Frontmen around the world should take a cue from Paul Smith, singer/wordsmith extraordinaire of Maximo Park, and learn to take a step away and do that solo album you always talk about so you can come back to your original band re-energized and refocused. That’s exactly what The National Health, Maximo Park’s fourth full-length, sounds like: A band reinvigorated and rekindling that debut album feeling all over again. They say that absence makes the heart grow fonder and in the […]
Spin Cycle
Spin Cycle: Bobby Brown, The Masterpiece
Is the new album by Bobby Brown a “masterpiece?” Check out our review to see whether a 15 year layoff has been kind to the New Edition singer.
Spin Cycle: Glen Hansard, Rhythm and Repose
Glen Hansard, of Swell Season, The Frames, and Once fame, lends his soulful brogue to an all-new set of tunes on his first solo record, “Rhythm and Repose”.
Spin Cycle: The Tallest Man On Earth, There’s No Leaving Now
Beset by not-entirely-off-base Dylan comparisons since his debut dropped, Swedish folkie Kristian Matsson (stage name: The Tallest Man On Earth) is operating under the small-ish genre umbrella of indie folk, a lovely little haven where performers live and die by the strength of their songs, where rugged baritones and rambling napkin poetry are the order of the day, where boredom is uncomfortably easy to attain if you’re not careful. Fortunately for Matsson, he’s got the goods – “the goods”, in […]
Spin Cycle: Motion City Soundtrack, Go
An early summer night in 2008. Boy scoops girl up in battered Grand Am. A tentative, innocent kiss. “Where to,” he asks? “Let’s just drive. I finished your mix!” She smiles, handing him a slim disc case. There are graphics, a tracklisting, liner notes. My kinda girl, he thinks to himself. He scans the tracklist: Counting Crows, Deborah Cox, Motion City Soundtrack, Evanescence. He slips the disc into the player, willing to forgive the Evanescence in lieu of the sheer […]
Spin Cycle: The Smashing Pumpkins, Oceania
The Smashing Pumpkins roar back with a less angry, calmer and more confident version of musical truth on their seventh album.
Spin Cycle: Guided By Voices, Class Clown Spots a UFO
The newly-reformed Guided By Voices are back with their second post-comeback album this year. Check out our review of “Class Clown Spots a UFO.”
Spin Cycle: Oddisee, People Hear What They See
Popblerd looks at recent changes in the hip-hop underground and reviews the latest effort by DC rapper/producer, Oddisee. Come for the rant, stay for the review.
Spin Cycle: Joe Walsh, Analog Man
Twenty Years. That’s how long it’s been since the last time Joe Walsh offered up a collection of original tunes for his fans. Two decades since his last set of tunes set itself as a backdrop to the first go-round of the Iraq disarmament crisis, George H. W. Bush vomiting in public, and John Gotti receiving his racketeering life sentence…and competing with the likes of Pearl Jam and Soundgarden for chart position (and not faring so well in that fight). […]
Spin Cycle: Old Man Gloom, No
They are back. The definitive supergroup from Boston, Old Man Gloom have returned and managed to keep their latest album, No, the best kept secret of all time in a time where news is leaked as fast as albums do. Available only on vinyl and cassette and only during their recent mini-tour (June 26th for CD and wide release), the loyalty of the typical OMG fan speaks volumes considering this album has yet to leak. Maybe it’s because OMG fans know what a […]
Spin Cycle: Jimmy Fallon, Blow Your Pants Off
Late night host and musical comedian Jimmy Fallon’s second record, Blow Your Pants Off, collects memorable musical moments from his show. Check out our review to see how many laughs you’ll get from it.
Spin Cycle: Usher, Looking 4 Myself
Usher’s seventh album, Looking 4 Myself, finds the singer straddling the worlds of pop and soul. Is his genre blend successful? Check our review and find out.