Who needs an OutKast reunion anyway?
Vampire Weekend, Modern Vampires of the City: Album Review
There was a time that Vampire Weekend perched, perilously, on the precipice of being one of the great one-album wonders of the ’00s. Like Cannibal Ox or At the Drive-In or Bloc Party before them, the Ivy League pop-rockers seemed poised to turn heads with one masterstroke of a record, and then retreat into either obscurity, oddity, or simple irrelevance. That album was 2008′s Vampire Weekend — the one with “Oxford Comma” and “A-Punk” and basically all the Vampire Weekend [...]
k-os, BLack on BLonde: Album Review
A Dylan reference in a hip-hop album title? That should be your first sign that something’s a little different…
Mikal Cronin, MCII: Album Review
Mikal Cronin is making music to get addicted to. The Ty Segall sideman and solo artist is far from a household name. Google searches and Rateyourmusic keywords seem to suggest that the singer-songwriter exists in the realm of “garage rock”, although that hardly seems like a fair shake for a guy responsible for some of the most addictive, giddy pop music of 2013 yet. Mind you, the multi-instrumental’s sophomore set, MCII, does occupy the same headspace as, say, Guided By [...]
TheseFadingPolaroids, The Get Down EP: Album Review
On the 5-track The Get Down EP available now through Bandcamp , Scottish quartet TheseFadingPolaroids bring to mind some of the lo-fi work Nirvana and Smashing Pumpkins (Think Singles-era especially) may have been doing when they started out. Where TFP differ, though, is in the delivery by guitarist/vocalist Andy Gregory and the overall atmosphere the band create. While “Keep Your Promises” is a great opener for the EP, it’s not until “A Caved In Mind” begins that listeners truly get a [...]
She & Him, Volume 3: Album Review
She & Him’s charm used to seem a little… Starbucks-y at times. You know what I mean: it’s fine for what you need, but both the band and the big-box coffee chain seem a bit like mainstream, inoffensive versions of their respective wares masquerading as hip versions of the same. (Also, She & Him sound like they probably get played at Starbucks a lot.) And yet, with three proper albums and a toe-tappin’ Christmas record under their belts, the Zooey [...]
Natalie Maines, Mother: Album Review
A Dixie Chick goes solo…check out our review of Natalie Maines’ “Mother.”
!!!, THR!!!ER: Album Review
A band I will never be allowed to see live because my wife has called “dibs” and needs to get her dance on solo whenever they’re in town, !!! (Chk Chk Chk) is bringing the groove back once again on their latest album entitled THR!!!ER. Welcome to the party, the after party, and everything in between. This is the kind of setting !!! provides the soundtrack for and THR!!!ER is, quite simply, the best party album of 2013 Whether it’s [...]
Skinny Puppy, Weapon: Album Review
At times harkening back to the yesteryear of Skinny Puppy while at other times moving boldly into the future, Weapon is a visceral slab of electronic goodness that is hands down the best album they have released since “reforming”. Probably the most aggressive 21st Century offering from Skinny Puppy as well, Weapon is so in-your-face (And so surprising a release considering HanDover barely came out two years ago) that you’d be wise to invest in concealer to cover up the [...]
Guided By Voices, English Little League: Album Review
If the year 2012 conditioned music fans to anything — other than the fact that “Call Me Maybe” is inescapable, and the only way to mount a true offense is to just give into its charms already — it’s the cultural inevitability that is the re-formed mid-’90s lineup of Guided By Voices, and the Pavlovian sense that, every four to six months, GBV will be releasing another record, so pull on your Bee Thousand t-shirt and prepare your mind for [...]
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