Though it didn't quite make my "Best of 2009" list, The Clientele's latest album "Bonfires on the Heath" remains near and dear to my heart. It was a record released last fall that was basically the entire reason for the season. I enjoyed the turning of the leaves and the light chill in the air that much more because the record provided my soundtrack. And though it is no longer fall, and we're actually thawing out into spring, I'm finding myself returning to the album again. Yes, things are starting to grow, and the trend is more towards warming than [...]
I'm going to keep my review of the new She & Him record "Volume Two" short and sweet, much like Zooey Deschanel herself. I spent much of my review of She & Him's debut album discussing the merits and pitfalls of movie stars entering the music industry, ultimately saying that it was a terrible idea, but that She & Him was an exception. Now just to bring you up to speed, in case you're totally in the dark on this one, She & Him is the collaborative project between actress Zooey Deschanel and singer/songwriter M. Ward. Their first [...]
Upon hearing the song "Girls FM" a couple months ago, I made a mental note to keep an eye on this little band known as Happy Birthday. Between hearing that song and the release of their self-titled album last week, I learned absolutely nothing more about the band and didn't hear a single other song from them. In the meantime, hype did build significantly for this project, and so I did check out the album finally, and only upon setting out to write this here review did I do any sort of research as to where this band came from [...]
Without a doubt, the last Frightened Rabbit album "Midnight Organ Fight" is an extremely underrated gem of 2008, if not the last decade as a whole. Of course when using a word like "underrated," the implication is that either not enough people have heard it, or those who have don't respect it enough. In the couple years since that record was released though, I like to think that Frightened Rabbit is a band that has found their audience little by little. It's almost as if "Midnight Organ Fight" was some secretive record that a small, select group of people originally [...]
To say that I'd all but given up on Black Rebel Motorcycle Club would be accurate. They have been making music for around a decade now, and despite originally being hailed as "the second coming of rock and roll," they instead struggled with the spotlight clearly upon them. Their debut album, 2001's "B.R.M.C." is something of a modern-day masterpiece even despite the fact that I pretty much forgot to include it on my end-of-decade retrospective. In a time when rap-rock was taking over the airwaves, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club stepped in with a supreme garage rock revival that predestined bands [...]
For those who didn't read my review of it a couple months back, I'm kind of in love with the new Charlotte Gainsbourg album "IRM". It's an impressive step forwards for the actress/singer, whose previous albums "Lemon Incest" and "5:55" were most notable for mining the territory over which her father once treaded. Yes, Serge Gainsbourg was a gigantic influence on so many musicians and you can still hear his hand in so many projects today, but if anybody wants to get away from it and seek their own path, you'd imagine his daughter Charlotte would be the first person [...]
There has always been a part of me that wished Blur would just get back together full time and that Damon Albarn's other projects would just all go away. Yes, I love the old Blur records, and calling it a disappointment when the band broke up would be an understatement. Still, anything with Damon Albarn's name attached to it was immediately compelling to me, mostly because the guy had earned the respect and benefit of the doubt. Gorillaz was the first project to emerge from a post-Blur world, and at the time it was still a seemingly one-off record that [...]
Depending on who you talk to, my family is either in great shape or in shambles via the way we relate to one another. For every close knit family unit, such as the one I'm privileged to be a part of, there's another segment of the wider extended portrait that doesn't get along or is no longer speaking with one another. I'm of the opinion that family is family, and if someone is related to you, there's a certain love and respect you should afford them no matter how they may behave towards you. Still, I can't help but feel [...]
Ah, summer in Chicago. Is there any better place to be? Okay, maybe don't answer that. And let's face it, Chicago's winters aren't exactly a picnic. But when warm weather is around, I love walking around the city and taking in the sights, eating outdoors at some restaurant's patio, and seeing live music at some great open air venues. The crown jewel of Chicago's warm weather venues has to be Millennium Park. Not only does it look architecturally stunning, but the sound system is better than most anyplace I can think of. Combine that with being located in the heart [...]
Ted Leo has earned a wealth of good will in the last 10 years or so, and it's not hard to figure out why. Something about his intensely sugary sweet pop-punk songs just attracts people in droves, which is possibly why every single person I know who has heard of Ted Leo absolutely loves him. He's a firebrand of sorts, and I say good for him. That he's made close to the same record about 5 times now doesn't matter, because they've all essentially been unique in their own way, weighing on various lyrical themes or simply experimenting with some [...]
Have you heard the new Phantogram album "Eyelid Movies"? No? You really should give it a listen - it's fantastic. Yes, I didn't review it when it came out a few weeks ago (too many albums to cover, too little time!), but rest assured it has my seal of approval for being highly excellent. Anyways, for those who are approaching Phantogram with fresh ears, I'll tell you that the duo of Sarah Barthel and Josh Carter make haunting and dark music that's often reminiscent of Portishead and other trip-hop stalwarts. I don't know that trip-hop is the best way to [...]
Depending on the particular day it catches me, I can either fall head over heels in love with or simply be turned off by a record that is released during an "opposite season" compared to its content. Because that likely makes no sense, let me explain. If a soft and quiet album reminds me of winter and it gets released in the middle of the summer, my reaction to it will either be fiercely positive or negative, depending on how I feel that day. If it's too hot outside, a winter record might bring me the chill my physical body [...]
One of the most criminally under-recognized and under-appreciated bands making music today, in my opinion, is The Besnard Lakes. Their sound is something of an acquired taste and I can understand how some might be turned off by its constant revelry in darkness, but at its core this is beautiful, brilliantly composed music. It's been 3 years since their last album "The Besnard Lakes Are the Dark Horse," and they're making their grand return with "The Besnard Lakes Are the Roaring Night," which was released earlier this week. For those unfamiliar with this Canadian band and their unique blend of [...]
Titus Andronicus came around at just the right time back in the spring of 2008, when a rash of lo-fi garage rock bands began to rise in stature. You could readily call the band part of that class, though they seemed to be operating at a higher level than most with their catchy brand of music that was a mixture of styles and often featured funny lyrics. The title of their debut album "The Airing of Grievances" was based on the great Festivus episode of "Seinfeld," in which George Costanza's father makes up a holiday that's an alternative to Christmas. [...]
Unlike most people, I remember the band Hockey Night. They never made a huge impact on the music world, that is to say they never quite attracted the hype that establishes so many smaller bands today. They were based out of Minnesota and released two albums over the course of their several years of existence. When their second album "Keep Guessin'" came out in 2005, I was in charge of the music at a small indie radio station, and the song "For Guys' Eyes Only" secured a spot in regular rotation at the time. It was a cool slice of [...]
James Mercer is kind of on my shit list. As a guy who was inspired by the Shins albums "Oh, Inverted World" and "Chutes Too Narrow," I felt that the band's last album "Wincing the Night Away" was a step backwards, eventually made all the more painful because James Mercer later fired all the other guys in the band. We'll have to wait and see what comes of the new Shins record with Mercer's new hired hands later this year, but there's another project Mercer has on his plate, and that's a collaboration with Danger Mouse. Yes, the famed producer [...]
I don't know how much the radio stations in your area are playing songs from the new Spoon record, but here in Chicago I hear them all the time. Between "Written in Reverse," "The Mystery Zone" and "I Saw the Light", my itch for the band is being scratched on a daily basis via the radio. This has caused me to give fewer listens to Spoon's new album "Transference," but that's okay. The new record isn't exactly their best, but it is still pretty damn good. Spoon has been around for 15 years now, and that they're still able to [...]
Call me ignorant, but I hadn't heard of the band Clogs until late last year, right around the time their "Veil Waltz" EP was announced as an upcoming release. I suppose I just assumed that none of the guys in The National had any side projects, which is why my ears perked up when I heard that Bryce Dessner was a main force in Clogs. Above all though, the band is a collaborative post-rock project that's essentially fronted by Padma Newsome and also includes Thomast Kozumplik and Rachael Elliot on percussion and bassoon, respectively. I don't really know who any [...]
If you're not up to date on the latest happenings with Rogue Wave, you've missed out on lots of drama that would someday make for an incredible TV movie. They are a band remarkably scarred by tragedy, yet still making music today thanks to some serious persistence and the belief that what they're doing is greater than the series of pitfalls they have unfortunately encountered. Unlike some bands that have plenty of internal turmoil that makes it "difficult" for members to work with one another, Rogue Wave have been beset with mostly medical problems, the most recent of which being [...]
To talk about the new Ruby Suns album "Fight Softly," one must first breach the topic of Animal Collective and their year's best masterpiece "Merriweather Post Pavilion" from 2009. The reason why is simple - it seems to me that The Ruby Suns are intent on crafting their new album from nearly the same cloth that Animal Collective did - for better or worse. If you're going to actively try and copy such a critically acclaimed artist, the comparison is either going to make or break you, and that largely depends on if you're actually up to the lofty standards [...]
Faronheit
The Kills on Letterman (Video)
Download: James Blake Live Album (Unofficial)
My Funny Valentines
Lana Del Rey - Without You (Kill Paris Remix) [Dubstep]
