Album Reviews Archives - Page 543 of 705

Brandi Carlile: Live at Benaroya Hall With The Seattle Symphony

Brian Palmer May 9, 2011 No Comments

The beauty of live performances is you take everything as it comes. If an artist flubs a line, misses a chord or hits the wrong key vocally, there’s no going back. A lot of “live” albums, however, fall short because they use a number of production tricks to cover over mistakes, or to make the audience sound louder than they really are, so they end up sounding disingenuous and in a way are a waste of time. Brandi Carlile’s new live album, thankfully, does not use these tricks and the performances are pretty damn great as a result.

Explosions in the Sky: Take Care, Take Care, Take Care

Akhil Sood May 6, 2011 No Comments

The long drawn and epic introduction to “Last Known Surroundings,” the first song off Take Care… is undoubtedly the highpoint on an album that, despite its predictably frequent moments of euphoria and jubilation, eventually fizzles out with barely a whimper. Is it time for post post-rock already?

Sam Roberts Band: Collider

Chris Calarco May 4, 2011 No Comments

When recording their new album Collider, Roberts decided to challenge the band by moving the process to Chicago. Instead of recreating the searing rock n’ roll vibe of their live show, Roberts pushed forward in an attempt to expand and diversify the band’s sound. Califone percussionist Ben Massarella and Antilbalas woodwind player Stuart Bogie served as honorary band members during the recording process and allowed the band to branch out in search of a more refined, cohesive sound.

The Strokes: Angles

Akhil Sood May 4, 2011 No Comments

Whatever happened to The Strokes? The scruffy – albeit slightly manufactured – indie sensibilities used to work for them, with raw instrumentation being complemented by the melodic and laidback vocal delivery. But Angles seems to have sacrificed some of the more uncultured garage leanings for a speculative new sound which doesn’t quite do justice to the musicianship on display.

The Head and the Heart: The Head and the Heart

Peter Zimmerman May 2, 2011 No Comments

Despite the criticisms, The Head and the Heart is an excellent debut album. The musicianship is high and they clearly have strong songwriting capabilities. As the band tours this album for the next year or two, they will no doubt gain quite the following, as these songs are infectious, heartfelt and downright stunning. In lesser hands, this album could have become a hodgepodge of affected Americana, but The Head and the Heart prove their skilled hand at producing a sincere work of impressive talent.

Fleet Foxes: Helplessness Blues

Doug Collette May 2, 2011 No Comments

Virtually as impenetrable as it is alluring on first listen, Fleet Foxes’ Helplessness Blues ultimately becomes one of those albums that reveals something new about the music and the band that made it on each successive hearing.

Dengue Fever: Cannibal Courtship

Chris Calarco April 28, 2011 No Comments

LA’s Dengue Fever is gaining momentum in music critic and indie rock circles thanks to their genre blurring. World grooves meet psych pop, new wave and a little classic rock as Cambodian singer; Chhom Nimol leads the charge in her quirky, Blondie-esque croon. The band drops Cannibal Courtship on Concord Records.

Preservation Hall Jazz Band and Del McCoury Band: American Legacies

Bryan Rodgers April 27, 2011 No Comments

American Legacies sounds exactly like you’d expect a joint album from Del McCoury Band and Preservation Hall Jazz Band to sound. It’s a riverboat full of rhythmically intoxicating Dixieland, blues, bluegrass, jazz and gospel that draws heavily on standards.

Royal Bangs: Flux Outside

Jeremy Lukens April 26, 2011 No Comments

It’s not easy to describe the sound of Royal Bangs. Singer Ryan Schaefer has said that he has no interest in conforming to the conventions of a particular genre of music. Instead, he would rather make whatever music he feels, without worrying about what it’s called. While that mindset helps create an eclectic mix, it frustrates fans and critics who are used to utilizing the names of genres and subgenres to define a band’s sound.

Minks: By The Hedge

Shawn Donohue April 25, 2011 No Comments

There is a Southern California underwater dreaminess to By The Hedge so it may be surprising that Minks are a Boston band, but cold winters are far from the brain on the groups debut LP

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