Amy LaVere's new album, Stranger Me, mostly abandons the Americana sound of her last full-length, Anchors & Anvils, to delve deeper into the rock and pop experimentation she merely toyed with on the Died of Love EP, this time with more of a low key, indie- slant. Themes of loss and heartbreak ribbon through the [...]
Rufus Wainwright's House of Rufus boxset was released by Universal Music on July 20th. The 19-disc set spans Rufus Wainwright's entire career and is the most complete and extensive collection of his work to date: all 6 of his studio albums (with bonus material), 2 live CDs (with previously unreleased songs), 4 discs of previously [...]
Granted, Van Halen's 1984 has more nostalgic value than timeless artistic merit as the band's heavy use of synths keeps the music firmly dated in the early 1980s. Yet despite all the electro-80s flourishes, 1984 is still a mostly solid rock album. And pop-rock hits "Jump," "Panama" and "Hot for Teacher" are just as catchy [...]
Last week's pick, Bruce Springsteen's Born to Run, is a classic in the truest sense of the word. Other than "Born to Run" - one of the greatest rock songs of all time, in my opinion - none of the tracks really stand out as individuals, but flow smoothly together as a cohesive whole. There's [...]
Recent contenders for the first indie band on a Rolling Stone cover, Empires ended their summer tour in their hometown of Chicago last Saturday, July 23rd with a set at Wicker Park Fest. Our Mid-West photographer, Jen "Coble" Hopper, attended the performance and shared a few of her photos... Empires' high-energy set was received well [...]
Muruch has long championed the music of brilliant, incomparable Canadian singer-songwriter, Allison Crowe and she often rewards our loyalty with exclusives such as this one. Allison will soon release a "Double-A Side Single" of the original piano song "Arthur" and a guitar cover of Patty Griffin's "Up to the Mountain." This year also marks the [...]
Muruch has long championed the music of brilliant, incomparable Canadian singer-songwriter, Allison Crowe and she often rewards our loyalty with exclusives such as this one. Allison will soon release a "Double-A Side Single" of her original piano song "Arthur" and a guitar cover of Patty Griffin's "Up to the Mountain." This year also marks the [...]
In Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont, Joan Plowright plays the titular aging character who moves into the titular London retirement hotel, which is inhabited by a ragtag band of eccentric elderly ladies and gents. Directed by Dan Ireland (also behind my favorite film, The Whole Wide World) and based on a novel by Elizabeth Taylor [...]
2Cellos are twenty-four year old, Croatian classically trained cellists, Luka Sulic and Stjepan Hauser. The duo quickly rose to fame after a YouTube video of their dueling cello cover of Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal" was viewed by millions. 2Cellos soon signed to Sony Masterworks, were invited by Elton John to join his European tour and [...]
I'm not usually fond of electronic instrumental tracks, but this one's pretty good. "Crystalline" is a trippy, electro-pop, quasi instrumental by Otherness, which is a collaboration between Elephant & Castle and Man/Miracle. There doesn't seem to be an album associated with it yet, but check the links below... Otherness - Crystalline (mp3)* *mp3 hosted by [...]
My Brightest Diamond (a.k.a. Shara Worden) will release her new album, All Things Will Unwind, on October 18th. A "chamber pop" collaboration with chamber ensemble yMusic with lyrical explorations of everything from the complexity of the atom to class warfare to giving birth, the new album is full of quietly haunting beauty as well as [...]
Montreal's Jenn Mierau is offering a free, legal mp3 of the title track from her upcoming album, Hush, which will be released on September 13th. Jenn's airy electro-pop sound has been compared to Lykke Li, La Roux and Frou Frou. Jenn Mierau - Hush (mp3)* *mp3 hosted by & posted w/ permission of band's PR [...]
Singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Sinem Saniye's debut album, When I Don't Sleep, is an interesting brand of breezy, Bossa Nova- and jazz-influenced pop. She is offering a free, legal mp3 from the album, which you can download below... Sinem Saniye - I'll Confide (mp3)* *mp3 provided by & posted w/ permission of band's PR rep for [...]
The Grownup Noise are offering another free, legal mp3 from their new album, This Time With Feeling (click the album title to read my review from February). The Grownup Noise - The Artist Type (mp3)* *mp3 hosted by & posted w/ permission of band's PR rep Buy @ Amazon The Grownup Noise Official Site
Last week's selection, Rufus Wainwright: Poses, is so good I wrote a proper review of it rather than my usual classic album "listening experience" blurb. You can read the album review by clicking here. Poses will be included in its entirety in the forthcoming 19-disc House of Rufus boxset - set for release by Universal [...]
Rufus Wainwright's 2001 album, Poses, was last week's selection for Muruch's Classic Albums Appreciation Club. I enjoyed listening to it again so much, however, that I was compelled to write a proper album review. Though it was a favorite of mine when it was first released in 2001, I hadn't listened to Poses in several [...]
In case you missed it, I'm giving away a copy of A Tribute to Billie Holiday CD featuring Esperanza Spalding and other contemporary artists covering Billie Holiday classics. See the giveaway post to enter and read the rules, album review, and download an mp3. The deadline is this Friday, July 22nd.
Malaysian singer-songwriter Zee Avi will release her sophomore album, Ghostbird, on August 23rd. She is offering a free, legal mp3 of the track "Swell Window," which you can download below... Zee Avi - Swell Window (mp3)* *mp3 hosted by & posted w/ permission of artist's PR rep You can also stream "The Book of Morris [...]
I had dismissed Swedish pop singer Lykke Li months ago as a pretty voice wasted on vapid pop songs (much like Lady Gaga) after being sent one of her more grating mp3s. But I liked her voice enough to give her sophomore album, Wounded Rhymes, another try recently and was surprised to find I really [...]
The finale episode of Friday Night Lights will air tonight on NBC at 8:00 p.m. EST. I haven't been this sad to see a series end since My So-Called Life. The end of this critically acclaimed, extraordinary drama (which I've been raving about here for four years & included on my Best of the Decade [...]
Muruch
The Shins: “September” (b-side of “Simple Song” 7”)
St. Vincent - 'Cheerleader'
Jay-Z & Kanye West - Ni**as In Paris (Explicit)
OK Go - Needing/Getting - Official Video
Ladyhawke - Black White & Blue
Watch: Trailer for Dave Grohl’s documentary, Sound City
R.I.P Whitney Houston
Whitney Houston dead at age 48
