Rogue Wave records have in the past always been this sort of comfort food for me. They’re magical and uplifting despite being so dark at times. The beauty of their records is probably that, regardless of the subject matter, one would never be able to tell because of how uplifting and beautiful the music is which has always appealed to me. On the band’s latest record, Nightingale Floors, Rogue Wave again take beauty from the breakdown to limitless new heights. […]
Spin Cycle
Jason Isbell, Southeastern: Album Review/Irish Java 2013 Halftime Report
I put off writing up a 2013 Best of so far list until I got a chance to listen to Jason Isbell’s latest, Southeastern, that was released recently. I’d heard enough of it to know I’d like it, but now that I’ve had time to soak with it, I’d say it’s easily the best album I’ve heard this year. The record was getting a lot of press in places you’d not expect to see ( feature story in the Sunday New York Times magazine , Wall Street Journal) and […]
PJ Morton, New Orleans: Album Review
When Maroon 5 announced their Overexposed album, I did a double take when I realized that there was a new member. Keyboardist PJ Morton joined Adam Levine and co. for their most recent album and tour, and has since gone on to release his first major label album, New Orleans, on hometown label Young Money. So, to encapsulate, the black dude from Maroon 5 just released an album on the hottest rap label around. Roll that around in your head […]
Chrisette Michele, Better: Album Review
R&B and I have had a rough run of it over the past few years. With the exception of a couple of outliers (Ne-Yo’s Libra Scale, Frank Ocean’s Channel Orange, Janelle Monae’s The ArchAndroid), there have not been R&B albums that spoke to me the way that old school Mary J. Blige, Jill Scott and Robin Thicke did in the late 90s and early 2000s. Chrisette Michelle fell right into the middle of that rut, despite getting off to a […]
Jimmy Eat World, Damage : Album Review
It’s hard to believe Tempe, AZ’s Jimmy Eat World are now on their seventh album. Yet here we are with the boys who created such college radio staples like ‘Lucky Denver Mint,’ ‘The Middle,’ ‘Sweetness’ and ‘The Authority Song,’ confronting relationship issues and converting them into four-minute rock songs. The new album is entitled Damage and once again, its tackling life in the mid- to late-30’s. As a listener, I suppose you could say I’ve spent the past fifteen years growing […]
City and Colour, The Hurry and The Harm: Album Review
Dallas Green, formerly of Alexisonfire, returns with the fourth record from his side-turned-main project, City and Colour. He’s managed to further develop the acoustic sketches from the first two albums, expand upon the creative risks taken from album number three, and round out the edges musically, if not lyrically, on The Hurry and The Harm. Does that make it the album I finally expected? Not necessarily. I found the rawness of his sketches on 2008’s Bring Me Your Love to be […]
LeAnn Rimes Spitfire: Album Review
Talk about an aptly named album: LeAnn Rimes comes roaring back with “Spitfire.”
The Olms, The Olms : Album Review
Pete Yorn and J.D. King have banded together in The Olms to produce an album that is a bona-fide love letter to 60’s pop rock and easy summer country folk. The collaborative approach to everything on this album makes for one of the most laid back recordings in Yorn’s wide-ranging discography. Similar to 2009’s Break-Up album with actress/chanteuse Scarlett Johansson, Yorn shows listeners he thrives in an environment where the approach to melody is part of a shared vision. ‘On […]
Talib Kweli Prisoner of Conscious: Album Review
Lyrical giant Talib Kweli returns with a new album. Check out our review of “Prisoner of Conscious.”
Jessica Sanchez, Me, You & The Music: Album Review
After finishing in second place in season 11 of American Idol, Jessica Sanchez’s rookie album is here and while it’s inconsistent, the young teenage girls will love it.
Tricky, False Idols: Album Review
If you look at a picture of Tricky where he’s staring at the camera, it’s like looking at a black version of Keith Richards. You just know the dude has plenty of stories to tell and has more swagger in his pinky than you have in your whole body. Admittedly, he seemed to have lost his way a bit over the past ten years, though still producing output. On his tenth album, he’s back with all of the things that […]
