Album Reviews

Combining a witty lyrical framework with a grand sense of musical pomp and circumstance, Kimbra uses her debut album Vows to provoke listeners to be bold and go against the flow.

New York City might have had Debbie Harry as its reigning queen of platinum blonde punk during the height of its ’77 heyday. But Los Angeles had Penelope Houston, the bold, brazen front-woman of San Francisco’s The Avengers, a band whose gritty streetwise snarl and ravenous energy packed as much of a punch as the Marvel Comics super group with whom they shared their name.

Todd Boston is an acoustic guitarist, flutist and multi-instrumentalist from the San Francisco Bay Area. His new album, Touched by the Sun was recorded across the country, in the vibrant, green hills of Vermont and his virtuoso guitar work is backed on record by a wide range of world class musicians including percussionist Jeff Haynes of Pat Metheny’s band, bassist Tony Levin of Peter Gabriel/King Crimson and Snatum Kaur on vocals

No frills straight ahead rock and roll is what the River City Tanlines offer up on their newest release Coast to Coast.  Lead guitarist, singer/songwriter and front woman Alicja Trout has constructed some tight knit pop rock with a punky vibe as the trio (Terrance Bishop- Bass, John Bonds- Drums) work their way through this ten song release. 

Heady sounds generated by a hirsute bunch, The Chris Robinson Brotherhood’s Big Moon Ritual might seem a contrived throwback to a past long, if the music didn’t sound like it came perfectly natural to them.

In spite of its unfortunate name, Happy Birthday are indeed one of the most talented and overlooked acts on the Sub Pop roster. If you haven’t checked out their excellent dB’s-gone-DIY self-titled debut from 2010, especially if you are a lover of scrappy power pop, you should straightaway. Used copies are going for something like 16 cents on Amazon, so jump on that shit with the quickness while those prices last.   And if you find yourself loving the melodies from these Birthday boys from Brattleboro, Vermont, there are two solo project spinoffs of the band well worth checking out.   King Tuff is the nom-de-plume of one Kyle Thomas,

If you're on the fence about this recent New Wave revival, Twin Shadow's sophomore effort, Confess might commit you back to the decade of excess. But before cynics start barking " been there, done that" and the black rimmed frames start to fly, let's state for the record that there's no question where Twin Shadow's musical influences lie ( read: New Order,… even a bit of ABC at some points). But unlike other bands who seem content with a kitschy superficial synthed- rendition of their neon past, George Lewis and crew are doin' it and doin' it and doin' it well ( Ok, so that's a 90s reference but you get the point).

Perception always serves up a slice of skepticism for a record that contains more renditions of other artist’s songs than actual original tracks. Creativity? Originality? Individuality? All are characteristics that come into question when taking this approach to an album’s creation. Yet, it’s a method that American blues rock guitarist and singer Joe Bonamassa has utilized significantly throughout a 12-year long career to great success – with critics even calling the 35-year-old musician the “pre-eminent blues-rock guitarist of his generation.”

Recorded live at Billy Bob’s Texas in Fort Worth in September of 2011, Shaver is backed by a three-piece band of musicians half his age, playing hard-hitting country rock arrangements that seem entirely fitting. His years of work with Eddy, an outstanding lead guitar player, continue to shape the way Shaver presents his music today.

Traps’ opener, “Waste a Lot of Things,” finds frontman Vincent Kircher repeating the line “yes it’s very sad” over an upbeat kick drum and bright, reverberating guitars. With its sunny guitars and bouncing rhythm, the song’s tone seems more fitting for a beach romp than for a confession that Kircher tends to waste the good things in his life. Such is the case for much of the album, Jaill’s second for Sub Pop Records.

When the music and lyrics both hit their stride, the resulting splendor is undeniable. As the young Jennings and Lewis grow as songwriters, these inspired moments should occur with more frequency.

Southern crooner and lyric scrawler Matthew Mayfield is a gifted and prolific storyteller (he has released eight EPs and one full-length album in less than four years). Of course according to his Facebook page he is also a “two-faced son of a bitch,” so take that for what you will. Maybe he’s just a tortured artist or maybe he’s just yanking our chains; either way, the man knows how to write and his tales are evocative and picturesque.

In a note detailing Soulive and Karl Denson's upcoming CD release shows around their new EP SPARK! Denson most helpfully advises: SPARK! is really about the playing, less about the tunes. It's the four of us collectively getting back to more of a jazzier thing than we'd done in recent memory."

Any write-up of Swedish singer-songwriter Kristian Matsson, aka The Tallest Man on Earth, inevitably makes the Bob Dylan comparison.  The parallels are there, what with the loose, acoustic fingerpicking, the scraggly voice, and the Greenwich Village vibe all present as hallmarks of Matsson’s sound.  However, Dylan appraisals are pointless and derivative unless the songs are there and can stand on their own.

Dntel is Jimmy Tamborello, a musician who burst most strongly onto collective consciousness through his collaboration with Ben Gibbard, under the moniker The Postal Service. However, under the moniker Dntel Tamborello has been responsible for leading the charge on modern glitchy electronica, first coming to the notice of this reviewer with the fantastic 2003 Kompact compilation, Triple R Friends, to which Tamborello contributed his 2001 song, “This is the Dream,” as remixed by Superpitcher.

In his integration, MC Yogi represents a generation with limitless influences and big dreams of changing the world. His ability to express a vividly detailed and utterly unique identity is the heartbeat of a new paradigm that calls upon the wisdom of ancient Eastern tradition but stays firmly planted in the creative language of postmodern culture. Through this dialectical pulse we remake ourselves on a Pilgrimage toward consciousness.

If you slogged teenage nights away riffing next to a water heater down in someone’s basement or slamming a drum kit amidst power tools and your kid sister’s bike in a packed garage this album is for you.  Heavy Blanket was that same type of band, a trio from Massachusetts who got deep into stoner rock grooves, the difference being they had a guitar god in the making firing off leads, and now have the opportunity to release their jams to the world.

The fourth studio recording by Burlington VT’s Waylon Speed is a logical extension of their previous projects. Within roughly two years, the quartet has released their eponymous debut CD, a deliberately schizophrenic double album (Horseshoes & Hand Grenades), then a four-cut EP (Boots), all of which have primed the pump for Valance.

If you've ever watched and heard Sonny Landreth at his most intense — where he gets really, deeply vested in a solo, gets on that game face that's not quite mad scientist but of a learned tinkerer who knows truths mortals can't comprehend, and conjures the kind of slide guitar sorcery that puts him in league with the instrument's greatest; you know that it isn't his spare, inoffensive singing that packs rooms at Landreth shows throughout the world.

While working within a well-established sound, Metric pushes the boundaries that have defined them musically and ultimately crafts a strong full-length effort that engages from start to finish.