AltWeeklies Wire
Serenity Then -- And Againnew
Whether she’s singing about the uncanny wisdom of a child or the road not taken, Vashti Bunyan makes the everyday seem sublime.
Illinois Times |
Rene Spencer Saller |
12-12-2005 |
Reviews
Ambassador From Poetry Landnew
The Silver Jews' music has never sounded more essential than it does on their new album.
Illinois Times |
Rene Spencer Saller |
11-23-2005 |
Reviews
Tags: Silver Jews, Tanglewood Numbers
A Slump So Sublimenew
Love Kraft is a good album by Super Furry Animals' standards and a great one by the standards
of most other rock bands.
Illinois Times |
Rene Spencer Saller |
11-11-2005 |
Reviews
The Lady Lou Bouncenew
The first female rapper from St. Louis to score a major-label deal, Ebony Eyez seems fully aware of her precedent-setting achievement -- and maybe a bit defensive about it, too. Also reviewed: Minotaur Shock's Maritime.
Illinois Times |
Rene Spencer Saller |
11-03-2005 |
Reviews
Not Your Typical Narcissistnew
Iconoclastic singer/songwriter Count Marc Anthony Thompson, using the name Chocolate Genius, takes an autobiographical approach that is far removed from the post-folky narcissism of his inferiors.
Illinois Times |
Rene Spencer Saller |
10-28-2005 |
Reviews
Resident Zinnnew
Springfield-based indie-rock band Resident Genius got its wish -- it's just released an album that features social activist and historian Howard Zinn.
Illinois Times |
Tom Irwin |
10-21-2005 |
Profiles & Interviews
Hard to Label This Applenew
Dissatisfied with the first version of her CD, Fiona Apple went back to the studio with a new producer: The result is opium instead of ecstasy.
Illinois Times |
Rene Spencer Saller |
10-21-2005 |
Reviews
A Triumph of Soul Over Stylenew
A jazz tribute to Pavement sounds like a bad idea, but it would be a shame to dismiss Gold Sounds on the basis of its gimmick.
Illinois Times |
Rene Spencer Saller |
10-21-2005 |
Reviews
Sandpaper Dipped in Sorghumnew
Picking out highlights from an album so consistently brilliant is a fool's endeavor.
Illinois Times |
Bettye LaVette |
10-07-2005 |
Reviews
Weirdly Endearing Torture Musicnew
The quintet that grew out of the one-man band Skeletons is as bourgeois-averse as ever. Also reviewed: Petracovich's We Are Wyoming.
Illinois Times |
Rene Spencer Saller |
09-23-2005 |
Reviews
Cold Gets Hot Againnew
There is a sense that real human emotions, rather than standard-issue adolescent rage, were at work during its production of Cold's latest album.
Illinois Times |
Matthew Everett |
09-16-2005 |
Profiles & Interviews
Doveman's Gentle Hodgepodgenew
The mood is melancholy, not desperate in Doveman's banjo-driven album.
Illinois Times |
Renee Spencer Saller |
09-16-2005 |
Reviews
Love, Indispensable and Inadequatenew
Pixel Revolt sounds so fantastic we'll forgive you for not noticing the lyrics immediately.
Illinois Times |
Rene Spencer Saller |
09-09-2005 |
Reviews
Every Track a Money Shotnew
It’s impossible to imagine a band more devoted to excitement, more single-minded in its pursuit of satisfaction, more successful in replicating the arousal/gratification cycle without becoming monotonous.
Illinois Times |
Rene Spencer Saller |
09-02-2005 |
Reviews
Rescued from Obscuritynew
Instead of fighting hippie excess with speed, volume, and a few choice barre chords, the Groovies embraced melody, economy, and reverb-kissed riffs. Also reviewed is Puerto Muerto's Songs of Muerto County.
Illinois Times |
Rene Spencer Saller |
08-26-2005 |
Reviews
