The Counting Crows pay homage to Gram Parsons, Dawes, and Dylan on “Underwater Sunshine”, a covers album and their first record since 2008.
Posts tagged "album review"
Spin Cycle: Of Monsters and Men’s “My Head is an Animal”
As I hinted when reviewing Of Monsters and Men’s Into the Woods EP a couple of months ago, the pop and indie universes seem to be on a collision course. This isn’t an entirely new phenomenon – remember all of the hullabaloo surrounding Modest Mouse embracing Top 40 with “Float On” back in ’03? – but we’ve reached a point, culturally, where the dividing line is almost nonexistent. Arcade Fire and Bon Iver have Grammys now, and Gotye and Florence + The Machine are […]
Spin Cycle: Nicki Minaj’s “Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded”
The conundrum of Nicki Minaj – not Icki Garbaj, pithy Internet detractors – is a curious one indeed. At this point, she’s as inescapable a presence on the pop landscape as any of her peers, so much so that it’s hard to believe that Kanye’s apocalyptic posse cut “Monster” – wherein she contributed an energetic, schizophrenic, scene-stealing verse – was less than two years ago. In the interim, Nicki has hit big-time as both a solo artist and an in-demand […]
Spin Cycle: Gift of Gab’s “The Next Logical Progression”
It’s a bit hard to believe that hip-hop, as a genre, is old enough for grumpy old men to number among its ranks; it’s even harder to believe that it’s been a decade since the heyday of Quannum, the collective that counted Blackalicious, Latyrx, and Pigeon John as decorated members. I remember reviewing music in 2002, the year Blackalicious’ Blazing Arrow was released; I’d become so enamored with the album that I wrote a gimmicky concept review of it in my […]
Spin Cycle: The All-American Rejects’ “Kids in the Street”
It seems a bit unfair to lump Oklahoma power-poppers All-American Rejects in with the sort of Hot Topic rock that broke around the same time as the band did; sure, they’ve never been the most challenging of bands, and their candy-coated hooks generally make them feel like the musical equivalent of pop rocks, but if catchiness were a liability, The Beatles never would have commandeered rock and roll in the first place. The closest thing AAR have to a dyed-in-the-wool […]
Spin Cycle: Soul Khan’s “Wellstone” EP
Battle rapper Soul Khan has unleashed a new album entitled “Wellstone.” Check out the review!
Spin Cycle: The Shins’ “Port of Morrow”
James Mercer and an (all new) band of Shins are back after a five-year absence. How much does a new lineup alter the landscape of The Shins’ intricate pop? Read the review and find out.
Spin Cycle: The Ting Tings’ “Sounds From Nowheresville”
Regardless of one’s feelings about The Ting Tings – day-glo pop masterminds or mere dancefloor diversions – they’d doubtlessly be a surprising addition to the canon of 2000s artists granted pop longevity. Their debut record, We Started Nothing, was a dance-rock jackpot, spilling out a startling amount of durable singles like a generous Atlantic City slot machine; but it, as a record, never offered anything below the heavily stylized surface. Not that all music needs to, mind you – it’s just […]
Spin Cycle: Bruce Springsteen’s “Wrecking Ball”
The Boss is back with his first new album in three years. How does it hold up to his lengthy list of classics?
Spin Cycle: The Magnetic Fields’ “Love at the Bottom of the Sea”
Digestible and lean, The Magnetic Fields’ latest record, Love at the Bottom of the Sea, attempts to have it both ways: while each Fields album after their massive, masterful magnum opus 69 Love Songs has been more laser-focused than that thrillingly kitchen-sink record, Love at the Bottom packs 15 swift tracks into its sinewy 34-minute runtime. For this we can thank Stephin Merritt, Magnetic Fields maestro and patron saint of indie kids who scrawl their lyrical sketches on cocktail napkins and dog-eared […]
Spin Cycle: Ja Rule’s “Pain Is Love 2”
Remember this dude? He has a new album. And we were brave enough to review it!
Spin Cycle: The Cranberries’ “Roses”
Chugging bass notes and rhythmically-scrubbed acoustic guitars scamper across a vaguely martial 4/4 drumbeat; Dolores O’Riordan’s distinctive Irish lilt, alternately forceful and airy, flits over the whole enterprise, dreamy harmonies and counter-melodies rising from the ether to join O’Riordan in a chanting, cyclical chorale of Dolores O’Riordans, all cooing in one accord the wistful dissolution of a relationship that simply wasn’t meant to be. Worried that you accidentally gunned the Delorean up to 88mph last night and have found yourself […]