Album Reviews

Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks: Mirror Traffic

Jeff Strowe September 9, 2011 No Comments

If the lyrics weren’t so sharp and the wry observations so focused, you’d swear Stephen Malkmus just invited some friends over and recorded an album over a quiet evening in the garage after work. The 15 tracks that comprise, Mirror Traffic, Malkmus’ latest endeavor with his band of collaborators, the Jicks, flow by with that breezy feeling that has become a hallmark of Malkmus’ solo work.

Sisters 3: Coruscate at the Meadow Gate

Jeremy Lukens September 6, 2011 No Comments

Unlike those lying Doobie Brothers, Sisters 3 is actually a band comprised of three sisters: Cassandra, Beatrice, and Anna Christie Sadler. The Philadelphia trio has a vintage style, but it would be a mistake to lump them in with the folk pop revival trend of recent years. Their second album, Coruscate at the Meadow Gate, has a sound too diverse to fit neatly in any genre.

Driftwood Fire: How To Untangle a Heartache

Jason Macneil September 6, 2011 No Comments

It’s quite the distance from the Appalachians to Colorado, but for the duo of Fort Collins singer-songwriters Charlotte Formichella and Lynn Scharf – known as Driftwood Fire – they wouldn’t have it any other way

Blitzen Trapper: American Goldwing

Jeff Strowe September 2, 2011 No Comments

For a band that has been gaining momentum over the past several releases, Blitzen Trapper’s latest, American Goldwing finds the Portland group pausing a bit to catch their breath.

Tom Morello: The Nightwatchman: World Wide Rebel Songs

Nick Gunther August 31, 2011 No Comments

World Wide Rebel Songs at its core resembles the structure of The Nightwatchman’s previous two records, but the sound broadens somewhat with the addition of more production instrumentals.

The Wandas: The Wandas

Nick Gunther August 31, 2011 No Comments

A large thematic portion of The Wandas debut album appears to be focused around the idea of chasing after love, or quite possibly the missing out on that existence. Listening to the instrumentation of the majority of this album, it wouldn’t be as apparent to interpret the lyricism as depressing matters; it nearly is disguised. That could be viewed as a success in terms of expressing, or changing, that idea within the sound that makes up this band.

Tommy Keene: Behind the Parade

Doug Collette August 31, 2011 No Comments

he effervescent enthusiasm that pervades Tommy Keene’s new album, Behind the Parade, belies the artist’s nearly thirty-year career as a cult figure. Sample the previous high points of his discography– Places that Are Gone or Based on Happy Times– and listen for a discernible difference in energy.

Fruit Bats: Tripper

Jeremy Lukens August 30, 2011 No Comments

Tripper has more of a narrative focus than previous Fruit Bats efforts. On his fifth album, Eric D. Johnson consciously shifts to story-based songs.

JEFF the Brotherhood: We Are The Champions

Chris Calarco August 29, 2011 No Comments

JEFF The Brotherhood is Jake and Jamin Orrall of Nashville, Tennessee, owners of Infinity Cat Recordings. The bare bones duo, just guitar and drums, played 230 shows last year and were hailed by Spin magazine as one of the “must see” acts at this year’s South by Southwest. Their new album, We are the Champions, is eleven tracks and a short 35-minute. It’s packed with jagged scuzzed-out guitar riffs that hop between Weezer style chunky rhythms, sharp, classic rock swagger, and blasts of powerful punk power.

Dave Stewart: The Blackbird Diaries

Peter Zimmerman August 27, 2011 No Comments

[rating=4.00] When Dave Stewart’s new album, The Blackbird Diaries, opens, the initial shock of finding a smoking, swinging roots-based rock jam is quickly assuaged by digging into the caliber of