Music | Reviews | AAN.org

Varied Formsnew

A Mad and Faithful Telling stalks the nebulous terrain between postmodern pastiche and a genuine passion for ethnic instrumentation.

Tucson Weekly | Jarret Keene | 04-10-2008 | Reviews

Tags: A Mad and Faithful Telling, DeVotchKa

Nick Cave Has Gone to Seedinessnew

On his first album in four years with the Bad Seeds, the carnal and cadaverous Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!, Cave ditches the script of the piano-heavy Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus and embraces the sound of his recent side project Grinderman -- itself driven by primitive electric guitars that recalled his '80s post-punk act the Birthday Party.

Washington City Paper | Casey Rae-Hunter | 04-10-2008 | Reviews

Tags: Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds

How Many Re-issues Does it Take to Screw an Elvis Costello Fan?new

And what does the listener get by reinvesting in new versions of classic albums every couple of years?

Boston Phoenix | Matt Ashare | 04-10-2008 | Reviews

Tags: Elvis Costello, This Year's Model

R.E.M. Finds its Religionnew

The band has acknowledged (in interviews and with the record's title) a need to re-focus and adrenalize things after recent efforts that disappointed aesthetically, commercially, or both.

San Antonio Current | John DeFore | 04-09-2008 | Reviews

Tags: rock, Accelerate, r.e.m., college rock, comeback

England Gets The Gossipnew

Beth Ditto's queer/weight activism should be applauded, but one worries that the singer's sudden celebrity rather ignores her day job.

Willamette Week | Jay Horton | 04-09-2008 | Reviews

Tags: The Gossip, feminism, soul, punk, body image, Live In Liverpool, weight

Shelley Short Quietly Saves Country Musicnew

Rather than waxing naively cute, a la Jenny Lewis, or idiotic, Short encapsulates much of what makes old-school Nashville country great: a showman's charisma, credible melancholy and close geographical ties.

Willamette Week | Amy McCullough | 04-09-2008 | Reviews

Tags: country, Nashville, Shelley Short, Water For The Day

She & Him Beats Modernity Back with a Bit of '60s Popnew

The project, which pairs M. Ward and actress Zooey Deschanel, doesn't succeed because it's innovative or unexpected. It's just two souls in love with good ol'-fashioned pop music, and that love gives Volume One a warm glow to wrap around yourself on a chilly night.

C-Ville Weekly | John Ruscher | 04-09-2008 | Reviews

Tags: She & Him, Volume One, M. Ward, Zooey Deschanel

Buxton Unveils a Stunning Albumnew

A Family Light is great highway music, big sky songs that are cinematic in scope.

Houston Press | John Nova Lomax | 04-08-2008 | Reviews

Tags: A Family Light, Buxton

What's So Crazy About Gnarls Barkley's Second Album?new

Most of The Odd Couple feels like a reheat of St. Elsewhere. But "Crazy" sounded a little thin at first, too; it wasn't till the greater public got its hands on it that the song sounded as major as it was. Maybe that will happen to The Odd Couple and maybe it won't.

Baltimore City Paper | Michaelangelo Matos | 04-08-2008 | Reviews

Tags: Gnarls Barkley, the odd couple

The Raconteurs: From Studio to Storesnew

The marketing of Consolers of the Lonely, the second album from Jack White's side project the Raconteurs, threatens to overshadow the music.

The Memphis Flyer | Stephen Deusner | 04-04-2008 | Reviews

Tags: Consolers of the Lonely, the Raconteurs, The Ranconteurs

Ladysmith Black Mambazo Gets Historicalnew

Instead of glorifying violence -- Zulu imbued South Africans with an indomitable fighting spirit in the early 1800s -- Ilembe ("The Greatest Warrior") celebrates perseverance and commitment.

Shepherd Express | Michael Popke | 04-04-2008 | Reviews

Tags: Ilembe: Honoring Shaka Zulu, Ladysmith Black Mambazo