Jeff Strowe, Author at Glide Magazine

Cake: Showroom of Compassion

Jeff Strowe January 27, 2011 No Comments

One can’t help but wonder if this is John McCrea circa 2010, looking back on his band’s heyday and comparing the earlier glory to the difficult task ahead of starting over, attempting to acquire a new audience while at the same time inspiring a new group of fans who may have missed Cake’s previous chart-topping run of hits. Like the syndicated sitcoms, Cake may not be must-see TV, but they are good enough to get you through the evening.

Five O Clock Heroes: Different Times

Jeff Strowe January 21, 2011 No Comments

Five O’ Clock Heroes, a band of UK expats living in New York City, have released their first proper American album. A healthy, smart mix of pop jangle, the band wears its various influences on its sleeve, blending together a medley of crisp guitars, bass, and soulful organ fills into something distinctly familiar yet satisfying and enjoyable.

Destroyer: Kaputt

Jeff Strowe January 14, 2011 No Comments

On Kaputt, Bejar’s full-length follow-up to 2009’s Bay of Pigs EP, the formula that has worked so well on past releases returns, however, this time with a twist: an ‘80’s jazz-fused, electronic sound more in line with Roxy Music and Spandau Ballet than previous albums have revealed.

Justin Townes Earle: Cat

Jeff Strowe December 16, 2010 No Comments

Earle’s material toes the line between earnest and confessional singer-songwriter in the vein of his father and a traditionalist in the mold of Hank Williams. On Monday night, both sides were on display with songs like “One More Night in Brooklyn”, “Christchurch Woman”, and “Midnight at the Movies” reflecting the former, while “They Killed John Henry”, “Move Over Mama”, and “South Georgia Sugar Babe” echoed the latter. This duality plays well on his albums as the listener is constantly surprised by the wide ranging sounds of his catalog, captivated by both the lyrical insights and the toe-tapping country arrangements.

Adam Klein: Wounded Electric Youth

Jeff Strowe December 8, 2010 No Comments

Southern living is good living. Backyard barbecues, little league baseball, red clay dirt, and porch swings. The days are warm, the nights are warmer, and good vibes abound. Such is the mood conjured by Athens, Georgia-based singer-songwriter Adam Klein on his latest release, Wounded Electric Youth.

Belle and Sebastian: Write About Love

Jeff Strowe October 18, 2010 No Comments

Belle and Sebastian have never offered easy answers, instead they just write challenging lyrics that ask the listener to follow closely and make assumptions. Write About Love is no different, another success in a long line of great musical accomplishments.

John Legend & The Roots: Wake Up

Jeff Strowe October 15, 2010 No Comments

For every “All Along the Watchtower” moments of perfection, the flip side, such as Zac Brown covering “Oh My Sweet Carolina” leaves you looking for the nearest pair of earplugs and questioning why more stringent copyright laws don’t exist. Fortunately for listeners, John Legend and The Roots have hooked up and fall into the former category by collaborating on a series of 12 funk-soul covers that pack a punch and take you back to 1972, both musically and thematically.

Great Lakes: Ways of Escape

Jeff Strowe October 5, 2010 No Comments

If a theme can be gleaned from the album it is that of a man stepping out from the shadows and becoming independent in a crazy and complex world. Fitting perhaps, since Ben Crum is now finally free to follow his musical whims as the solo self-proclaimed “Great Lake”

Ghostland Observatory: Codename:Rondo

Jeff Strowe September 28, 2010 No Comments

It’s a challenge to get through this album sitting down and I imagine that is just what Behrens and Turner envisioned. Just like Rajon Rondo ran circles around NBA defenses last year, so too will his namesake of an album run through your head and leave you in wonder and awe.

Interpol: Interpol

Jeff Strowe September 15, 2010 No Comments

With their new self-titled LP, Interpol fail to awake from their nap and instead have created an album that wraps the listener in a blanket, slips them a sleeping pill and puts them to bed for the night. Loosely based on the concept of a disintegrating relationship, the band shuffles out one tired, mopey dirge after the next as they fail to give the listener any reason to care about the lyrics let alone turn up the volume dial and rock out.

Jeff Strowe

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