Tagged: rd102709

Devendra Banhart What Will We Be Warner Bros. Records [2009] Fire Drill Review: Talking an eclectic artist like Devendra Banhart into the major label world is not always the easiest thing to do. The problem is answering the question if his free form indie jazz folk sound and unconventional song structures translate to a wider audience? And what if the artist tries to meet half way and put something out which is more listening [...]

Heavy Trash Midnight Soul Serenade Fat Possum Records [2009] Fire Note Says: Jon Spencer and Matt Verta-Ray release number 3! Album Review: Whenever you check out a side project you expect to get something different and unique from the artist but still want the new offering to retain the persons core. That is exactly what you get with Heavy Trash, as it is the collaboration between Jon Spencer and [...]

R.E.M. Live At The Olympia Warner Bros. Records [2009] Fire Drill Review: After taking a listen to Live At The Olympia you may completely forget about the bands first live record R.E.M. Live [2007] because this two disc set truly captures the essence of the group in concert. Compared to the more produced 2007 live album, Live At The Olympia was recorded over a five-night stay at Dublin's [...]

John Nolan Height Doghouse Records [2009] Fire Drill Review: John Nolan takes advantage of his solo outing and offers a complete unique side of himself that easily can be differentiated from his frontman duties in Straylight Run and the early years of emo rockers Taking Back Sunday. He offers several different styles on Height with acoustic numbers, lo-fi singalongs and several computer beat driven tracks that are all entertaining. Nolan also covers [...]

U2 The Unforgettable Fire [Deluxe Edition] Mercury Records [1984; re:2009] (2CD Set) Fire Drill Review: This special edition marks 25 years since the album's original release in October 1984. Recorded at Slane Castle, Ireland, The Unforgettable Fire was the first U2 album to be produced by Brian Eno and Danny Lanois, and spawned two top 10 UK singles - "Pride (In The Name Of Love)" and "The Unforgettable Fire". It was not their most commercially successful record but [...]

Tegan And Sara Sainthood Vapor Records [2009] Fire Note Says : Sisters turn it up a notch for a catchy slice of indie pop! Album Review: Tegan And Sara have been doing this for over ten years now and slowly the sisters have built a huge following by word of mouth and a constant touring schedule. With each record, I always feel that they will completely break out to the [...]

The Mother Hips Pacific Dust Camera Records [2009] Fire Drill Review: Most don't know that The Mother Hips first appeared on the Aware 2 compilation back in 1994 with the likes of Better Than Ezra, Verve Pipe, Edwin McCain, Vertical Horizon and Hootie. From there, like others, they made several albums for the majors but eventually were dropped due to not ever catching on with the masses. Lucky for us the band trudged on [...]

The Asteroids Galaxy Tour Fruit Small Giants Records [2009] Fire Drill Review: Scandinavian group The Asteroids Galaxy Tour make their full length debut with Fruit , which extends their style of soul, dance and pop found on their EP late last year. They are a group at first listen that grabs your attention because charismatic lead vocalist Mette Lindberg has a swagger to her vocals that is very inviting like Nina Persson (The [...]

Wolfmother Cosmic Egg Interscope Records [2009] Fire Note Says: Party like its 1970! Album Review: One thing Wolfmother have going for them is that I can only name a handful of bands that currently have their 70's hard rock n roll sound. The other thing Wolfmother have going for them is that they do it pretty well. Cosmic Egg is the groups sophomore follow up to their [...]

Bryan Scary & The Shredding Tears Mad Valentines [EP] Old Flame Records [2009] Fire Drill Review: Bryan Scary & The Shredding Tears new EP Mad Valentines is a mad mix of Queen theatrics, Ted Leo guitar, ELO's harmonies, Ben Folds piano madness and Brendan Benson's likable alt-pop vocals. It is this giant mash up of styles that gives this record pep and Scary's vocals that give it cred. The record could easily slip into [...]

The Swell Season Strict Joy ANTI- Records [2009] Fire Note Says: The story continues... Album Review: The Swell Season are the Oscar-winning duo of Frames frontman Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova that jumped to stardom in the movie ONCE [2007] and had the soundtrack go gold. Strict Joy is the much anticipated follow up and offers twelve new songs, that gives a glimpse of there [...]

Florence + The Machine Lungs Universal Republic [2009] Fire Note Says: New release worthy of the hype! Album Review: Coming from the UK I did not have many expectations out of the latest hyped Brit award winner Florence and the Machine, but it really only takes one spin of their new release Lungs to figure out what all the fuss is about. It is all about the [...]