On The Editors fourth full length long-player, they turn to Kings of Leon mainstay producer Jacquire King, presumably to emulate the former’s crossover success here in the U.S. It’s a notable goal and vocalist-guitarist Tom Smith seems more than a little eager to meet the task. Ditching the electronic heavy sound of 2009’s In This Light and On This Evening in favor of a more straight-ahead rock sound, the loss or original guitarist Chris Urbanowicz is immediately evident. The resulting album […]
Posts tagged "music"
The Halftime Report: Cunningham’s Best of 2013 (so far)
The first half of 2013 was dominated by a string of solid releases in the garage punk and disco-house genres, and it also featured cameos from some indie-pop gems and the occasional decent R&B album. But January-through-June was owned by a very recent hip-hop release that any true head would have trouble not listening to on repeat. 1. Quasimoto-Yessir Whatever Technically a compilation of unreleased tracks from the last 14 years, Yessir Whatever hits harder than its predecessor, 2005’s The […]
I Let the Groove Get in, Felt it Right There: The Halftime Report Best Music of 2013 So Far (Mike B.’s Take)
Keeping up with the rate of quality new music is like trying to be in love with 100 women at once: it’ll be an overdose of bliss, but with each one needing an equal slice of your heart, some jadedness may occur.
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 […]
The Popblerd Halftime Show: KBOX’s Best Of 2013 So Far
Once again, we’ve reached the midway point to another year, and the staff’s going through what’s simply “Ah-maze-balled” us to date. Obviously, I’ve written reviews on the types of albums that have intrigued me, but if you need a ranked order – I’d probably put the albums listed below in my current Top Five. There’s been a mix of introspective chamber pop, an experimental album from the desert’s greatest band, a fine return by synth-rock legends, and some indie pop […]
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 […]
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 […]
Start Spreading the News: Julian Velard Plans New York-Based Concept LP
When last we heard from Julian Velard, one of the best and most underrated singer-songwriters in the pop game, he’d dashed off a quick but captivating EP, Person of Interest , last fall. Since then, he’s kept a low profile, popping up as musical entertainment on a few NPR shows here and there and performing with fellow singer-songwriter Ari Hest as part of the soft-rock cover act The Jewbadours . The silence finally ends this month, with a forthcoming album out this year and a […]
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 […]
Alice In Chains, The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here: Album Review
Still standing 20 years later-Alice in Chains are back with a new one.
The National, Trouble Will Find Me: Album Review
Drama and Discovery – these are two essential tenets to my history as an audiophile. I admitted to my facebook friends and colleagues here at Popblerd that I’d missed the boat for the past 13 years on The National. My bad. I’m making up for lost time and have immersed myself in their discography over the past couple of weeks. My listening and journey can be summed up in this arc — U2’s The Joshua Tree (1987), The Cure’s Disintegration (1989), Depeche […]
