Album Reviews Archives - Page 569 of 712

Dr. Dog: Shame, Shame

Doug Collette May 28, 2010 No Comments

Dr. Dog's initial project for the Anti label after a string of releases on Park the Van that, along with their infectious live shows, has helped the Philadelphia group redefine grassroots appeal, Shame, Shame is also the first project on which Dog has collaborated with an outside producer. Rob Schnapf, who's worked with Beck, The Vines and Elliott Smith among others, helps bring a clarity to the sound (preserved, no doubt, by the mastering of Greg Calbi), most obvious in the impact of the rhythm section, as on the opening "Stranger". The density of the music hasn’t decreased, compared to 2008’s Fate, but the components of the arrangements are rendered more distinct.

Marco Benevento: Between The Needles and Nightfall

Nick Gunther May 27, 2010 No Comments

Whether you choose to label it a form of jazz fusion or sonically controlled chaos, there’s no doubt that Marco Benevento’s style of expression is a world of improvisation. It’s always been the improv side of music that gives way for more diverse chemistry between musicians which is no different on Benevento’s third full-length release, Between the Needles and Nightfall. The record itself seems to have more of a live feel and you can feel the interaction between the rhythm section and the effective lead piano.

She & Him: Volume 2

Jeremy Lukens May 27, 2010 No Comments

She & Him’s detractors were few and with the release of Volume Two, they are probably still unconvinced. Of the album’s 13 songs, 11 were penned by Deschanel but it still has that vintage feel, as though you expect to hear a needle occasionally scratching the old record only to remember that this is a CD from 2010.

Sloppy Heads: First Gasp! (EP)

Brian Robbins May 26, 2010 No Comments

Hey – what’s that smell? Did someone just open up a time capsule? Oh, I see: it’s a copy of First Gasp! Ha! What we have here is the debut release from the Brooklyn, NY-based Sloppy Heads, a 4-song EP that conjures up visions of what it must’ve been like to hear the Patti Smith Group or The Velvet Underground for the first time.

The Black Keys: Brothers

Shawn Donohue May 26, 2010 No Comments

When The Black Keys released their last effort, Attack & Release, it was hyped as the duo’s breaking out of their blues rock box, but as the prophet Chuck D has proclaimed for decades, “Don’t believe the Hype!” Brothers, is Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney’s coming out party and it is a blinding success.

Keller & The Keels: Thief

Timothy Hurley May 24, 2010 No Comments

Normally cover albums draw a lot of skepticism as they tend to be just excuses to pump an album out, which is usually comprised of shoddy renditions of popular artists's song. And the same could be said about Keller Williams and the Keels' new release, aptly titled Thief, if it were not for the oddly redeeming but sparkling choices presented in this collection.

The New Pornographers: Together

Shane Handler May 21, 2010 No Comments

It’s ironic that both The New Pornographers and Broken Social Scene released their new albums on the same day: two Canadian collectives with both old and young members now fighting the unavoidable “super-group” tag. However Together, the fifth album from The New Pornographers, sticks to their now well versed formula: AC Newman and his compadres playing the sunny and dark along with very special guests Neko Case and Destroyer's Dan Bejar. Together melds the pop flawlessness of 2005’s Twin Cinema with the eccentric flair of 2007’s Challengers into one cool carton of high-powered indie rock (if we can still consider Matador indie).

The Dead Weather : Sea of Cowards

Shawn Donohue May 21, 2010 No Comments

On Horehound, The Dead Weather injected their own warped blues into 70’s style doom rock with oomph. On the groups second release Sea of Cowards all shackles seem to be have been discarded, allowing the band to experiment with different sounds, styles, and substances.

Sharon Jones: I Learned The Hard Way

Jason Macneil May 19, 2010 No Comments

When you listen to old-school soul singer Sharon Jones and her brassy Dap Kings, you get the sense that if you dropped your iPod the recording might begin skipping like a vinyl release. Such is the case with I Learned The Hard Way, her latest collection of retro R&B which hits all the right notes Jones nailed on her prior release 100 Days, 100 Nights.

Martin Sexton: Sugarcoating

Bryan Rodgers May 18, 2010 No Comments

Martin Sexton is one of the most unflappably earnest musicians on the planet, and he always manages to stand out in a genre that is unmercifully crowded. His latest release, Sugarcoating, brings listeners more of his positive, folk-tinged acoustic rock and stirring lyricism. Sexton’s music has frequently centered on themes of personal fulfillment and the tenuous existence of human happiness, and Sugarcoating does some of the same, simultaneously addressing materialism, success, and other trappings of the modern world.

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