I hate to break it to you, but Pearl Jam’s 10th album is both a beautiful – and disjointed – mess. Let’s face it – any band that makes it to 10 studio albums deserves the title of ‘legacy act.’ As such, the pressure to make the album that befits the pedigree of such a widely accepted rock band is gargantuan in nature. Another pitfall of a legacy album is that you’re generally only a good as the last two […]
Posts tagged "rock"
SOiL, Whole: Album Review
One of the great aspects of my early to mid-20’s was spending many a night hitting up club shows for the latest hard rock act to roll through. Nonpoint, Drowning Pool, Cold, Sevendust, Static-X, Seether and then a constant bevy of second- and third-tier supporting acts. Rock band SOiL never really got the credit they deserved nor really took the bull by the horns when opportunity knocked. They’re one of those bands where, as a fan of that scene, you […]
“Doin’ It” – An Interview with Bad Rabbits
Hailing from Popblerd’s homebase of Boston, MA, Bad Rabbits have been crafting their blend of r&b, funk, and rock (sprinkled with elements of hardcore) for six years. Building a reputation for their energetic live shows and gaining national recognition for their recorded output, 2013 marks a milestone for the band: the release of their first full-length LP, American Love (2013, Bad Records). What’s more, they’ve got another completed full-length LP in the can. We caught up with Bad Rabbits just before their […]
Monster Magnet, “The Duke:” The Singles Bar Review
…And like a psychedelic trip back into the ethers, Monster Magnet return with another rocket-fueled space rock jam on the album cut, ‘The Duke,’ from their forthcoming album Last Patrol. Following 2010’s Mastermind, this will be the band’s second album on Napalm Records. It’s a mostly acoustic ‘classic rock sounding,’ track with the signature rhythm section holding things together and Dave Wyndorf vocally setting the mood, gradually building the electric guitar solo ante with Phil Caivano and Garrett Sweeney along for the […]
a.f.i., “I Hope You Suffer:” The Singles Bar Review
So afireinside (known better under all sorts of spelling and capitalization of the letters AFI) are poised to return with their ninth studio album, Burials, out on October 22nd. Davey Havok and the boys have cooked up this dark little ditty called ‘I Hope You Suffer.’ I am digging it and hoping it’s a return to more hollowed ground (i.e. anything circa 2003’s Sing the Sorrow or prior). Tell us what you think in the comments below or on the Popblerd! Facebook page. […]
Kings of Leon, ‘Supersoaker:’ The Singles Bar Review
So Kings of Leon have finally released the first taste of new music from their new album Mechanical Bull, slated for release on September 24th. It’s called ‘Supersoaker,’ and had been making the live rounds towards the end of their tour in support of 2010’s truly breakout album, Come Around Sundown. While it lacks the punch of previous lead-off singles ‘Radioactive’ or ‘Sex on Fire’ (off 2008’s Only By The Night). It does hold true to the promise that it reminisces with […]
The Popblerd Halftime Show: Drew’s Best of 2013 So Far
Halfway through 2013, we’ve come to an interesting impasse: moreso than the last several years, the music of this year has been largely awesome. I don’t say this to suggest that I’m one of those curmudgeonly sorts that thinks new music blows; it’s just, we’ve been in a bit of a lull. Much of 2012 was boring on the album front, and 2011 was only marginally better. And yet, here we are at unlucky ’13, and I’ve already doled out […]
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.
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 […]
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 […]
Shuggie Otis, Inspiration Information + Wings Of Love: Album Review
A gifted, prodigiously talented soul/funk recluse, Shuggie Otis’s music certainly deserves to be canonized; all the accepted pieces of pop-culture folklore are there, from the Rolling Stones sideman offer to the eventual artistic blackout, and so it stands to reason that when Otis’s music finally reaches the masses, it will be transcendent. Which, as it turns out, is a bit of a foolish way to think; there’s no easier way to shatter transcendence than to expect it. In 2013, we’ve […]
Note for Note: A Complete Guide to the Discography of Depeche Mode, Part Two
Part Two of our look at Depeche Mode’s illustrious catalog.