AltWeeklies Wire
This Album is All About Tarjanew
My Winter Storm, the Finnish siren's solo debut, signals a return to more traditionally operatic arrangements, but thankfully doesn't stray too far from the crunchier power metal elements that imbued the last few years of her career.
Metro Spirit |
Josh Ruffin |
02-27-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: My Winter Storm, Tarja Turunen
Guru Keeps Hip-hop Alivenew
Ever since going solo in 1993 with his Jazzmatazz series, Guru has been steady banging fans over the head with his smooth, laid-back flow, which flourishes over his trademark hip-hop and jazz fusion.
Metro Spirit |
Frazia Lee |
02-27-2008 |
Reviews
No Pain, No Gainnew
At first glance, Los Angeles band HURT may sound like just another angry young band that listeners of modern-rock radio stations latch onto. But one look beneath the surface reveals a layered wall of sound filled with influences not found within your typical modern-rock band.
Metro Spirit |
John Cannon |
02-27-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: HURT
Heating Upnew
Hear that sizzle? It's Skillet, burning up the charts and frying the rock competition
Metro Spirit |
Stacey Hudson |
02-27-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Skillet
Out With a Whispernew
Never a force of personality, artist Jasper Johns left his art to speak for itself. Will we understand what it says?
Metro Spirit |
Stacey Hudson |
02-27-2008 |
Art
Tags: visual arts
Is Trances Arc 10 Years Late?new
I guess it all depends on whether or not they're heralding a change in trajectory for the music industry back towards the mid-90's alt-rock boom that made and killed the careers of Dishwalla and Semisonic.
Metro Spirit |
Josh Ruffin |
02-27-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Trances Arc, XOXOX
Gin Phillips Needs to Figure Out What to Say With Her Very Strong Voicenew
For anyone who happens to have read Faulkner's As I Lay Dying, Phillips' debut novel will seem familiar.
Willamette Week |
John Minervini |
02-27-2008 |
Fiction
Luego is All Over the Placenew
Songwriter/guitarist/singer Patrick Phelan's bizarrely childlike upper register is what Jerry Garcia probably would have sounded like at 16; the man's voice is whimsical without sacrificing that self-aware tone that accompanies early-gotten wisdom, just lazy enough to fall markedly short of careless.
Metro Spirit |
Josh Ruffin |
02-27-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: I Know, I Know, Luego
'Heavy Petting' is Cheeky and Endlessly Charmingnew
One could be forgiven for passing off the Two Man Gentleman Band as a one-trick novelty act.
Metro Spirit |
Josh Ruffin |
02-27-2008 |
Reviews
Bull's Style is Individual and Also Originalnew
The main sounds that seem to stand out on this group's CD are the unique vocals and guitar playing and distortion and tremelo.
Metro Spirit |
Rich McCracken II |
02-27-2008 |
Reviews
A Jazz Classicnew
This is basically a Duke Ellington record when he was recording in Paris in 1963, but it features the amazing vocal stylings of Sathima Bea Benjamin.
Metro Spirit |
Rich McCracken II |
02-27-2008 |
Reviews
A Fresh and Honest Approach to Hip-hopnew
Inverse has what it takes to push through the humdrum atmosphere of the industry.
Metro Spirit |
Frazia Lee |
02-27-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Inverse, So Far (The Collection)
Raheem DeVaughn is Teetering on the Edge of Mainstream Glorynew
On the recent Grammy-nominated "Woman," which seems to be the sequel to "You," he presents the ultimate ode to the female, equipped with dramatic strings and piano against a hip hop beat.
Metro Spirit |
Frazia Lee |
02-27-2008 |
Reviews
Blazing Starnew
Corey Smith, MySpace's No. 1 unsigned country artist, is back in town.
Metro Spirit |
Jeremy Reuggeberg |
02-27-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Corey Smith
Stephen Malkmus Lets the Guitar Do the Talkingnew
Real Emotional Trash sees Malkmus continuing the guitar wankery of 2003's Pig Lib, but while some of the longer tracks used to meander only to showcase his ever-increasing guitar vocabulary, Trash highlights his interplay with the rest of the band.
Willamette Week |
Michael Mannheimer |
02-27-2008 |
Reviews
