Tagged: albumreviews

Homeboy Sandman - Subject: Matter Stones Throw: 2012 The day Homeboy Sandman released his Subject: Matter EP on Stones Throw he spread the word by releasing the song "Subject: Matter Out Now". It's not a very exciting way to draw attention to your new release, but in the context of this EP it makes perfect sense. Subject: Matter is a straight forward, no frills, 22-minute lyrical exercise. So, in that context, it seems fitting the announcement comes in the form of the blunt announcement "Subject: [...]

M-Phazes - Phazed Out Coalmine Records: 2012 I spent many a Friday night staying up into the small hours to tune into and religiously record Tim Westwood's Phat Friday radio show broadcast live from the BBC centre based in central London. I can't count how of my mother's Anita Baker cassettes got wiped clean and then re-used in order for me to own a copy of Funk Flex live from the tunnel 90 minute mix. There was something about the energy from a mixtape that captivated me. There were many tracks, [...]

Toronto-based (Ottawa-native) rock trio The Balconies are returning with a new EP of blitzed-out joy. The 5-song Kill Count EP is set for a February 28th release. The record is really about the interplay between the frenzied arrangements and the irrepressible vocals of singer Jacquie Neville. She never seems fazed as she delivers striking vocals while a measured, barely-contained storm of noise builds around her on tracks like "300 Pages" and the blistering opening title track. Continue reading »

Ever taste something when you were younger and forever thereafter pursue another taste of it? Maybe a permanent supply? Like a certain type of jeans, a handmade ice cream, an award, a state of well being, success? You had it once. You want it again. And when you find it again you will celebrate your accomplishment. Well, Amy Hart. Congratulations. Your ten track album Congratulations is just that. It is the essence of what you tasted when, as a kid, you garnered local musical notoriety in your [...]

A- | 02.14.12 | TGNP | MP3 | CD | VINYL Auto-tune may have just hit its inflection point. No longer just a crutch for weak voices or a way to extend the shelf life of overripe singers, the pitch-shifting technology has spent the last couple years becoming respectable. Since Jay-Z declared auto-tune's hip hop death in 2009, artists have found deft ways to keep it alive and thriving. On Poliça's debut album, Give You The Ghost , it takes the next step, playing a crucial role in [...]

B | 02.14.12 | OLD FLAME | MP3 "Television," perhaps the best song on the debut album from You Won't, is anchored by a simple stomp-clap beat, driven by about 8 soulful piano chords, and reassuring vocals. "It always ends the same," the band tells us, and true to its word, each verse ends with this "old refrain." The minimalist beauty of "Television," a song made for sing-along gatherings around a bonfire, is definitive of Skeptic Goodbye , a strong debut album from a duo that often thrives – and occasionally suffers [...]

"If Nowheresville is where these sounds are from, it's also where you can't help but think The Ting Tings are going..." The Ting Tings | Sounds From Nowheresville It was 2008 when The Ting Tings – long-time friends Katie White and Jules De Martino – broke through the buzz barrier and reached number one in both the album and singles chart with their debut effort We Started Nothing , supplemented by the radio-hogging singles That's Not My Name , Great DJ and Shut Up & Let Me Go . [...]

• the-ting-tings - Hang It Up

Hans-Peter Lindstrøm has probably remixed a band you really like. Best Coast, Roxy Music, LCD Soundsystem, Bear In Heaven, Franz Ferdinand, Doves, and Glasser are among his victims. But other than 123 b-sides and Deluxe Edition bonus tracks, not too many Americans are familiar with Lindstrøm's work. Truth is, they are missing out. Lindstrøm released his second full length album, Six Cups of Rebel , this past Tuesday. It's the follow up to 20082s Where You Go I Go Too . His first album was comprised of three very long [...]

After the release of Hawk, yet another brilliant album with his musical soul mate Isobel Campbell, Mark Lanegan returns with Blues Funeral, the follow-up to the now eight year old Bubblegum. In spite of this lengthy 'break', the timing could not be better, as band after band dredge up the glory (or otherwise) of the 80s, put down their guitars and pick up their MacBooks. And bringing in (again) musician and producer Alain Johannes, Blues Funeral is an intriguing prospect. The result is that instead of kicking away the current trend of electronica and making a predictable guitar-fuelled traditional rock/blues [...]

Michael Kiwanuka - Home Again Polydor: 2012 Confidence is a lot like public art, in that when it appears in its proper form, it's as if it was always there. It doesn't sound like it now, but there was a time when Michael Kiwanuka needed to be convinced. It took Jimi Hendrix to show him a black guy could play guitar. And it took the bold, line-blurring aggression of Nirvana and Radiohead to kick-start the passion. Lastly, it was a rare, stripped down version of Otis [...]

Copywrite - God Save The King Man Bites Dog Records: 2012 When you listen to Copywrite, you tend to know what you will be getting. You will get arrogance. You will receive plenty of witty punch lines and one-liners. It will be honest and angry. Therefore, there aren't many surprises on his third album God Save The King . Let me begin this review with a confession. RJD2 's "June," released in 2002 features an angry, scarred, and honest Copywrite. It's one of my favorite songs of all [...]

One of the things I love about Ben Kweller is that he always seems to be having so much fun when he records. That hasn't changed at all with his new album Go Fly A Kite . This collection of songs is pretty typical Kweller fare. They are indie pop/rock with a hint of twang. Sure, there are moments that a more rockin' than we're used to ("Mean To Me", "Time Will Save The Day") and there's a maritime sway to "Full Circle", but it's truly the hooks and melodies that rule the [...]

A hidden gem lies within Grouplove, the latest LA band worth discovering. Like Black Kids and Local Natives before them, Grouplove emerged as the next big band from Los Angeles. Living in Southern California I'm frequently exposed to numerous new, exciting bands like indie rock band Grouplove. Ever since I first heard their single "Colours" off their self-titled EP Grouplove last year I instantly fell in love with them. Released by Canvasback Music and Atlantic Records last January, I knew it would be a matter of time before they debut their first album. Grouplove stands as my favorite [...]

As incorrect as it may seem to judge a work alongside an artist's earlier albums, rather than as an isolated piece, it is a reasonable position to take because the artist will have themselves created the work in full knowledge of their previous successes. Where the creation of their earlier work was, more likely than not, an organic process, the sense of pressure on the artist to find a new direction forces the artist to become more self-conscious and consider elements of their sound and style that had been hitherto created naturally. As a result, it's always a difficult prospect, recording the [...]

Be The Void, the sixth studio release from Philadelphia's Dr. Dog (@drdogmusic), is trying to prove that old dogs can indeed learn new tricks. Most bands with a discography as strong as theirs have attained footholds in the "indie mainstream", but despite the band's consistently high quality, they've managed to remain just below the radar. Be The Void , though, could be the springboard they need. Jumping back and forth between their Mersey beat psychedelic roots and a more contemporary trash-pop sensibility a la Beck , Dr. Dog is clearly trying to pull [...]

Some people want NPR to go away because they are wasting our tax dollars. But after discovering Adam Arcuragi on NPR's site, I'm going to say my tax dollars are being put to good use. Arcuragi and the LCS (I am never typing the full name again) sound like you put Langhorne Slim, 16 Horsepower and The Head and The Heart in a blender, and not just one of those pussy speeds, the high powered one where you make smoothies. AA & The LCS sound like a traveling tent revival act. At some points, dark and foreboding. [...]

Nephelium is a phenomenal band. They seamlessly blend new techniques with tried-and-true methods of classic death metal. Being labled as "Metal juggarnauts" suits Nephelium , the way they combine classic death metal growls with punishing guitars, and unmerciful drumming. Their newest album, Coils of Entropy harks back to classic death metal bands such as their influencers Death, and Suffocation . They're not just brutal, but slam your head against the wall fantastic. With vocals that often break down to animalistic roars and screeches, punching guitar riffs backed by some of the best double [...]

★★★★☆ You can't get more unique than providing a soundtrack to a seminal 14-minute silent movie from the 1900s. While perhaps difficult to appreciate the scale of the tie-in (especially if you're under the age of 110 or weren't a fan of the Smashing Pumpkins' "Tonight, Tonight"), Air's Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoit Dunckel honor their invitation with an interpretation of cinematic thrall, stoner funk (unlikely a turn of the century invention, but "Sonic Armada" is a boss strut nonetheless) and dramatically noble short stories, audio-visualizing a pioneering piece of cinema that essentially asks them to bridge [...]

Escape from Electric Mountain is a brilliant bit of departure from Feed Me's earlier electro-house driven EPs. You'll still get that trademark glitch-meets-dubstep sound, but you shouldn't be surprised to hear a fair amount of progressive house tracks mixed in with the bunch which are, frankly, a breath of fresh air. I really wish the intro swing of One Click Headshot continued throughout the song; it's a delicious bit of stomping that gives the entire track a much-needed groove. Comparisons will be drawn to Skrillex's 'Reptile' - some vocals sound directly sampled - and I guarantee a good [...]

The more I explore the more I realize I will never be able to discover all of the music the world has to offer let alone our own nation. Made of Wood makes me realize that this is why I am trying to discover as much of that music that I can. On the new album, The Chill/Funk Trip , you will get an instrumental barrage that can be described as Downtempo with 702s Funk and modern Jazz elements. In an email I received from I AM PR Agency it suggests that you listen to this [...]