AltWeeklies Wire
Devendra Banhart: 'What Will We Be'new
After making the transition from his early ramshackle folk into the bombastic shape-shifting of 2007's Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon, Devendra Banhart attempts here to appropriate his entire career, with mixed results.
Tucson Weekly |
Michael Petitti |
12-10-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: What Will We Be, Devendra Banhart
Cold Cave: 'Love Comes Close'new
On Cold Cave's debut, the music works as minimalist dance pop, but everything about the way it's contextualized is awful. The title song, essentially a morbid exaltation of love and death set to disco beats, nicely distills the band's lack of imagination.
Tucson Weekly |
Sean Bottai |
12-10-2009 |
Reviews
Reviewed: 'The State vs. Radric Davis' by Atlanta MC Gucci Manenew
Many have tried, but no other rapper quite matches Gucci’s reckless bravado and goofy charm. He’s got an uncanny ability to make light of the dazzling, chaotic storm that is his life.
Washington City Paper |
Ben Westhoff |
12-10-2009 |
Reviews
With Neon Indian, 21-Year-Old Alan Palomo Makes Roots-Pop for the Internet Agenew
Psychic Chasms explores a landscape of romantic loss and betrayal rendered as authentically as any acoustic pop ballad. Still, the sonic diversity of that landscape stretches, mashes and digs beyond the known universe.
Tucson Weekly |
Linda Ray |
11-18-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: Neon Indian, Psychic Chasms
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah Frontman Strikes Out on His Own with 'Mo Beauty'new
While this "solo" debut finds the Clap Your Hands Say Yeah frontman sounding comfortable and more accomplished as a singer-songwriter, the band is so excellent -- flawless, really -- that the album's only weak spots come from Alec Ounsworth himself.
Tucson Weekly |
Eric Swedlund |
11-04-2009 |
Reviews
Post-Punk Pioneers Mission of Burma Still Have Fuel to Burnnew
They've been together now longer than they were the first time around and they're back to making music that's equal parts forceful and fun -- they sound like no other band but themselves.
'Before the Frost ...' is a Return to Form for The Black Crowesnew
The Crowes have not sounded this relaxed and vital at the same time in many years, tackling classic rock, psychedelia, blues, country and R&B.
Tucson Weekly |
Gene Armstrong |
10-15-2009 |
Reviews
The Flaming Lips' 'Embryonic' is a Surprising, Giddy Rushnew
Small-w weird in the best possible sense, the record cranks back the clock hands a full two decades, reveling in the kind of "whatever the fuck we want" experimentalism it seemed the Lips long ago shucked.
Philadelphia City Paper |
J. Edward Keyes |
10-13-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: The Flaming Lips, Embryonic
Is the Madonna on 'Celebration' Compilation a Material Girl, or a Beautiful Stranger?new
Oh, remember when Madonna promised to lead us through the wilderness with a witty, ambitious combination of disco sex appeal, businesswoman savvy and cardinal danger? Remember when she had her own cheekbones?
C-Ville Weekly |
Cathy Harding |
10-09-2009 |
Reviews
Pearl Jam's 'Backspacer' is Most Impressive for Not Making Concessionsnew
With Pearl Jam experiencing a renaissance of late -- aided by 2006's eponymous return to form and a well-deserved live reputation -- the group is moving forward with its loosest album to date.
Tucson Weekly |
Michael Petitti |
09-23-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: Backspacer, Pearl Jam
Vivian Girls' Struggle With Celebrity Makes for Irresistible Musicnew
The most recent Vivian Girls release is considerably more aggressive than the band's self-titled debut. Not that the Phil Spector-by-way-of-Psychocandy vibe has totally disappeared, but this time out, the very obvious pop influence is tinged with a fair amount of urgency.
Washington City Paper |
Mike Kanin |
09-17-2009 |
Reviews
New Big Star Box Set is a Supermarket of Pop
Keep An Eye On The Sky brings new insight and appreciation to the Memphis power-pop band's catalog.
'Popular Songs' Showcases Yo La Tengo as a Self-Assured and Versatile Bandnew
Yo La Tengo's latest album concludes with three endlessly mesmerizing jams that stretch across the album's final 37 minutes -- and it's some of the most beautiful, cogent music the band has made.
Tucson Weekly |
Eric Swedlund |
09-16-2009 |
Reviews
The Beatles: I'm Looking Through Them
Rediscovering something that wasn't lost: A few words on the Beatles remasters.
Modest Mouse's Latest Compilation is a Surprisingly Solid Offeringnew
No One's First and You're Next is a collection of b-sides and singles that didn't quite make it onto a LP. But the songs aren't just mere outtakes. Included with a couple of new tracks are full re-recordings of the previously shelved tracks, making the album feel far from a group of oddities thrown together.
