AltWeeklies Wire
Spacing Out: Blockhead's 'The Music Scene'new
Manhattan beatmaker Blockhead has quietly been releasing consistently strong solo albums in the last half-decade. His tracks for other artists tend to be more in the hard-hitting, slicing-and-dicing, traditional hip-hop vein, but albums such as his latest, 'The Music Scene,' give him an opportunity to be more atmospheric and experimental.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Ben Westhoff |
01-12-2010 |
Reviews
Tags: Blockhead, The Music Scene
Great Minds Think Alike: 'Live' by Duet For Theremin and Lap Steelnew
Duet for Theremin and Lap Steel's latest offering captures two sprawling masses of improvised drones too harmonious to be called avant-garde and too experimental for stuffy modern classical terms. These sounds are the product of two minds sharing a single headspace and letting the music drive – which is typical of the Atlanta duo.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Chad Radford |
01-12-2010 |
Reviews
Los Fabulosos Cadillacs: 'El Arte de la Elegancia de LFC'new
A compilation of rerecorded and reinterpreted B-side tracks, this album follows the same pattern that has propelled the band to revered status among the Rock en Español faithful: Every few years, they’re able to rerelease old material that suddenly catches fire.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Alejandro Leal |
01-12-2010 |
Reviews
Maryland's Doom-Metal Godfather Had a Pretty Good Year (For Once)new
Now nearly 50 years old, Scott Weinrich has fronted two seminal metal bands, The Obsessed and Saint Vitus. He has piloted vital Maryland outfits the Hidden Hand and Spirit Caravan, made music with Dave Grohl under the Probot handle, and, finally, in 2009 issued his first-ever solo album, Punctuated Equilibrium.
Baltimore City Paper |
Michael Byrne |
01-12-2010 |
Profiles & Interviews
Alicia Keys Speaks to the Soul on 'The Element of Freedom'new
There are singers for whom song is one thing and one thing only: a church. Alicia Keys is that kind of artist, and for those of us who still look to records for uplift, for comfort, for a soundtrack to our joy and sorrow and fumbling growth, for a way to make sense of the human experience — Alicia is our girl.
The Georgia Straight |
Tara Henley |
01-11-2010 |
Reviews
Death Pool Predictions: Which Musicians Will Die in 2010?new
2008 didn't see the admission of anyone from last year's death pool into the Great Afterparty, but 2009 was a moderate success — if you include holdover picks from earlier Death Pools. Sure enough: Michael Jackson and Les Paul both made it past the velvet rope this past year.
Dallas Observer |
Jesse Hughey |
01-11-2010 |
Music
Quinn Peaks: Calgary-Bred Duo Reaches New Heights With Sainthoodnew
For every moment of unabashed sentiment in the pair’s music, there is a moment of calculated self-awareness, like the sisters are following their hearts. With their latest release, Sainthood, Tegan and Sara are finally letting go of their fixation on the mystery of their art, and just letting the songs be songs.
Fast Forward Weekly |
Matt Learoyd |
01-07-2010 |
Profiles & Interviews
Born Under a Blues Signnew
Lurrie Bell's nomination for a Grammy Award earlier this month was the latest confirmation of the blues inheritance that sustained his career and even saved his life.
Colorado Springs Independent |
Bill Forman |
01-07-2010 |
Profiles & Interviews
Austin's Band of Heathens Offer Up Alt-Country for Catholic Tastesnew
Texans twang differently than their Tennessee counterparts, and rightly so. Blame it on outlaws like Waylon and Willie, Lubbock lunatics like Terry Allen and Joe Ely, or any number of insurgent country artists who get started on Austin's 6th Street and radiate outward from there.
Colorado Springs Independent |
Bill Forman |
01-07-2010 |
Profiles & Interviews
Louisiana's Grammy-Nominated Pine Leaf Boys Take the Lead in a New Cajun Crusadenew
"I was raised on a little farm, my parents were very traditionalist, and they didn't have any music except for Cajun music. I'm really one of the few guys who just doesn't know jack squat about modern-day music."
Colorado Springs Independent |
Bill Forman |
01-07-2010 |
Profiles & Interviews
'Black Future' Will Make You Feel 16 Againnew
One small label, Heavy Artillery, has thrash-metal down pat, scooping up young, ambitious, intelligent metal bands that honor yesteryear's greats while striving for a semblance of originality in a genre that blew its wad 25 years ago.
Tucson Weekly |
Jarret Keene |
01-06-2010 |
Reviews
Tags: Black Future, Vektor
Lymbyc Systym's Michael and Jared Bell Blend Post-Rock Influencesnew
Lymbyc Systym's songs captivate instead of falling into background noise. On Shutter Release, Michael and Jared Bell blend their Sigur Rós and Explosions in the Sky influences; room-filling drums give way to microbeats, and dramatic guitar hooks give way to quieter and more contemplative synthesized melodies, often within the same song.
Tucson Weekly |
Annie Holub |
01-06-2010 |
Reviews
Exmortus' Blend of Neoclassical Melodicism and Brutal Thrashnew
Rare is the metal band that can shred your face clean off while using virtuoso techniques worthy of Italian violinist Niccolò Paganini — with all the sonic subtlety of a pissed-off Japanese giant monster. Which is why Whittier, CA's Exmortus tends to stand out amidst the current thrash-metal resurgence.
Tucson Weekly |
Jarret Keene |
01-06-2010 |
Profiles & Interviews
Nellie McKay Talks 'A Prairie Home Companion,' Politics, and Doris Daynew
As a forward-thinking musician, Nellie McKay has jumped all over the map in the last decade, with albums spanning pop music, funk, disco, and hip hop. Her most recent, Normal as Blueberry Pie, veers into surprisingly traditional territory with a collection of Doris Day covers.
City Pages (Twin Cities) |
Andrea Swensson |
01-06-2010 |
Profiles & Interviews
Los Cenzontles, a Group at the Cutting Edge in Latin Musicnew
I find it particularly sad and absurd that a band like California’s Los Cenzontles (sehn-SONT-less, Spanish for “mockingbirds”), except for a private event here in 1995, are busier and more appreciated in Scotland and Ireland than they are in San Antonio.
San Antonio Current |
Enrique Lopetegui |
01-06-2010 |
Profiles & Interviews
