Sharon Jones has officially arrived. With her sold-out show at the Beacon Theatre, the 51-year-old soul singer reached a significant point in a long, fractured career.
Another Sound is Dying offers some interesting layering effects, but despite the band’s obvious chops, it’s an album that may have a difficult time finding an audience. Dub fans will be turned off immediately, and hardcore fans probably won’t tolerate the extended airy sections.
Though they thrive on stage, the members of New Monsoon also know how to put together reliable studio albums, as evidenced by Hydrophonic (2001) and The Sound (2005). On V, they continue to demonstrate a fine ear for balanced, precise playing, creating a bright blend of sunny California rock, down-home, dirty blues and jazzy, world-music rhythms.
If you enjoy live electronica, Infradig may be one of the best bands you’ve never heard of—and sadly, you may never hear from them again. The group disbanded in late 2007, leaving Ecstatic Everywhere as a sonic reminder of their frenetic power.
The purveyors of some of the best live electronic music out there, Lotus lends itself well to a disc of remixes, and Copy/Paste/Repeat is mostly a success, with contributors including The Juan Maclean, DJ Harry, J. Tonal, Telepath and Lymbyc Systym.
Sticks and Stones may not be their best effort, but it’s a good addition to moe.’s well-rounded discography, which makes a great case for best on the jam scene.
After back-to-back accomplished albums with the Benevento/Russo Duo—Best Reason to Buy the Sun (2005) and Play Pause Stop (2006)—Marco Benevento strikes out on his own with Invisible Baby. While once again roaming across genres, Benevento still maintains firm jazz roots, producing an updated organ trio sound injected with darker, post-rock elements.
The Greyboy Allstars' set was a definite improvement on the smooth jazz-plagued 2006 Nokia performance, and had the added bonus of the pairing with Soulive, who, as usual, ripped open the jazz/funk/soul template and found new life.
With their 11/2/07 performance at the Music Hall of Williamsburg—which used to be the hipster haunt Northsix, but was bought by the Bowery crew and transformed into one of the most promising new venues in New York City—Lotus demonstrated yet again their commitment to continued growth and developmen
Though guitarist Jack Antonoff may be best known for his (former) relationship with sultry actress Scarlett Johansson, his band, Steel Train—which he formed as a duo with singer Scott Irby-Ranniar in New York City in 1999—evinces enough indie-pop power to make him famous in his own right.
