Post-Modern, with its simple cover and clever hooks, lulls the listener into a sense of security before kicking said listener right in the ass. “Will we, find our way back home?!?!” is not just a chorus; it’s a mission.
Pete Yorn’s latest go-round with Columbia records, Back & Fourth, is a departure in both his writing and recording career. His first album in three years, following the trilogy collection, is a depiction of a difficult period in his life. Change seems to be the key element, both personally and professionally, and this album may be the catalyst. For starters, Yorn implored indie producer and noted Saddle Creek arranger, Mike Mogis (Bright Eyes, Rilo Kiley) and recorded the album in Omaha, NE with the guidance of Columbia co-chairman, Rick Rubin.
Never let it be said that Medeski Martin and Wood repeat themselves but the trio's Radiolarians Series, in its ingenious concept of writing touring then recording all new material in quick succession, represents a willful effort to avoid the predictable.
Back in 1985, I bought JFA's Live 1984 Tour LP. It's energy was as unbounded as the possibilities of my new found favorite genre and it quickly found itself in steady rotation on my turntable. Nearly a quarter century later, a new piece of live JFA vinyl is spinning in my basement and it's hard to believe that it still has much of that same thrashy skate punk energy.
For those who maybe questioning White’s choice to play drums, don’t, the skins are pounded with power and precision.
Having supported The Flaming Lips and Raconteurs in recent years, psychedelic rock band Birds Of Avalon indeed have an uncanny ability to make retro sound relevant again on Uncanny Valley, especially on the short but punchy “Side Two” but up the ante on the heady “I Never Knew” and the vibrant “Eyesore” thanks to the guitar work of husband Paul Siler and wife Cheetie Kumar.
Singer-songwriter Sara Wasserman knows a little something about patience. Her debut album, Solid Ground, took seven years to finish, and the carefully crafted project is as promising as it is polished.
Having performed for over a decade with the increasingly popular Celtic folk/punk act Flogging Molly, Nathen Maxwell is faced with the double challenge of living up to yet not rehashing his band's strong body of work. On his solo debut, White Rabbit, Maxwell brings songs that have been simmering inside of him, some for over a decade, and prepares to meet these challenges involved in stepping outside of his established work.
It may be no coincidence Ian Hunter’s newest solo album precedes a reunion of Mott the Hoople in autumn of 2009. The prospect of revisiting the most-high profile work of his career appears to have elevated him as a songwriter and performer on Man Overboard.
In his mid-90s heyday, Tom Morello was a top guitarist, mixing skill, innovation and groove that was at the heart of Rage Against the Machine's hip-hop/hard rock hybrid. In fact, his sound was so successful that he rode it to mainstream success a second time with Audioslave during the first half of this decade. After an acoustic aside for the past couple years and reliving the RATM glory years, Morello is back for another shot, this time with Boots Riley of the Coup.
