Album Reviews Archives - Page 564 of 707

BLK JKS: ZOL!

Nick Gunther June 4, 2010 No Comments

As the spirit descended upon the South African band, BLK JKS (pronounced “Black Jacks”), again in the time following their 2009 full length release, After Robots, it brought forth messages of celebration and conveyed new adventures to be translated musically. The answer to that interpretation has come in the form of their latest release, a five song EP titled “ZOL!,” which will debut on Secretly Canadian just days before the start of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The collection of songs is deeply rooted in vast African culture and combines psychedelic guitar riffs with complex drum patterns and echoing vocals.

Empire! Empire!/Football, Etc: Split 7 Inch

Bob Lange June 4, 2010 No Comments

After last year's What It Takes to Move Forward, Empire! Empire! certainly seems like they are the very pinnacle of emo creativity and execution, breathing new life into a genre currently choking on its co-opted mainstream success. With the genre's elder statesmen like Sunny Day Real Estate and Promise Ring defunct (aside from the occasional Sunny Day reunion), Empire! Empire! may, in fact, be the genre's best active band. This EP couples them with relative newcomers, Football, Etc, perhaps a daunting task for the latter band.

Band of Horses: Infinite Arms

Jeremy Lukens June 2, 2010 No Comments

As Band of Horses strays farther from the sound of their debut, undoubtedly some fans of their earlier material are going to feel let down. Grandiose rock anthems like “The Funeral” are nowhere to be found here. Instead, their third effort sets a mood of subdued melancholy. Infinite Arms is an album whose sound is a better fit on the front porch of a country home than in an arena.

Sean McConnell: Saints, Thieves, & Liars

Jason Rooks June 2, 2010 No Comments

Relatively unknown to mainstream success, singer/songwriter, Sean McConell has been writing and recording music for over 10 years. McConnell’s songs have been covered by everyone from American Idol contestant, Jason Castro to country superstar, Tim McGraw and he has exploded in the Texas music scene. Sean McConnell delivers his most accessible and strongest album to date with Saints, Liars, and Thieves, which blends his Americana/R & B sound with introspective lyrics alongside a soulful vocal rang. McConnell’s sound is very unique in that it pulls from soul, country, folk, and R & B but it his beautiful lyrics and touching songs that separate him from most mainstream music out there right now.

Dr. Dog: Shame, Shame

Doug Collette May 28, 2010 No Comments

Dr. Dog's initial project for the Anti label after a string of releases on Park the Van that, along with their infectious live shows, has helped the Philadelphia group redefine grassroots appeal, Shame, Shame is also the first project on which Dog has collaborated with an outside producer. Rob Schnapf, who's worked with Beck, The Vines and Elliott Smith among others, helps bring a clarity to the sound (preserved, no doubt, by the mastering of Greg Calbi), most obvious in the impact of the rhythm section, as on the opening "Stranger". The density of the music hasn’t decreased, compared to 2008’s Fate, but the components of the arrangements are rendered more distinct.

Marco Benevento: Between The Needles and Nightfall

Nick Gunther May 27, 2010 No Comments

Whether you choose to label it a form of jazz fusion or sonically controlled chaos, there’s no doubt that Marco Benevento’s style of expression is a world of improvisation. It’s always been the improv side of music that gives way for more diverse chemistry between musicians which is no different on Benevento’s third full-length release, Between the Needles and Nightfall. The record itself seems to have more of a live feel and you can feel the interaction between the rhythm section and the effective lead piano.

She & Him: Volume 2

Jeremy Lukens May 27, 2010 No Comments

She & Him’s detractors were few and with the release of Volume Two, they are probably still unconvinced. Of the album’s 13 songs, 11 were penned by Deschanel but it still has that vintage feel, as though you expect to hear a needle occasionally scratching the old record only to remember that this is a CD from 2010.

Sloppy Heads: First Gasp! (EP)

Brian Robbins May 26, 2010 No Comments

Hey – what’s that smell? Did someone just open up a time capsule? Oh, I see: it’s a copy of First Gasp! Ha! What we have here is the debut release from the Brooklyn, NY-based Sloppy Heads, a 4-song EP that conjures up visions of what it must’ve been like to hear the Patti Smith Group or The Velvet Underground for the first time.

The Black Keys: Brothers

Shawn Donohue May 26, 2010 No Comments

When The Black Keys released their last effort, Attack & Release, it was hyped as the duo’s breaking out of their blues rock box, but as the prophet Chuck D has proclaimed for decades, “Don’t believe the Hype!” Brothers, is Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney’s coming out party and it is a blinding success.

Keller & The Keels: Thief

Timothy Hurley May 24, 2010 No Comments

Normally cover albums draw a lot of skepticism as they tend to be just excuses to pump an album out, which is usually comprised of shoddy renditions of popular artists's song. And the same could be said about Keller Williams and the Keels' new release, aptly titled Thief, if it were not for the oddly redeeming but sparkling choices presented in this collection.

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