Authentic. It is a word that singer-songwriters either are naturally or strive toward their whole life, AA Bondy has it. His album American Hearts garnered some buzz at the end of 2007, but is being re-released on Fat Possum Records now with hopes of gaining the wider audience that these songs deserve.
Trouble In Dreams, Destroyer's eighth or ninth album (nobody knows for sure) hits on the same elements of 2006’s Destroyer’s Rubies. From the sharp angular rock of “Dark Leaves Form A Thread” to the dripping bass of “The State” and the howling guitar crescendo of “Introducing Angels,” the recording runs across diverse themes.
With their new album, Lil’ Tae Rides Again, Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey journeys further into the sonic ether. Known for their adventurous jazz odysseys (excuse the pun), the hyperkinetic trio—this time around without longtime drummer Jason Smart, who amicably left the band last year—tap electronic producer Tae Meyulks for this spacious minimalist effort.
When you have the fluke hit of the decade, the threat of running into the curse of the “sophomore slum” is an understatement, particularly if you’re the psychedelic soul duo of Danger Mouse and Cee-Lo Green. However, if you’re one that appreciate albums as song-cycles verse explosive pop nuggets, than Gnarls Barkley’s The Odd Couple has something going on.
Aperture for Departure, on the other hand allows the rock to slip its bonds and explore a broader musical landscape. At the same time, it loosens classical up with an off-kilter rawness that typical classical performances miss.
Five years after his well-received debut, Later That Day…, Lyrics Born (real name Tom Shimura) returns with his Anti- debut, Everywhere at Once, another party-ready collection of danceable rhythms and smooth lyrical delivery.
Haydn, who’s played with Herbie Hancock, and shared the stage with Robert Plant and Jimmy Page, soloing to “Kashmir,” has combined all of her dazzling talents on Places.
New Found Glory not only dropped that charmingly awkward "A" from their name, but they also dropped everything else that appealed to me. Their self-titled album did include "Hit or Miss" and wasn't completely devoid of their special ability to make silly emo and pop-punk songs seem real, but it was waning.
Daniel Hunter is just 18 and he cuts class on occasion (“My Attendance is Bad”) and likes Jello (“Jello”). The brains, voice, producer, and one-man band behind PlayRadioPlay! appears to also love Ben Gibbard (Death Cab for Cutie, Postal Service), as he’s a dead ringer for the Seattle artist’s emo voice and gentle beat filled electronic pop.
If you want to talk about tragic irony in rock and roll, you can’t ignore the story of Lynyrd Skynyrd. On the threshold, and deliberately so, of capturing the mainstream audience with which they flirted via the popularity of “Sweet Home Alabama” in 1975, a plane crash took the life of three bandmembers in 1977 merely days after the release of Street Survivors, compelling the label to pull the album and re-release it with new cover art in place of the original version which depicted the band in flames.
