»Album Reviews For Release Date: 03.09.10
by Joshua Krage

Experimentation is the key word for this week’s cream of the crop, from producers known for flipping conventional ideas on their ear, to mainstream savants with a jones for genre-splicing, to established artists finding renewed rock-and-roll vigor, to newly unearthed material from one of music’s most incendiary innovators. If you don’t find something to rock your world from this week’s new releases, you’re not listening hard enough:

Gary Allan

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Beat the Devil’s Tattoo – the Black Rebel Mary Chain are still running strong and loose after temperamental timekeeper Nick Jago’s departure, revving up their sprawling, shoegaze melodies into high gear with former Raveonettes drummer Leah Shapiro manning the kit and Peter Hayes’ shadowy guitar drones and vocals painting echoes all over the grimy, back alley feel that they do best. Thankfully less electronic than their previous LP, the fuzz is back in full force, packing serious muscle and dangerous vibes all around.

Miguel Bose
Sarah Brightman

Broken Bells, Broken Bells – guerrilla-ish collab between The Shins’ James Mercer and Brian “Danger Mouse” Burton, this project seemingly came out of nowhere and neither party holds back on the experimentation. Danger Mouse has kind of settled on a sound over his last few productions and I call it “Modern Throwback”: a stripped-down retro vibe (particularly favoring vintage keyboards and organs) with twitchy electronic flourishes filling in the corners. Of course James Mercer has a sound too, but he melds his psychedelically cryptic songsmithing seamlessly with Burton’s kitsch/classic sound to create some interesting tracks here, going a bit off the rails at times but overall ending up memorable enough. I get the feeling this is a record which will reveal itself through further listening…

Enrique Bunbury

The Chieftains/Ry Cooder, San Patricio – this vanguard of both popular and traditional Irish music always pushes boundaries and ropes in the best collaborators (such as Lila Downs, Linda Ronstadt, Los Tigres Del Norte and more on this go-round), and with Ry Cooder on board you know quality is guaranteed. The new LP is a rather fascinating musical recounting of a rogue band of Irish soldiers during 1846 in the Mexican/American War, with astonishing historical depth and deft story delivery, building a surprising bridge between Mexican and Irish history and doing so through some solid songs.

Jason Collett
Dark Tranquility
Demon Hunter
Frightened Rabbit

Gorillaz, Plastic Beach – Four to five years between albums is a long wait, but when the results are as consistently amazing as the material served up by this “virtual supergroup,” it’s well worth it. Damon Albarn once again outdoes all previous efforts by employing a clever mish-mash of hip-hop, symphonia, electronic dub layers, and genius guest-spots from the likes of Mos Def, Snoop Dogg, Bobby Womack, the Clash’s Mick Jones and Paul Simonon, and electro-soul group Little Dragon, among many others. Expert orchestration (of beats as well as a variety of world-savvy ensembles) accompanies a bevy of eclectic melodies and conceptual wandering. It’s a strange assemblage, but it’s executed so well it rises well above reproach. Easily the best thing out so far this year.

Ben Harper & Relentless7, Live from Montreal International – if you’re a Ben Harper fan, you’ve already heard at least a couple of his live albums, but this entry into that category is an entirely different beast, as Relentless7 is an entirely different backing band than his usual Innocent Criminal collaborators. This is basically a capsule from their tour behind last year’s stellar White Lies For Dark Times LP, and Harper is as reinvigorated on stage (and more, on most tracks) as he is on that record. Unassailable rock vibes permeate these performances, and the electricity is palpable. This is a must for fans of Ben Harper, and if you want to hear a near-perfect example of artist/band interaction, check their interplay for a mastercourse. Really, really good.

Jimi Hendrix, Valleys of Neptune – released in conjunction with Sony Legacy reissues of earlier albums all featuring DVD “mini-documentary” accompaniment, this is a newly unearthed set of recordings and alternate studio takes of some tracks which have only been commercially available on live and bootleg releases up to this point. Recorded with his Experience rhythm section of Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell soon after his benchmark Electric Ladyland double LP, Hendrix uses many of the same production and recording tricks on these tracks as he does on that album, and his guitar playing is equal here to some of his best work, particularly in the rhythm/lead of “Hear My Train A Comin’” and his blistering instrumental sprint through Cream’s “Sunshine of Your Love.” Some of the alternates offer interesting divergences from their original, well-known versions as well, such as the slower pace of “Red House” and the different back-up vocal on “Fire,” but it really comes down to the guitar playing (of course), and Jimi Hendrix has never been equaled, so this album is all treasure for your six-string pleasure.

jj, jj nº3 – a fascinating and soothing convergence of indie pop savvy, electronic rhythms, and floating, breathy vocals. Danceable in a Postal Service sort of way, but more likely to console heartbroken pre-teen pre-scenesters in their bedrooms than to get their honeys dancing at the school prom. Oddly mature, mellow and very well put-together.

Ted Leo & the Pharmacists
Liars
Ludacris
Mr. Big – Back to Budokan (live)
Smokie Norful
Passion
Pavement – best of
Josh Rouse
Sanctus Real
Savath y Savalas
Stellar Kart
Serj Tankian

Titus Andronicus, The Monitor – this band made many critics’ best-of lists last year with their debut (which was actually from 2008), and this followup full-length certainly delivers on the ambitious punk rock promise of that album. Clocking in at over an hour and with many tracks passing the seven-minute mark, this is a scholarly and scathing statement of anti-authority and non-conformity, told through some solid instrumental showmanship and a heaping dose of acidic wit. Kind of long to be called punk, kind of rough-edged to be called indie, this entry ends up being a rare middle-ground between the two.

Violent Soho
White Hinterland
ZeroDB – rarities

Yeah baby, you’ve got Danger Mouse, Blur’s Damon Albarn, Ben Harper, Jimi Hendrix, Irish experimental folk rockers, modern shoegaze icons… all that’s missing from this week is a Muppet album and maybe somebody from Iceland or something. Enjoy the variety, not sure next week can top what’s on this list (or next month, or all year, for that matter). Until next time, listen well.

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To view past reviews, visit our archives.

»Album Reviews For Release Date: 03.02.10
by Joshua Krage

Not an Olympic-sized week on the new music front, but at least we’ve got variety, from pianos to synths to white rabbits, mad hatters and monkeys. Read on and find out how far down the rabbit hole goes…

Athlete
A Weather
Citizen Cope

Jamie Cullum, The Pursuit – already out in the UK for a while now, the pint-sized piano crooner plays mostly originals on this LP, but keeps his edgy rock side in check in favor of more mellow, contemporary fare with smooth melodies trumping sharp rhythms and nary a guitar in sight. Still plenty of subtle electronic layering here, making his comfortable adult pop that much more modern, and adding just enough color to keep him out of Jason Mraz territory.

Jason Derulo
Raheem DeVaughn
DJ Khaled
Jamie Foxx
Danny Gokey
Groove Armada
John Hiatt
Jaguar Love
Shooter Jennings

Lifehouse, Smoke & Mirrors – nothing earth-shattering on this fifth LP from these radio-friendly alt.contemporary rockers. Jason Wade still has a decent stack of sticky hooks and big, bright choruses for his throaty post-grunge tenor to wrap around, and solid, by-the-numbers production and co-writing from Jude Cole adds some dependable thickness. Some bonuses here are a tune penned by AmIdol rocker Chris Daughtry, a collab with “Let It Rock” mini-star Kevin Rudolf, and [gasp] some tasteful guitar solos.

Little Boots, Hands – she’s been a fixture on indie blogs, had her lighter stuff featured on lingerie commercials, and has almost worn out her debut album across the pond, so perhaps it’s a strategy to keep the hype going that electro-pop siren Victoria Hesketh finally gets this LP out stateside, almost nine months after releasing it in the UK. If you’ve managed to miss it, her material is a bold, glossy amalgamation of dance floor groove and electronic synth action, in good company with La Roux or Lady GaGa, with whom she shares strong vocal hooks and melodies. While not incredibly distinctive or groundbreaking, her sound is highly, highly danceable and some of these tracks will likely stay lodged in your head for days, getting us all to shake our own little boots around the house a bit.

OST – Alice In Wonderland
OST – Curious George 2: Follow That Monkey – featuring a bunch of decent Carbon Leaf songs, plus title track by Sacramento folk jam-rocker Jackie Greene.
Rogue Wave
The Ruby Suns
Blake Shelton
These New Puritans

Various Artists, Almost Alice – a bevy of major-tier mainstream pop/rock artists singing songs “inspired by” Disney’s new Alice In Wonderland film, which is both as good and as bad as it sounds. Alongside the requisite boldfaced radio rock from kid favorites like Metro Station, Owl City and All Time Low, some highlights include a mesmerizing “Lobster Quadrille” from Franz Ferdinand, a surprise visit from Robert Smith, a not-bad Mark Hoppus/Pete Wentz collab, two appearances from well-suited Estonian electro-popper Kerli, and a killer take on Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit” by Grace Potter & the Nocturnals. All-in-all a very suitable affair, once you get past the Top40 sheen of it all.

Josiah Wolf (of WHY?)

I’m as surprised as anyone at the quality of some of those “inspired by” Alice In Wonderland tunes, so if you check out anything this week, you’ll likely find at least one track on there that’s worth your fancy, especially of you’re an Alice fan. For the rest of you, next week will knock it out of the park on the indie front. See you then, see you there.

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To view past reviews, visit our archives.

»Album Reviews For Release Date: 02.23.10
by Joshua Krage

Don’t know if you’ve been watching the winter Olympics, but Canada’s got a lot more going on than just hockey and combined Super-G. In addition to a stellar Great White Northern rapper, there’s a list of genres among this week’s releases which is as diverse as any Olympic roster. Get your curling game on, and enjoy:

Alkaline Trio, This Addiction – sounds like this ace veteran punk band is rocking it out acoustic for this LP. More surprising is that, with their songwriting chops, their songs actually hold their own without loud drums and distorted power chords. Impressive.

Andrew W.K.
Blind Man’s Colour – EP
Brian Jonestown Massacre
Sarah Buxton
David Byrne / Fatboy Slim
Carolina Chocolate Drops
Clem Snide

Deadstring Brothers, São Paulo – it’s like hearing the Rolling Stones during their country phase. These guys have that street-level grit melded deep down into the guitar, and frontman Kurt Marschke’s gravelly yowl is a dead ringer for Jagger, old or new. That’s interesting enough, but the songwriting here is strong as some of the Stones’ best work and will satisfy your classic rock jones better than any other old bones.

Dragonforce – early works/reissues
Efterklang
Eluvium
Fan Death
Flogging Molly – live
Michael Franti – live
High on Fire
Holy Miranda
Irish Tenors

Jaga Jazzist, One-Armed Bandit – good to know somebody’s still making good IDM. This particular LP of intelligent dance music might be higher on the “intelligence” side than the “dance” side with all its hairpin tempo shifts and ambient dynamics but it’s an exhilarating run all the same.

k-os, Yes! – probably Canada’s best rapper (yes, they have some, and some good ones), this underground word magician and Broken Social Scene contemporary out of Ontario put this LP out last year up north, and it’s finally getting domestic (i.e. affordable) release this week. His rhymes are on time, his rappin’ is happenin’, and his backing tracks are bustin’ caps, and if that were all he did, this album would be bulletproof; unfortunately he wants to sing, too, so there are some patchy spots. Singing voice lands somewhere between Mos Def and Kanye sans AutoTune, which might be good or bad depending on how you feel about those artists’ attempts at holding a tune instead of a rhyme.

Lonely Lady

Madlib, Miles Away: The Last Electro-Acoustic Space Jazz and Percussion Ensemble – for you hip-hop fans with a jazz appreciation, this is another stellar entry into the classic-celebrating jazz catalog of this bionically versatile MC/producer/instrumentalist who is responsible (partly) for nearly half of what most underground hip-hop fans enjoy today. Not sure if Madlib himself plays all instruments on this go-round (as he has in the past) but it’s ten tracks, each paying tribute to different past masters in the genre (Woody Shaw, Roy Ayers, Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders, etc.) with original compositions utilizing their different sounds and styles.

Master P
Daniel Merriweather
Mutiny Within
Carrie Newcomer

Joanna Newsom, Have One On Me – couldn’t find anywhere to preview tracks from this elven-voiced, harp-plucking mythical chanteuse’s new album. Can’t even find a proper internet presence anywhere for her, actually, but you can preview some new songs here from a show last month at the Sydney Opera House in Australia.

Newworldson
Morgan Page
Past Lives
The Plimsouls
Quasi
The Rocket Summer

Shearwater, Golden Archipelago – another stunning and refined album from Johnathan Meiburg’s expertly restrained outfit of tasteful indie songsmiths. Masterful use of space and tone make each track a fully-realized sonic painting, shifting from shining sunsets to breakneck chases to chilly nightscapes with ease and precision, with Meiburg’s versatile lilt delivering the literate subject matter with crystalline beauty and underlying urgency. These are folks who know their craft, serving up a colorful rapture of an LP here.

Shout Out Louds
Rob Swift
Ali Farka Toure

Various Artists, Stroke: Songs for Chris Knox – benefit album for New Zealand punk visionary and recent stroke victim Chris Knox, pulling in a double-disc’s worth of big-name indie artists from across the globe (at a glance: Yo La Tengo, Jeff Mangum, Stephen Merritt, A.C. Neuman, Will Oldham, the list goes on), offering originals and covering tracks from Knox’s lengthy catalog in order to help this hardcore hooligan get back on his feet and on the stage.

Rocky Votolato

Butch Walker & the Black Widows, I Liked It Better When You Had No Heart – from hair metal to power-pop alternative to hit producer and singer/songwriter, Butch Walker has never lost his wit and his grit. Album number five of his solo career finds the veteran rocker melding his dirrrty guitars and catchy hooks with surprisingly strong melodies and a sort of ’50s/’60s classic pop sound, complete with string arrangements and fuzzy guitar solos that would fit right into a Brill Building recording. It’s a sheer pleasure to hear a shoo-bee-doo-wop style song with the candy-coated lyrics replaced by hair-metal fans and drug-damaged soccer moms, and that’s the kind of style this marvelous man brings to all his compositions — even the quiet, sensitive ones. Hipster cred is intact as ever, and he’s still making the best music of his long, storied career.

White Hills
Wolf People
Xasthur
Xiu Xiu
Zeus

This is still just the dawn of a magnificent music year, I can feel it. Upcoming weeks hold immense promise, and the best is yet to come, as always. See you then, see you there.

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To view past reviews, visit our archives.

»Album Reviews For Release Date: 02.16.10
by Joshua Krage

A healthy amount of world beat colors spring forth from the speakers this week as America, Africa and the U.K. further their global cultural exchange program, bartering over indigenous sounds and music buzz in abundance for some varying and surprisingly robust combinations of genres. Luckily, most of these releases retain a sizable amount of muscle, even in the slow, quiet places; suffice it to say nothing on this week’s list will give Alice cooper any cause to worry over the state of rock and roll’s balls. On we go:

Jaime Cullum
Jason Falkner
Field Music
Freeway Jake One

Peter Gabriel, Scratch My Back – [listen] – as a highly concept-driven music superstar, this eclectic genius doesn’t need to follow anybody’s schedule but his own, so any new music he releases is cause for celebration. The cause celebre for this album is two-fold, as it is part one of a two-part release of a collective covers concept. Mr. Sledgehammer tackles twelve tracks by his favorite artists (ranging from classics like David Bowie and Randy Newman to new blood such as Bon Iver and Arcade Fire), with the idea being that they’ll “scratch his back” in return with a disc full of their versions of his songs. Accompanied simply-but-lushly by piano and small orchestra, this first installment is a subtle but heady jaunt through some great picks, my favorite so far being a warm, thoughtful run of Elbow’s “Mirrorball” and a spectacular rendering of Arcade Fire’s “My Body Is a Cage” which ebbs and flows in grandiose fashion. I can’t wait to hear part 2… 

Giant Drag – Swan Song EP
Adam Green
Juliana Hatfield

Lightspeed Champion, Life Is Sweet! Nice To Meet You – it still amazes me that the same man responsible for the spastic, erratic post-punk of Test Icicles is now dishing out vulnerable indie folk rock, but that’s what’s in store for you on album number two under Devonte Hynes’ Lightspeed Champion moniker. Luckily he got a lot of the acoustic jones out of his system on the debut, so the intellectual alt.pop on this album is backed by a bevy of keyboards and some tight, sharp corners, not to mention some arrangements that are downright classical. Hynes shows his fascination with classic ’50s and ’60s pop music in many of these tracks, but filtered through his modern hipster heartbreak ethic it sounds fresh and very appealing.

Local Natives, Gorilla Manor- [listen] – even with all the gig-generated U.K. buzz and hipster-blog accolades these lads have stirred up, you don’t find too many top-shelf indie rock bands with African world-beat flavors in their sound, so the Vampire Weekend comparisons are unavoidable. Luckily, this Los Angeles quintet pack much bigger guns: acoustic afro-pop is mightily augmented with big, dynamic drums and meaty guitar crunch, the shared vocals and deft harmonies are passionate and room-filling, the tone raw and dangerous. V-neck sweaters and docksiders are coolly tossed aside for dirty sneakers and work shirts, and these guys mean business with their instruments, choosing stripped-down, multi-layered, percussion-driven arrangements for many of the tracks here. Acoustic maneuverability has served them well in their guerrilla gigging techniques, landing them closer to David Byrne or Paul Simon comparisons than to any contemporaries on the market (check their clever rendering of Simon & Garfunkel’s “Cecilia” if you need proof), but it’s their overall versatility that impresses most throughout this excellent debut album, of which these shores have been deprived for far too long.

Scott Lucas

Mumford & Sons, Sigh No More – I’ve been a fan of these guys for far too long for their stuff to have been unavailable domestically until now. This is the long-awaited U.S. release of their debut full-length, a satisfying collection of bluegrass-tinged organic folk-rock and gospel styles, made all the more surprising by the fact that they’re from London, nowhere near the Appalachian home of their sound. Hearing Marcus Mumford’s soft, English tenor lead the multi-layer harmonies over beds of banjo and lightly overhanging organ tones makes me feel like I’m strolling down a Kentucky hillside on a sunny afternoon. Good stuff.

Robert Pollard
Preservation Hall Jazz Band
Dan Reeder
Solas
Ben Sollee & Daniel Martin
Souljazz Orchestra

Story of the Year, The Constant – wisely maturing some years back from their adolescent screamo sound into something much more metal, this modern alt.rock band still has plenty of angst and heavy riffage to fill your catharsis-seeking speakers.

Tindersticks
Wu Tang Clan

So to recap, world beat is back (again), stripped-down versions are in, Ivy league is so last season, and it’s OK to have an exotic sound, even if that sound originates thousands of miles and oceans apart from where your band was born. Get your globe out and enjoy. Until next week…

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To view past reviews, visit our archives.

»Album Reviews For Release Date: 02.09.10
by Joshua Krage

Hoo baby, we got some contenders out this week. Lots of blog buzz and indie underground fandom surrounding a few of this week’s releases and deservedly so for all of them (not something you can say very often). If this is only the fifth week of the year and we’re at this level of excellence, the rest of 2010 will have to pony up something fierce. Actually a month from today will pretty much look just like this release week, so whatever you find that’s good on here, you’ve got about a month to enjoy it before something just as good or possibly better comes along — so get crackin’!

AM
Animal Liberation Orchestra

The Besnard Lakes, The Besnard Lakes Are the Roaring Night – like Arcade Fire, this is an epic-scope indie rock band out of Canada, primarily built around a husband/wife musical team who share lead vocal duties. Unlike Arcade Fire, this band’s epic sound waxes more on the art-damaged/shoegaze/krautrock side of the spectrum, with husband Jace Lasek’s huge walls of multi-colored guitars melding with wave after wave of ethereal soundscape keyboards and ambient drones. This album plays best as a complete work, keeping a sprawling, thematic tone throughout and really evoking a more angelic My Bloody Valentine vibe in many places, which is outstanding.

Bone Thugs-N-Harmony
VV Brown
Buzzcocks – live reissues
Fear Factory
Galactic
Gigi
HIM

Hot Chip, One Life Stand – the new LP from London electro-indie enthusiasts and LCD Soundsystem contemporaries kicks off in dance-able fashion and doesn’t let up until past the halfway point. I’m personally not a huge fan of this band, but they throw in some interesting arrangements on this album (steel drums, backing vox rounds, synths and such) and, in general, this album is up to par with what they’ve done so far.

Jaheim
kd lang – best of

Massive Attack, Heligoland – most Massive Attack fans can agree that their previous effort (2003’s 100th Window), while instrumentally excellent, is not hard to surpass in terms of overall quality and/or memorability. Now that the “group” is essentially founder Robert DelNaja and collaborators, expectations may be low, but luckily he and producer/group member Neil Davidge have crafted some slick, slippery dub beats, ambitious ambient feel and some choice guest vocal spots from Tunde Adebimpe (TVOTR), Martina Topley-Bird and Elbow’s Guy Garvey (!). The overall result is a stronger, more memorable trip into trip-hop mastery, mostly due to these excellent guest performances, but top-shelf nonetheless. Worth checking (and chilling) out.

Dave Matthews / Tim Reynolds – live in Las Vegas

Allison Moorer, Crows – Though only one track from this album is available on the webs, it’s a great track This left-of-center country songbird’s track record is pretty solid, so if you like a great vocalist who writes killer, heart-wrenching songs that haunt you like, well, a crow, here’s someone that might interest you.

Georgia Muldrow
OST – Starstruck
Pantha Du Prince
Phantogram
The Pretenders – live in London
Reckless Kelly

Sade, Soldier of Love – I never knew a song with a soldier theme could sound so sexy, but that’s because Sade has never sung it before now. Nothing new here really, and not even any real highlights, mostly just the soft, sultry and smooth adult/contemporary soul grooves that made this Nigerian crooner a household name (pronounced “$har-Day”). That’s all we really want anyway, so well done.

Gil Scott-Heron
Josh Turner
The Watson Twins

Yeasayer, Odd Blood – this sophomore album from this indie buzz band has been on every hipsternet blog’s “Best of 2010″ list before 2010 even started, and after hearing it, I can tell you that it is rather good, but they put the word “odd” right up there in the title, so you’ve been warned. Their debut had an incredibly rare and eclectic blend of world-beat and indie rock greatness, garnering much praise and much head-scratching; their follow-up will leave just as many heads a-scratched, but for different reasons, such as the dour drone of lead track “The Children” and the LP’s back half morphing into a sample-driven, tempo-shifting dance beast with other-worldly synths and alien sounds. Luckily, a meticulous and masterful mix of genres is still ever-present throughout the whole album, and top-drawer tracks like “I Remember” and the brilliant/controversial “Ambling Alp” spring brightly from foundations of soil-born shuffle and timeless keyboard beds. Jittery vocalist Chris Keating’s wild, wavering vocals are well served by these compositions, coming alive with surprising emotion and ample energy, and well-teamed with Anand Wilder’s backing vox and superb sample-pad skills. The biggest reason I was a-scratchin’ my head was mostly due just to wondering how the hell they made those seriously strange sounds, but my head was also bobbin’ so they did their job very well. I’d say this album deserves the hype, and I’m already enjoying repeat listens.

You Say Party! We Say Die!, XXXX – spitfire-y post-punk new-wave upstarts with a serious ’80s jones. Vintage retro keyboards with plenty of slick, oily textures and shadowy dance grooves, it’s like a hipster GenX prom where you can’t tell if the band is trying to be ironic or just really big fans of the sound. I could’ve sworn this came out last year, and I remember listening to and reviewing it, but it never got an actual release until this week.

Just to whet your wondering mind over next month, we’ve got new LPs on deck from Gorillaz, Liars, Ted Leo, the Danger Mouse/James Mercer collaboration known as Broken Bells, a recently-unearthed entire album of unreleased Jimi Hendrix recordings, and a White Hinterland album. But don’t get ahead of yourself — enjoy this week first. You’ll thank me.

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To view past reviews, visit our archives.

»Album Reviews: Precap 2010
by Joshua Krage

So as you may have surmised, the Album Review department pretty much took the month of January off, part for vacation, part for the traditional post-Xmas lack of music news. Don’t think, however, that we haven’t been keeping an eye on the store — we’ve still got plenty of that new music goodness on our shelves, and have assembled the backlog of not only this week, but the last four as well. Dig in, enjoy and do let us know if we missed any:

January 5th

The Cranberries live
Findlay Brown
Ke$ha
Katharine McPhee
Kanye West – Storytellers

January 12th

Diane Birch – iTunes Live Session
Jason Boesel
Nick Cave / Warren Ellis – The Road OST
Manu Chao live
Elvis Costello live

VA/Dengue Fever, Dengue Fever Presents: Electric Cambodia – an interesting and rare peek into a cross-section of Southeast Asian rock/folk fusion culture from the ’60s and ’70s, presented by a marvelous modern LA band with a serious jones for updating that sound.

Final Fantasy
T-Model Ford
Kathy Griffin DVD
Ray Wylie Hubbard
Charlie Hunter
Van Morrison
O.A.R.
OCR – The Lion King
OkGo
Omarion
OST – The Book of Eli
OST – Fame
Polysics
Ringo Starr

Vampire Weekend, Contra – not quite so Afro-pop influenced this time around, but the Ivy League indie icons serve up plenty of lush arrangements and light, cuddly snark on their second offering.

Laura Veirs – July Flame
Ween
VA/Capitol Records – “10 Great Songs” comps by big-name artists

January 19th

Aziz Ansari
Danny Barnes
Cold War Kids – Behave Yourself EP

Editors, In This Light and On This Evening – stateside release of third LP from UK deep-mooded post-punks and Interpol contemporaries. Some fine atmospheric and overcast grooves, all colored in muted tones by singer Tom Smith’s deep, fatalistic tenor.

Eels, End Times – a less thematic but strongly cohesive new set of songs, a mere seven months after his last excellent effort. A more lo-fi, low-key, and reflective tone peppers Mr. Everett’s tunes here but with a few barn-burners to liven up the works here and there, even getting “E” to stand for Elvis on one number. This guy’s still staying under the mainstream radar but is making the best work of his career.

Jethro Tull
Dawn Landes
Sonny Landreth – Mississippi Blues reissue
Motion City Soundtrack

RJD2, The Colossus – if you need reminding why this DJ is an underground staple, thankfully this LP is a solid reminder. Wisely ditching the idea of singing a lot, RJ sticks to what he’s best at: combining a deep back catalog of vintage samples with thick, danceable hip-hop beats and other odds and ends. Bonus collab with some high-end vocalists like the superb Kenna thicken up the mix as well.

Joey Ryan, Kenter Canyon EP – such a great, understated singer/songwriter out of the greater Los Angeles area, this willowy and soft-spoken crooner has written some of the catchiest tunes I’ve heard over the last few years, and this EP is but a taste of his compositional prowess. The real treat on most of these tracks is to see how his ear for production has matured — and bonus guest spots from Sara Bareilles and The Like’s Z Berg are but one of many highlights here.

Spoon

Surfer Blood, Astro Coast – the best kind of power-pop band, just getting off their feet on this debut album and coming off like indie beach bards. They come loaded with lots of reverb’d-out vocal harmonies, big drums, tight and hooky choruses, and a bevy of lo-fi guitars covering the surf/garage/punk landscape. Bonus for name checking some David Lynch. Call it Indie, Walk With Me.

Gretchen Wilson – hits

January 26th

AFCTG
Animal Collective

Beach House, Teen Dream – the serene, psychedelic indie hybrid duo out of Baltimore get their third LP out in style and amid a huge blog buzz that’s been building since last spring. Dark, alluring textures (courtesy of composer Alex Scally) and hazy, hypnotic vocals (courtesy of songstress Victoria Legrand) combine for a sort of happy, psychotic dichotomy, like listening to Edith Piaf sing the Beach Boys during an eclipse. This is a good thing.

David Bowie live
Basia Bulat
Buraka Som Sistema
Celtic Woman
Citay
Clipd Beaks
Day of Fire
Joe Firstman
Four Tet
Fozzy
Fucked Up

Charlotte Gainsbourg & Beck, IRM – oh boy.  Her last album was produced (and largely composed) by French synth-ambient masters Air, and this followup finds Serge’s talented progeny teaming up with alt savant Beck for a trip further down the rabbit hole. Mr. Hansen handles most of the composition on this album, resulting in a wide array of styles, all delivered in trademark left-of-center fashion, with Charlotte’s breathy, understated vocals hanging in the air like a heavy wind current, gusting or lowing to suit tempo. Really interesting stuff, with a great mix of quirky electronic runners, acoustic textures, and lush atmosphere.

Patty Griffin
Hello Goodbye – DVD
Harvey Milk
Home
Yuka Honda
Whitney Houston
Michael Jackson – This Is It DVD
Joan of Arc
Kidz Bop 17
Los Campesinos!
Lostprophets
Robert Lowe
Pat Metheny
My Brightest Diamond – remixes
Youssou N’Dour – I Bring What I Love OST
Never Shout Never
Number One Gun
Oh No Ono
Owl City – 2CD deluxe
Pit Er Pat
Corinne Bailey Rae
Retribution Gospel Choir
David Sanborn
Michael Schenker – instrumentals
Scanners
Neil Sedaka

February 2nd

Christina Aguilera – hits
Album Leaf
Apparatjik (supergroup feat. members of A-Ha, Mew, Coldplay)
Bob Blank
Dommin
Nick Jonas (& the Administration)
Lil’ Wayne
Malachai
Mavis
Midlake
New Kids on the Block DVD
Nneka
Pierced Arrow
Priestess
Joe Satriani – Live in Paris
The Soft Pack
Toro Y Moi
Vedera
Rob Zombie

We’ll be back next week at full speed, with new stuff out from Massive Attack, Hot Chip, Sade, and the new Yeasayer LP. Say “Yea!”

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To view past reviews, visit our archives.

»Album Reviews For Release Date: 1215.09-01.10
by Joshua Krage

OK I’ll admit it: I’m ready for a vacation. For some reason, even with all the familial warmth, excess foodage and generally convivial sense of joy in the air, the holidays just suck the energy out of me. Luckily, they suck the names off the new release roster as well — from last week through the end of the year, there’s barely anything worth mentioning. I made you a list, and checked it twice, so down some eggnog and enjoy:

12.15.09:

Animal Collective – Fall Be Kind EP
Bunny Billy
Alicia Keys
Julian Lennon & James Scott Cook
George Lopez
OST – Avatar
Shiny Toy Guns – remixes
Robin Thicke
Phil Vassar
Paul Weller
Willowz

12.22.09:

Mary J Blige
Eminem
Hurricane Chris
Dave Matthews Band – new live DVD collection
Mudvayne
OST – Nine
The Rasmus – best of 2001-2009
Young Money

…and here’s a few you can look forward to (or look forward to mocking) in the new year’s first week:

01.05.10:

Ke$ha
Katharine McPhee
Weezer – rarities
Kanye West – Storytellers

That’s enough new releases. Stay tuned for the Awesome List, it’s imminent. Until then, stay frosty… or actually, stay warm — the whole eastern U.S. is pretty frosty anyway…

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To view past reviews, visit our archives.

»Album Reviews For Release Date: 12.08.09
by Joshua Krage

Still rather lean but at least this week has enough releases in it to warrant writing something. Stay tuned for a year-end recap later in the month (week?), but for now enjoy most of the rest of what 2009’s new music has to offer:

30 Seconds to Mars, This Is War – say what you want about the rock and roll credibility of a former Teen Beat poster boy who started his band by going with the Flock of Seagulls hair and space guitar look — on 30STM’s last album, Jared Leto realized there was a worldwide army of disenchanted fans for their sprawling, stratospheric brand of angst rock and he opened the throttle to ludicrous speed, never looking back. Some of the tracks dial back the tempo a bit on album #3 (maybe showing maturity? Enh.), but plenty of throaty yowls crowd these choruses, ensuring his fan base will be present at every show, fists a-pumping. I have to admit, predictable as it may be, their enormous sound is somewhat exhilarating…

AC/DC- DVD

Chris Brown, Graffiti- oh no you di’n't try to release an album while everyone still thinks you’re the poster-child for girlfriend abuse. Should’a taken the R. Kelly approach, lay low and then maybe write a 14-part saga about being trapped in tha locker or something…

Clipse
Cloud Cult
Creed DVD
Gucci Mane
LL Cool J – hits pt 2
Yngwie Malmsteen
George Michael- DVD
La Oreja de Van Gogh – a really good, female-fronted Latin rock band, if you’ve never heard them and enjoy that sort of thing.
OST – Glee: the Music vol. 2

James Pants, Seven Seals – rather eccentric vocalist/multi-instrumentalist and frequent Peanut Butter Wolf live DJ who sings and plays everything on his releases (this one included), for better (the playing) or worse (the singing). Inventive stuff which will mostly be appreciated by informed musicians; not mainstream by any standards, and still a bit odd by indie standards, but his beats and noises are definitely unique, either because no one else can sound like him or because no one else wants to. Out on Stones Throw Records.

Puddle of Mudd
Pulp – reissues
Seal – hits
Snoop Dogg

Timbaland, Shock Value: II – not a lot of chances left to take after tackling a full Chris Cornell album, so the guest list on SVII should be no shock, so to speak. Requisite appearances from known Timbassociates Justin Timberlake, OneRepublic, Nelly Furtado and Keri Hilson are well-joined by inventive turns from the likes of Drake, Chris Daughtry, The Fray, and wise re-discovery of obscure vocal talent Esthero. Interesting as these non-traditional pairings are, somebody really should inform Mr. Mosley that AutoTune isn’t helping convince anyone he should be singing, and painful big-name turns from Katy Perry and Miley Cyrus are probably doing more to injure his career than to help it. Volume two of Shock Value ends up shocking in some unpleasant ways, but accomplishes the same thing as volume one did: getting everyone to scratch their heads and maybe chocking up a throwaway Top 40 pop hit or two.

Tricky – Maxinquaye deluxe
We The Kings
Neil Young – live ‘92

… And only two more weeks until this trip around the sun wraps up and we’re on to the next one. As the year winds down, think about what’s been best about it for you, and we’ll be doing the same — with the results to be posted tout suite. TTYL, hope to hear from you soon, XOXO, and so on…

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To view past reviews, visit our archives.

»Album Reviews For Release Date: 12.01.09
by Joshua Krage

Loooots of Latin releases this week, so si te gusta tu musica en español, ieste es la semana ultima! However if you don’t, you’re pretty much out of luck, as the biggest competition is R. Kelly and The Bravery squaring off against… Alvin & the Chipmunks. My advice to these contenders is to hit ‘em in the nuts (zing!). At least the Black Keys came along with some of their top-shelf urban buddies for some ace collaboration, so the week isn’t a total loss. As for everyone else, well see for yourself:

Biz Markie – hits

Blakroc – surprise indie hybrid hit of the year. Everyone knew the Black Keys had the funky beat in ‘em, but we might not have guessed that beat would flow so well on these high-profile hip-hop collaborations with Jim Jones, Mos Def, RZA, Ludacris and more. Great verses abound, soulful hooks sung by newcomer Nicole Wray take a few tracks into R&B territory, and it’s all solidly anchored to Pat Carney’s thickfreak beats and embellished by Dan Auerbach’s tasty, rhythmic blues licks. It’s the best rock/rap collision since the Judgment Night soundtrack, and much more tasteful.

The Bravery
Enya – best of
Allison Iraheta
Juvenile
R Kelly
OST – Alvin & The Chipmunks: Squeakquel
OST – Up In the Air

The rest of the year is pretty much done music-wise, unless you count 30 Seconds to Mars (which I have to, or some of my friends will pelt me with full wine bottles), so next week we’ll wrap it all up for 2009 with a solid, well-considered (read: hastily-assembled) “best of” list before going on vacation until Valentine’s Day. See you then.

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To view past reviews, visit our archives.

»Album Reviews For Release Date: 11.24.09
by Joshua Krage

It happened earlier than usual this year: all the indie record labels have evidently packed it up for the holidays and scampered out of the way of the onslaught of major-label cash-grab stocking stuffer fare. An American Idol icon, a Disney soundtrack, a group of well-marketed priests, and Susan Boyle are but short stops on the tour of Top 40 monotone–erm, I mean mainstream music out this week. Sadly, none of this music interests me, so I didn’t review any of it — but we’ve got something tasty brewing to tide you over until Christmas, so stay tuned. For now, your list:

Beyonce – live
Birdman
Black Crowes DVD
Andre Bocelli Christmas CD/DVD
Susan Boyle
Boys II Men
Brian Jonestown Massacre – One EP
Bill Cosby
Fever Ray – deluxe ed.
Glasses Malone
Buddy Holly (box set)
Lady Gaga
Adam Lambert – no amount of incentives on Earth exist to get me to review this thing… though I am kinda curious how that Rivers Cuomo/Lady Gaga collab with him turned out…
LL Cool J
Medeski Martin & Wood – Radiolarians box set
Moby – Wait For Me deluxe ed.
NOFX – Cokie the Clown EP
NewSong
OST – The Frog Princess (score by Randy Newman!)
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers – live 4-CD anthology
Madeleine Peyroux DVD
Regis Philbin
The Priests
Rihanna
Shakira
Sting – A Winter’s Night 2 DVD
Angie Stone
Tahiti 80
Hayley Westenra

If there were some great new music I missed that came out this week, do tell. I couldn’t find it. Hopefully we’ll find something worth writing about before the new release season comes to a close at year’s end. Until then…

P.S. if you should wish to hear some of the high points of this week’s list, tune into my MySpace Page for a playlist. Enjoy!

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To view past reviews, visit our archives.