Album Reviews

Bob Dylan: Together Through Life

Doug Collette May 5, 2009 No Comments

A magnificent songwriter and bonafide cultural icon, Bob Dylan has never been a truly skilled recording artist in the sense of using the studio as a versatile tool in enlarging the scope of his music. On the contrary, his best recordings are those in which savvy musicians capture their chemistry by instinct, inspired by the great material they’ve been given to play. That’s not what happens on this new album.

R.E.M.: Murmur (Deluxe Edition)

Doug Collette April 28, 2009 No Comments

So wondrous was the sound of R.E.M.’s Murmur upon its release in 1983, that the deceptive simplicity and haunting air of this music is no less perfect in re-mastered and expanded form over twenty-five years later.

The Decemberists: The Hazards of Love

Brian Gearing April 27, 2009 No Comments

Anyone who has followed the Decemberists’ rise from just another quirky Portland, OR band to one of the most unique and celebrated indie acts around knew that this album was coming. With The Hazards of Love, Colin Meloy takes the band from the loose maritime and old-world concepts of their previous records to full-on rock opera.

Doves: Kingdom of Rust

Shane Handler April 24, 2009 No Comments

Doves, unlike their aviary moniker aren’t so peaceful as they are graceful and edgey, as Kingdom of Rust flies with more sonic flairs.

Mastodon: Crack The Skye

Shane Handler April 23, 2009 No Comments

First things first; just by looking at a picture of Mastodon front-man Brent Hinds, you may not want to stare too hard as his gnarly look, he may jump out of the picture and strangle you to death. But upon listening to his band’s fourth full length effort Crack The Skye, you kind of go the way of Master of Puppets- this shit is heavy by its got melody and texture.

The Hold Steady: A Positive Rage

Shane Handler April 20, 2009 No Comments

When a band sells out their esteemed hometown club, in this case, First Avenue in Minneapolis, it’s a sign that proclaims –“yeah, we made it.” Such is the theme of the Hold Steady DVD/CD combo – A Positive Rage – where the crowds get bigger and the band is running fast on momentum.

George McConnell: Singles Only

Shawn Donohue April 14, 2009 No Comments

Over the last few months George McConnell has been going back to the glory days of rock and roll releasing “Virtual 45’s” complete with B-Side’s. Come to think of it, that is pretty close to the glory days of today an I-tunes, but either which way McConnell decided to combine all his individual tunes into this full length titled, appropriately enough, Singles Only

Fever Ray: Fever Ray

Dagmara Kodlubanski April 14, 2009 No Comments

If The Knife were described as the sounds of thunder and lightning, then Karin Dreijer Andersson must be the commanding eclipse that carries Olof Dreijer’s flashes of electricity. While The Knife are on hiatus, sister Karin Dreijer Andersson has focused on the slower, darker side of the duo’s distinct sound to release a self-titled album under the name Fever Ray.

Other Lives: Other Lives

Shane Handler April 13, 2009 No Comments

Hmmm, the cello, it’s such an under-rated instrument in rock circles these days. But for Other Lives, a quaint quintet from Stillwater, OK, the cello's sorrowful sound makes the band “complete.”

Medeski, Martin & Wood: Radiolarians II

Doug Collette April 13, 2009 No Comments

Medeski Martin & Woods' Radiolarians II suggests that each of the three musicians are taking turns setting the tone for the respective installment of the series. John Medeski takes precedence here, but not to the detriment of his partners or the music they create together.