AltWeeklies Wire
A Bit of a Pillnew
Swedish chanteuse Stina Noderstam's so good, you'll forget she's annoying.
Illinois Times |
Rene Spencer Saller |
08-05-2005 |
Reviews
The Real Dealnew
Dwight Yoakam is a purist and a
reactionary, but that doesn’t make him any less of a rebel.
Illinois Times |
Rene Spencer Saller |
08-05-2005 |
Reviews
Musician Approaches Craft in Refreshing Stylenew
Not only is this lo-fi ode to a defunct Omaha racetrack intertwined with the particulars of an intense but brief courtship in a reverse Slaughterhouse Five chronology, but it's freewheelingly catchy, bittersweet, and clocks in at a manageable 26 minutes.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Ray Cummings |
08-04-2005 |
Reviews
Musician Reins Herself Innew
As Erin McKeown explores the metaphor of flight for rising above one's troubles, she leaves the bulk of the instrumentation to others as she sticks with guitar and vocals.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Al Kaufman |
08-04-2005 |
Reviews
Find the Rivernew
Bill Callahan discovers new sounds and voices -- and cleans up with Chloe Sevigny -- on Smog's latest album.
Riverfront Times |
Randall Roberts |
08-01-2005 |
Reviews
Album Provides Most Assured Performancesnew
Originally a wry singer/songwriter, Hiatt picked up steam with 1987's Bring the Family and Slow Turning, only to go hit or miss throughout the '90s. His last three albums and his latest, though, show his focus rebuffed and sharper than before.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Michael Andrews |
07-28-2005 |
Reviews
Tags: John Hiatt, Master of Disaster
Hit-Maker Finally Makes Hits For Himselfnew
Rodney Crowell's third album in a career renaissance finds the singer/songwriter combining political concepts with an introspective approach he has newly embraced.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Hal Horowitz |
07-28-2005 |
Reviews
Tags: The Outsider, Rodney Crowell
Musician's Characters No Longer Seem Stallednew
Now, after a foray into guitars and unnecessary grit, Ben Folds regroups musically with his second, strongest "solo" album -- one that is excessively comfortable with becoming middle-aged.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Tony Ware |
07-28-2005 |
Reviews
Tags: Ben Folds, Songs for Silverman
Diehards and Drunkardsnew
The current Warped Tour bears little resemblance to its early incarnations in the ’90s, but it remains one of the summer's top-grossing tours, giving Warped vets an opportunity to remember -- and wax geriatric -- about the old days.
Boulder Weekly |
Vince Darcangelo |
07-28-2005 |
Reviews
Tags: Warped Tour, High Decibel
A '90s Box Set That's Too Seattlenew
Any account of the '90s in which hip-hop's expansion, or electronic dance music's myriad offshoots, or the increasing presence in the U.S. urban market of Caribbean styles, didn't happen is to be viewed with serious suspicion.
Seattle Weekly |
Michaelangelo Matos |
07-27-2005 |
Reviews
Balancing Contrary Forcesnew
If Joe Pernice's Discover isn’t a radical departure, it’s a highly enjoyable variation, proof that some artists are just plain good enough that they don’t need to reinvent themselves with every new release.
Illinois Times |
Rene Spencer Saller |
07-25-2005 |
Reviews
Album is Nothing Too Fancynew
On his fourth release, Tin Lily, Kansas City singer/songwriter Jeff Black churns out a brand of Midwest farmland rock sometimes akin to that which made superstars out of Mellencamp and Springsteen 20 years ago.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Mike Andrews |
07-22-2005 |
Reviews
Tags: Jeff Black, Tin Lily
CDs Feel As Though They Exist Under Cloud Covernew
Balance 007 is no flatliner, but like an anesthetized patient's electrocardiogram, the pulse is perhaps too pain-free and steady.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Tony Ware |
07-22-2005 |
Reviews
Tags: Balance 007, Chris Fortier
Solo Release Shares Qualities With Filmnew
Tension and mystery lurk beneath this album's suspiciously calm surface. Alto-saxist David Sanborn adds a tough, slightly skewed quality to his musical love affairs, usually submerged under a lipstick-styled sheen.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Hal Horowitz |
07-22-2005 |
Reviews
Tags: Closer, David Sanborn
Maximo Parknew
"Apply Some Pressure" is how you've heard of Maximo Park, if you've heard of Maximo Park at all. The song is that odd confection known as "the perfect single"; it's as catchy and uniquely memorable as it's perfectly representative of today's sonic-zeitgeist.
Orlando Weekly |
Jason Ferguson |
07-15-2005 |
Reviews
Tags: Maximo Park, A Certain Trigger
