Album Reviews

Kurt Vile: Wakin on a Pretty Daze

There's a certain kind of heft to Wakin on a Pretty Daze that wasn't present on a Kurt Vile LP before. And not just with regards to the length of several of the songs that appear on this eleven-track collection bookended by the nine-and-a-half minute "Wakin on a Pretty Day" and the mesmerizing ten-plus minute comedown "Goldtone". What is more prevalent perhaps is the sense of ease by which the songs seem to just roll out of your headphones as Vile and his current primary Violators–multi-instrumentalists Jesse Trbovich and Rob Laakso–submerge the street cool of late-80s Lou Reed into that hazy psych-rock thing he's been doing since since his bedroom dubbing days, albeit less volatile from the sounds of such key tracks as "Was All Talk" and "Shame Chamber".

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The Features: The Features

Signed since 2011 to the Kings of Leon helmed imprint, Serpents & Snakes, The Features have returned with their latest LP, an eleven track self-titled walk through their kaleidoscopic soundscape, offering both steady favorites and some new, interesting wrinkles.

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Chelsea Light Moving: Chelsea Light Moving

The recent revelation from Sonic Youth bassist and ex-wife Kim Gordon in the May issue of Elle that Moore had a little side action going on during the recent years of their marriage might come as a surprise to some. But in listening to songs like the Roky Erickson homage "Empires of Time", "Frank O'Hara Hit"–which refers to the Dune Buggy death of the acclaimed mid-60s poet–and the relentlessly scrub-core closing cut "Communist Eyes", there's something fueling Thurston's thirst for throwback chaos.

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Patty Griffin: American Kid

After six years, Griffin returns with a masterclass in folk she’s dubbed American Kid, a record which explores life and death in a way that shows considerable candor and heartfelt honesty.

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Grateful Dead: Dick’s Picks #24 – 3/23/74 Cow Palace, Daly City, CA (reissue)

As the Grateful Dead organization entered its transition from an independent business entity to its full-fledged collaboration with Rhino Records in the middle of the last decade, the titles in the ‘Dick’s Pick’s’ archive series became available only sporadically. Beginning in 2011, however, Real Gone Music began the regular reissue of the titles. Dick’s Picks #24, recorded March 1974 at the venerable Cow Palace, is testament to a high level of inspiration in the band’s playing, no doubt elevated even further as it takes place on the group's home turf in San Francisco. Even more notably, this concert represents the first use of the hallowed ‘Wall of Sound’ in its entirety.

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MS MR: Secondhand Rapture

MS MR’s full-length debut Secondhand Rapture (out now on Columbia Records) features a rich, consistent and at times addicting sound that reveals the band’s tremendous potential across twelve tracks.

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Marques Toliver: Land of CanAan

To pin the R&B label on Land of CanAan would miss what Marques Toliver’s first album captures: a junction of soul and classical sensibility, where a violinist with a killer vocal shakes up both genres.

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Courtney Jaye: Love and Forgiveness

In interviews regarding her new album Love and Forgiveness, Courtney Jaye has been quoted as saying “I’ve always wanted to find a way to not be afraid of pop.  I’m done apologizing for writing big songs.”  Jaye (with a helping hand from producer Mike Wrucke) has certainly done that here as fans of 70’s folk-pop will instantly enjoy their surroundings.

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The Waterboys : An Appointment With Mr. Yeats

The Waterboys' An Appointment with Mr. Yeats actually predates the concept of the Billy Bragg/Wilco Mermaid Avenue project as well as New Multitudes' more recent homage to Woody Guthrie. Nurtured by bandleader Mike Scott over a period of two decades, the album's exalting music, roiling ("The Hosting of the Shee") and reflective ("Song of Wandering Aengus), has its inspiration in the verse of the genius Irish poet William Butler Yeats.

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Kenny Roby: Memories & Birds

2013 may not be finding Kenny Roby as wealthy or as famous as his old pal, Adams, but it has found him back on his feet as a musician. These quiet years away from the musical grind have allowed him to painstakingly craft an album borne out of his vision and outlook, and the results sound pretty sweet. It’s a triumph for the spirit of the artist, and hopefully a sign of more good things to come.

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