Album Reviews

The Black Crowes: Warpaint

Shane Handler March 18, 2008 No Comments

Call Warpaint a comeback, but The Black Crowes have proven that their best original music wasn’t just a thing of the past.

Jessica Sonner: All We Need

Jason Gonulsen March 18, 2008 No Comments

“I want to make an impact, I want to make a difference,” Jessica Sonner sings on the title track of her first album, All We Need. At this point in her young career as a singer-songwriter, Sonner is a little bit of everything. And on All We Need, all the goods are on display, and with good reason.

Cryptacize: Dig That Treasure

Jamie Lee March 14, 2008 No Comments

n today’s world of indie rock Harley Davidsons, Cryptacize is a tricycle, albeit one pimped out with cherry red paint and chrome that shines on the cloudiest of days.

Hymns: Travel in Herds

Shawn Donohue March 13, 2008 No Comments

or those fans who loved Dr. Dog’s throwback sound, with last years We All Belong, this years retro-style-indie-rock-almost-hippie release from the Hymns, Travel in Herds will be a warm sunbeam fighting back a cruel winter. There’s a down home vibe to the tunes contained on Travel in Herds and it stems straight out of seventies folk-rock.

Air Traffic: Fractured Life

Shane Handler March 8, 2008 No Comments

Air Traffic have revealed that their music “sounds like nobody else,” which might be the case if Snow Patrol, Coldplay and Keane were still playing the pub circuit. Air Traffic’s debut album, Fractured Life, which was released last summer in England before its February American release, gives the listeners more of what we’ve heard before in reference to the above mentioned bands.

Jacob Golden: Revenge Songs

Jason Gonulsen March 6, 2008 No Comments

Singer-songwriter Jacob Golden has unleashed his stash of break-up songs, and it appears his heart is still aching. The 11 sad tunes that make up Revenge Songs, Golden’s mighty debut, cover a lot of ground, but mostly lament on a relationship that’s “not around anymore.” And that’s putting it lightly.

Rafter: Sex Death Cassette

Jamie Lee March 5, 2008 No Comments

he discovery of an abandoned boom box on a city street would be expected to spew the visceral beats that Rafter creates, his low-fi in approach oddly animated in presence, but infectious none-the-less.

Joe Jackson : Rain

Shane Handler March 3, 2008 No Comments

Joe Jackson is one of those few artists that despite getting on in years, he can still make biting music. Rain, recorded with three-fourths of the original Joe Jackson Band [ Jackson (vocals/keyboards), Graham Maby (bass/vocals) and Dave Houghton (drums/vocals)] in his new adopted city of Berlin is stripped to the bare essentials but sounds as youthful as any album in his 30 year career.

Dub Trio: Another Sound is Dying

Eric Liebetrau February 28, 2008 No Comments

Another Sound is Dying offers some interesting layering effects, but despite the band’s obvious chops, it’s an album that may have a difficult time finding an audience. Dub fans will be turned off immediately, and hardcore fans probably won’t tolerate the extended airy sections.