AltWeeklies Wire
Bobby Joe Ebola and the Children MacNuggitsnew
After fifteen years, this duo is still going strong.
East Bay Express |
Rachel Swan |
09-22-2010 |
Reviews
Karyn Paige Trips the Light Fantasticnew
A refugee from corporate America makes her promising debut.
East Bay Express |
Rachel Swan |
09-15-2010 |
Reviews
Tags: Karyn Paige,
The Pack: Wolfpack Partynew
The Pack returns with its second album, a nineteen-track journey into the mind of a 21-year-old with a dissolute lifestyle.
East Bay Express |
Rachel Swan |
09-13-2010 |
Reviews
Tags: The Pack
Juan Calle and His Latin Lantzmennew
Many American Jews, particularly in New York City, caught mambo and cha-cha fever during the 1950's.
East Bay Express |
Lee Hildebrand |
09-01-2010 |
Reviews
Tags: Juan Calle
Slum Villagenew
Enthusiasm for Slum Village's latest album has been considerably dampened by revelations that it is likely its last album.
East Bay Express |
David MacFadden-Elliott |
08-31-2010 |
Reviews
Tags: Slum Village
Freddie Gibbsnew
Only Freddie Gibbs could rightfully boast about gracing magazine covers without a record label Or call himself "Gangsta Gibbs" with no sense of irony Or crib a beat from Masta Ace and one-up the original rap...
East Bay Express |
Rachel Swan |
08-27-2010 |
Reviews
Tags: Freddie Gibbs
E-40's Latest Already Sounds Like an Anachronismnew
A self-anointed hip-hop "ambassador" who's made most of his fortune in other industries, 40 takes few risks with his music. When he finds a successful formula, like the "hyphy" style that shaped his 2006 album My Ghetto Report Card, he'll beat it past the point of death.
East Bay Express |
Rachel Swan |
12-10-2008 |
Reviews
'President' is Easily Murs' Best Release to Datenew
Released a year behind schedule but at a timely moment nonetheless, Murs for President retains the qualities of backpacker hip-hop, despite its new Warner Bros. patina.
East Bay Express |
Rachel Swan |
11-19-2008 |
Reviews
'For All Mankind': Thirteen Inspired Blasts of Sugar-Coated Adrenalinenew
f you only look at their gear -- Star Trek-meets-Devo space outfits, odd retro/futuristic eyewear, toilet paper guns -- you might dismiss the Phenomenauts as a joke, but behind the image there's a serious message about brotherhood, ecology, peace, community cooperation, and, yes, science and honor.
East Bay Express |
j. poet |
05-14-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: For All Mankind
El Perro del Mar's Latest is a Meditative Set with Persuasive Hooksnew
From the Valley to the Stars is a veritable Whitman's Sampler of classic/retro-pop confections.
East Bay Express |
Mark Keresman |
05-14-2008 |
Reviews
Clinic is More Head-Scratching than Toe-Tappingnew
How much you like Do It! will depend on your tolerance for arty poses, oblique lyrics, asymmetrical song structures, and your familiarity with the 13th Floor Elevators, John Cage, and Velvet Underground.
East Bay Express |
j. poet |
05-14-2008 |
Reviews
Del's Def Jux Debut is Inconsistentnew
Eleventh Hour outpaces most of what you hear in contemporary hip-hop, but it's not classic Del.
East Bay Express |
Rachel Swan |
04-17-2008 |
Reviews
Cass McCombs' Album is Perfect Companion for Alone Timenew
While the overall mood is exceedingly pensive -- imagine a Posies or Ron Sexsmith album titled Songs for Brooding Lovers -- McCombs' tales have a comforting rather than wallow-in-it ambiance.
East Bay Express |
Mark Keresman |
01-30-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Cass McCombs, Dropping the Writ
Piano-less Plays Monk Shouldn't Be Taken Literallynew
The idea is to take everything that made Monk humorous and unpredictable -- the wrong notes, altered changes, train whistle sounds, syncopated rhythms, and autistic-looking dance moves -- and try to capture the groove, albeit with a completely different setup.
East Bay Express |
Rachel Swan |
01-30-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Plays Monk
It May Take a Few Listensnew
Even if this isn't wildly new territory, Distortion contains the same effortless range of songwriting styles and charmingly misanthropic lyrics for which the Fields are beloved.
East Bay Express |
Sean Bottai |
01-30-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Distortion, Magnetic Fields
