AltWeeklies Wire
Album Goes Down Smoothnew
Recorded at Willie Nelson's Pedernales Studios, there's an appropriate restless cowboy vibe running through Smog's 12th album.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Michael Andrews |
08-11-2005 |
Reviews
Musician Approaches Craft in Refreshing Stylenew
Not only is this lo-fi ode to a defunct Omaha racetrack intertwined with the particulars of an intense but brief courtship in a reverse Slaughterhouse Five chronology, but it's freewheelingly catchy, bittersweet, and clocks in at a manageable 26 minutes.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Ray Cummings |
08-04-2005 |
Reviews
Musician Reins Herself Innew
As Erin McKeown explores the metaphor of flight for rising above one's troubles, she leaves the bulk of the instrumentation to others as she sticks with guitar and vocals.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Al Kaufman |
08-04-2005 |
Reviews
Album Provides Most Assured Performancesnew
Originally a wry singer/songwriter, Hiatt picked up steam with 1987's Bring the Family and Slow Turning, only to go hit or miss throughout the '90s. His last three albums and his latest, though, show his focus rebuffed and sharper than before.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Michael Andrews |
07-28-2005 |
Reviews
Tags: John Hiatt, Master of Disaster
Hit-Maker Finally Makes Hits For Himselfnew
Rodney Crowell's third album in a career renaissance finds the singer/songwriter combining political concepts with an introspective approach he has newly embraced.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Hal Horowitz |
07-28-2005 |
Reviews
Tags: The Outsider, Rodney Crowell
Musician's Characters No Longer Seem Stallednew
Now, after a foray into guitars and unnecessary grit, Ben Folds regroups musically with his second, strongest "solo" album -- one that is excessively comfortable with becoming middle-aged.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Tony Ware |
07-28-2005 |
Reviews
Tags: Ben Folds, Songs for Silverman
Album is Nothing Too Fancynew
On his fourth release, Tin Lily, Kansas City singer/songwriter Jeff Black churns out a brand of Midwest farmland rock sometimes akin to that which made superstars out of Mellencamp and Springsteen 20 years ago.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Mike Andrews |
07-22-2005 |
Reviews
Tags: Jeff Black, Tin Lily
CDs Feel As Though They Exist Under Cloud Covernew
Balance 007 is no flatliner, but like an anesthetized patient's electrocardiogram, the pulse is perhaps too pain-free and steady.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Tony Ware |
07-22-2005 |
Reviews
Tags: Balance 007, Chris Fortier
Solo Release Shares Qualities With Filmnew
Tension and mystery lurk beneath this album's suspiciously calm surface. Alto-saxist David Sanborn adds a tough, slightly skewed quality to his musical love affairs, usually submerged under a lipstick-styled sheen.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Hal Horowitz |
07-22-2005 |
Reviews
Tags: Closer, David Sanborn
Third Album is a Musical Blendnew
Stacey Earle and husband Mark Stuart create the kind of smart, intimate, lived-in version of Americana that's an endangered pleasure these days.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Michael Andrews |
07-14-2005 |
Reviews
Small Sins and Good Old-Fashioned American Indie Rocknew
Canadian writer and producer Thomas D'Arcy has assembled a strikingly intimate yet sonically expansive debut in Small Sins.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Jon Garrett |
07-14-2005 |
Reviews
Consistent Painnew
The members of Jet By Day proclaim themselves to be purveyors of "heavy-indie-Southern rock" and indeed, they deliver something like that. It's heavy.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Laurel Snyder |
07-14-2005 |
Reviews
Tags: Jet By Day, The Vulture
Soundtrack Could Better Represent Area in Filmnew
There's nothing wrong with Mike Jones, Lil Scrappy, Trillville, Boyz N Da Hood and many other current rap stars. But since the film is based in Memphis, it would be nice for the soundtrack to better represent the area's artists.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Ronda Racha Penrice |
07-07-2005 |
Reviews
Tags: Various Artists, Hustle & Flow
Album More Mood Piece Than Joy Ridenew
Another Day on Earth bears little resemblance to the deconstructed glam and off-kilter art funk that characterized Brian Eno's '70s rock albums. Instead, it sounds as if Eno took his ambient recordings from the '80s and '90s and crafted songs on top of them.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Andisheh Nouraee |
07-07-2005 |
Reviews
Tags: Another Day on Earth, Brian Eno
Remastered Nuggets Mix With Quality Tracksnew
Even though the size of the women's underwear tossed on stage at a typical Tom Jones show has increased since the start of his 40-year career, old tight pants has stayed at the top of his sexually charged game.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Hal Horowitz |
07-07-2005 |
Reviews
