Album Reviews Archives - Page 565 of 707

The New Pornographers: Together

Shane Handler May 21, 2010 No Comments

It’s ironic that both The New Pornographers and Broken Social Scene released their new albums on the same day: two Canadian collectives with both old and young members now fighting the unavoidable “super-group” tag. However Together, the fifth album from The New Pornographers, sticks to their now well versed formula: AC Newman and his compadres playing the sunny and dark along with very special guests Neko Case and Destroyer's Dan Bejar. Together melds the pop flawlessness of 2005’s Twin Cinema with the eccentric flair of 2007’s Challengers into one cool carton of high-powered indie rock (if we can still consider Matador indie).

The Dead Weather : Sea of Cowards

Shawn Donohue May 21, 2010 No Comments

On Horehound, The Dead Weather injected their own warped blues into 70’s style doom rock with oomph. On the groups second release Sea of Cowards all shackles seem to be have been discarded, allowing the band to experiment with different sounds, styles, and substances.

Sharon Jones: I Learned The Hard Way

Jason Macneil May 19, 2010 No Comments

When you listen to old-school soul singer Sharon Jones and her brassy Dap Kings, you get the sense that if you dropped your iPod the recording might begin skipping like a vinyl release. Such is the case with I Learned The Hard Way, her latest collection of retro R&B which hits all the right notes Jones nailed on her prior release 100 Days, 100 Nights.

Martin Sexton: Sugarcoating

Bryan Rodgers May 18, 2010 No Comments

Martin Sexton is one of the most unflappably earnest musicians on the planet, and he always manages to stand out in a genre that is unmercifully crowded. His latest release, Sugarcoating, brings listeners more of his positive, folk-tinged acoustic rock and stirring lyricism. Sexton’s music has frequently centered on themes of personal fulfillment and the tenuous existence of human happiness, and Sugarcoating does some of the same, simultaneously addressing materialism, success, and other trappings of the modern world.

Truth & Salvage Co.: Truth & Salvage Co.

Jason Rooks May 17, 2010 No Comments

California’s Truth and Salvage Company was born out of impromptu jams at Hollywood’s famed Hotel Café and includes an arsenal of four singer/songwriters from all across the U.S. Truth and Salvage Company caught the ear of fellow Topanga Canyon resident Black Crowes front man, Chris Robinson and he signed them to his record label, Silver Arrow Records and took on the task of producing their debut album.

The Rum Diary: Rum Diary – Retrospective 2000-2007

Bob Lange May 14, 2010 No Comments

Back in 2002, I randomly purchased a little blue 7″ from Springman Records. “Mileage,” the title track, renewed what was, at the time, my waning interest in music. It’s mellow, ambling rhythm and layers of guitar built slowly, steadily and crazily into the frenzy of a tribal right of passage

The Hold Steady: Heaven Is Whenever

Shane Handler May 14, 2010 No Comments

You wonder what comparisons The Hold Steady are more sick of now – the Bruce Springsteen ones or the "best bar band in America" ones. With their fifth album Heaven is Forever, both tags have lost as much weight as guitarist Tad Kubler’s pant size Sure, The Hold Steady are a great band and even a better “bar” one, but that label is now tired, as Heaven is Whenever holds more depth than the “Chip Ahoys” and “Constructive Summers" of album's past.

Moby Grape: Moby Grape Live

Doug Collette May 13, 2010 No Comments

Forgive David Fricke if he succumbs to hyperbole in his liner notes to Moby Grape Live. This collection of concert recordings captures the band's skill and effervescence to such a degree, they do sound like that spirit of those times when everything seemed possible.

The National: High Violet

Shawn Donohue May 13, 2010 No Comments

A deep seeded sense of fearful midlife isolation is engrained in High Violet, the newest album from The National. That’s not all that’s here though; layers of sound and themes buzz below the surface like insects peaking out of their hive occasionally in twisting dissident guitar lines or even lyrical couplets; both tend to emerge more and more after multiple spins.

Josh Ritter: So Runs the World Away

Jason Gonulsen May 10, 2010 No Comments

I am assured that peace will come to me,” Josh Ritter sings on “Lark,” a song that channels his inner Paul Simon on his newest album, So Runs the World Away. Before Ritter penned these tunes, the songwriter from Idaho suffered a case of writer’s block, but you can’t tell that he was struggling on his fifth full-length; because on these 13 tracks, Ritter sounds better than ever.

Album Reviews

View posts by year

Recent Posts

New to Glide

Keep up-to-date with Glide

Twitter