AltWeeklies Wire
Kimya Dawson Winds a Strange Path to 'Alphabutt'new
Who'd have imagined--back when she and fellow Moldy Peach Adam Green were waxing anti-folk rhapsodic about downloading porn with Davo, about Duran Duran boyfriends, about what to stick their dicks in--that Kimya Dawson could ever be closer than an NFL football field to household name status?
Baltimore City Paper |
Raymond Cummings |
09-16-2008 |
Reviews
Mechanical Boy Puts Its Indie-Dance Foot Forwardnew
At first blush, Houston five-piece's debut Play Along doesn't sound too far removed from indie-dance bands like the Rapture or the Bravery, but scratch the surface and there's a rock band under there -- and a potent rock band at that.
Houston Press |
Chris Gray |
09-16-2008 |
Reviews
Richie Havens' Feeling Potential Againnew
Havens' fine new album proves, among other things, that a new era and a new social climate can restore meaning and depth to a song long taken for granted.
Tucson Weekly |
Gene Armstrong |
09-12-2008 |
Reviews
Adam Marsland's Kickass Lifenew
While not all of the songs on Daylight Kissing Night are gems, the stand-outs are good enough to put the album over the top.
Tucson Weekly |
Annie Holub |
09-12-2008 |
Reviews
'Transsiberian': Tension With Dimensionnew
Alfred Hitchcock himself would be proud of Transsiberian and its mysterious, deceptive ways.
Tucson Weekly |
James DiGiovanna |
09-12-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Brad Anderson, Transsiberian
The Game and Solange Have a Hard Time Avoiding the Shadow of Bigger Namesnew
On their latest albums, the Game's LAX and Solange's Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams, both artists prove that parasitic music-making is a tough gig. You're only as good as your host.
Washington City Paper |
Sarah Godfrey |
09-11-2008 |
Reviews
Tussle's Still Looking For the Perfect Beatnew
Trying to sing any track from Cream Cuts, the San Francisco quartet's third full-length, without using a plosive is the kind of quasi-spiritual drum-guru pursuit to which Mickey Hart would dedicate three years of his life and an elaborate book.
Washington City Paper |
Aaron Leitko |
09-11-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Tussle, Cream Cuts
Calexico Favors Mariachi-meets-folk Groove on 'Carried to Dust'new
While Calexico's previous studio release -- 2006's Garden Ruin -- was an attempt to break into the mainstream, Carried to Dust sheds such polish
San Antonio Current |
Clint Hale |
09-10-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Calexico, Carried to Dust
Don't Call Okkervil River's 'The Stand Ins' a Sequelnew
It's really a collection of deleted and extended scenes, scrapped when frontman Will Sheff, fearing overkill, nixed releasing Stage Names as a double album.
San Antonio Current |
Chuck Kerr |
09-10-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Okkervil River, The Stand Ins
Examining Re-issued Soul From James and Otisnew
I Got the Feelin': James Brown in the 60s gathers three DVDs of live footage from 1968 and is anchored by a documentary about his historic Boston show on the day after Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination -- a concert many credit with helping to keep nationwide riots from taking hold there.
San Antonio Current |
John DeFore |
09-10-2008 |
Reviews
The Gaslight Anthem Has a Sound You've Heard Before But Should Hear Againnew
The group wraps raw heartache in roaring riffs, writing songs that take off like motorcycles, with just as much isolated desperation and pure raw horsepower.
Philadelphia City Paper |
J. Edward Keyes |
09-09-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: The '59 Sound, The Gaslight Anthem
The Godfather of Phoenix Hip-hop Recalls '70s R&B and '80s Gangsta Rapnew
Formerly known as Iroc Beats, Roca's been laying down lyrical flows and grinding it out in the local scene for the better part of two decades.
Phoenix New Times |
Niki D'Andrea |
09-09-2008 |
Reviews
Brian Wilson is Back With a Triumphnew
Although the word has been used frequently throughout his career, both justifiably and not so justifiably, Brian Wilson's That Lucky Old Sun is an artistic triumph.
Metro Times |
Bill Holdship |
09-09-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Brian Wilson, That Lucky Old Sun
Ennui Returns with 'The Myth in Which We Live'new
From the tweaked atmospheres of their new full-length, it seems they've been busy reinventing themselves as an electro-pop group. I also suspect they've been listening to a lot of Genesis and M83.
Pittsburgh City Paper |
Aaron Jentzen |
09-08-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Ennui, The Myth in Which We Live
Chad VanGaalen Tries to Sounds Like a Naive Boy Againnew
VanGaalen releases another terribly twee basement tinker tape that answers the question no one dared ask: what would Destroyer sound like if Dan Bejar were obsessed with Neil Young instead of David Bowie?
NOW Magazine |
Tim Perlich |
09-08-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Chad VanGaalen, Soft Airplane
