Lake Trout: Not Them, You
After years of mere subsistence on the scraps of electronic, jazz and rock influences, Baltimore
Herbie Hancock: Possibilities
“The possibilities are endless,” writes Herbie Hancock in his latest liner notes to Possibilites. The album features ten inspired Hancock collaborations including: John Mayer, Santana and Angelique Kidjo, Christina Aguilera, Paul Simon, AnnieLennox, Sting, Jonny Lang and Joss Stone, Damien Rice and Lisa Hannigan, Raul Midon, andTrey Anastasio.
North Mississippi Allstars: Electric Blue Watermelon
A funny thing happened to the North Mississippi Allstars on their way to international acclaim: they became a nuanced, multifaceted and wholly experimental blues rocker unit
Death Cab for Cutie: Plans
Plans fails to pick things up a notch in the rock department where Transatlanticism teased us in believing DCFC would be the next great experimental guitar band. There is a load of keyboard sap and wish washy ballads to deal that makes Plans a rather soft affair.
Maybe next time instead of recording in New England in the dead of winter, these west-coasters should stay in overcast Seattle and stick with a familiar formula. The true Death Cab sound is still here at times, but at the end Plans leaves you asking, “what is all the fuss about?”
The Brakes: The Brakes – Vol. II (EP)
An upstart five-some rustling up a serious fuss in their native Philadelphia, the Brakes draw you in with a deceptively laid-back funk-rock thing, probably reminiscent of Sublime, the easy name-check, but also less remembered and way more musical groups of kind like e:verything and the Getaway People.
Corrosion of Conformity: In the Arms of God
For all you closet headbangers who thought classic thrash and punk died with Cobain, grab this album, as it will bring you back to those long-ago days.
Feist: Let It Die
Having sung with Canadian indie-popsters Broken Social Scene to female rapper Peaches to the Kings, Leslie Feist has paid her dues. But it
Boom Bip: Blue Eyed in the Red Room
Try as it might, Blue Eyed in the Red Room ends up as a collection of near-miss electro instrumentals which could have advanced past golf-cart-cruise-music status with just a little improvement on the arrangements. It
NYC Subway: Songs From The Underground: Various Artists
Any compilation of artists regardless of the theme is going to be uneven. It is just something you have to accept, and when you keep in mind the range of talent you might experience day to day on your commute, a compilation of buskers from the New York City subway system is going to be especially so.
The Tom Collins: Daylight Tonight
Gentlemen, Daylight Tonight (Terminus) is the record you dreamed of making as pimple faced kids playing air guitar in the mirror while singing into your microphone combs.
Bob Seger: Smokin
With a career spanning almost 40 years and with nearly 50 million records sold, Seger is known for his distinctive voice and depth of songs, as he captures the heart of rock n
Mobius Band: The Loving Sounds of Static
Peppering their simple, contagious melodies with electronic textures and perfect guitar hooks, Mobius Band is more humble and disaffected than the Strokes and more organic than the Postal Service.
Nickel Creek: Why Should the Fire Die?
The one word that has been thrown around when the discussion of Nickle Creek has come up and that I am completely tired of is the term