Mayer Hawthorne both expands and contracts with his latest album, “Where Does This Door Go?”
Posts tagged "Soul"
Jamie Lidell and the Q-Kidz find “Big Love”
In my initial review of Jamie Lidell’s latest record, I mentioned “Big Love” by name as a standout. Highly danceable, funky, unapologetically lifts its main beat from “The Pleasure Principle,” the song is an absolute standout on an already solid record. It’s an obvious choice for a single, but Lidell’s videos are never obvious visual counterparts (though they’re generally entertaining). “Big Love” focuses on neighborhood kids (actually the Q-Kidz dance team) flocking to the local rec center, which eventually turns into a near-disco-experience. […]
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 […]
Mayer Hawthorne’s “Designer Drug”: The Singles Bar Review
Following an extensive tour in support of his excellent 2011 LP How Do You Do, Mayer Hawthorne has just unleashed his latest single. Similar to the stylistic leap between his first two albums, “Designer Drug” shows Hawthorne staying within his idiom of blue eyed soul, yet inching into new territory. It’s a solid strategy for maintaining your fanbase while not becoming artistically stagnant. This time around, Hawthorne has taken a left onto the dancefloor, serving up an irresistibly catchy tune […]
Justin Timberlake, The 20/20 Experience: Spin Cycle
OK, so how good is “The 20/20 Experience?” I mean, really?
Spin Cycle: Jamie Lidell, Jamie Lidell
Jamie Lidell is back!! Check out our review of his new album, out today!
Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler! Mardi Gras 2013
Happy Shrove Tuesday / Mardi Gras to you all! I am not a New Orleans native, but like millions of others, I’ve fallen in love with the allure of the Crescent City’s rich history and culture. I’ve never been to Mardi Gras, but from what I gather it’s much more of a tourist affair than a local one (at least in the French Quarter). Even so, Mardi Gras gives us an opportunity to openly and proudly celebrate one of America’s […]
The Singles Bar: Jamie Lidell, “What a Shame”
Jamie Lidell’s “What a Shame” offers a sneak peak at his upcoming self-titled album on Warp.
Diggin’ in the Crates: “Stoney and Meatloaf”
It’s accepted music lore that Meat Loaf ripped through popular music on the back of a silver black phantom bike like a bat out of hell with his solo debut, appropriately titled Bat Out Of Hell. It was a work of massive, lusty hubris, composed by master songwriter and closet freak Jim Steinman, and it married 1960s adolescent yearning to a Spector-esque wall of sound – complete with horns, resplendent grand pianos, wall-to-wall vocals, and charmingly pretentious spoken-word excerpts – […]
Spin Cycle: Betty Wright & The Roots’ “Betty Wright: The Movie”
Ms. Betty Wright and the legendary Roots crew have joined forces for a soul triumph. Check out our review.
Spin Cycle: Christmas Album Round-up 2011
Hear those jingle bells ringin’/ Either someone’s breaking into your house or the holiday season is approaching. Join Drew as he listens to a few of the season’s most interesting Christmas albums.
The Blerd Interview: DJ Axel Foley
If you think you can tap into the mind and soul of a DJ strictly by the songs they spin, you couldn’t be more wrong. Thats like saying you can judge a book by its cover, and we all know the rap about that. You need to find out the ‘why’ rather than the ‘what’ before you can really know the deal…..you gotta dig in those crates before the precious reward can be mined. Now, some of you may be […]
