Album Reviews

Syd Matters: Syd Matters

Gabriel Scheer August 11, 2006 No Comments

Stumbling into Syd Matters

Bottle Rockets: Zoysia

Jason Gonulsen August 9, 2006 No Comments

While the Bottle Rockets’ last studio album, Blue Sky, might have crept up on you like a bunt single, Zoysia keeps growing until you

I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness: Fear Is On Our Side

Shawn Donohue August 7, 2006 No Comments

Isolation is the central theme here, from the band’s name to the sound found on Fear Is On Our Side; it seeps through the casket cracks like rain water. A remote gasping vocal delivery of lines like “Reaching/For the end/Never make a sound.” place you squarely back in 1986 at a Cure/Depeche Mode double bill, while the music behind those lines manages to raise the stakes.

Sufjan Stevens: The Avalanche: Outtakes and Extras from the Illinois Album

Shane Handler August 7, 2006 No Comments

With The Avalanche: Outtakes and Extras from the Illinois Album, Stevens presents 21 tracks, including three versions of

Dirty On Purpose: Hallelujah Sirens

Josh Cox August 4, 2006 No Comments

Feedback and distortion fans,

The Whipsaws: Ten Day Bender

Shawn Donohue August 3, 2006 No Comments

These Alaskan country-fried players sure have some depressing Ten Day Benders; they also have enough good ‘ole boy in them to pump a shotgun and pick a fiddle simultaneously.

Ani DiFranco: Reprieve

Jason Macneil August 3, 2006 No Comments

or the first time in years, Ani DiFranco recently took some time off, as the touring grind was finally wearing her down. Following a live album (Carnegie Hall 4/6/02) released earlier this year, DiFranco has returned with Reprieve. Never one to back down from a political firestorm, DiFranco was forced to leave New Orleans during Reprieve