Mayer Than Not Buddy Guynew
The air of hard-won experience that marks the best blues is entirely absent from this EP.
Tags: Joe Fornothin
'Planet of Ice' Stretches the Formnew
Minus the Bear knows the right way to put art into rock, and vice-versa.
Tags: Minus the Bear, Planet of Ice
