Jeff Talmadge Kind of Everything Berkalin Records By Al Kaufman While he may currently call Roswell, Ga. home, Jeff Talmadge’s heart and head reside in the small towns of Texas where he grew up. In that time, Talmadge served as a janitor, a lawyer, a press secretary to Congressman Bob Krueger, a seminary student, and […]
Wild Nothing Gemini Captured Tracks By Al Kaufman Jack Tatum, the man behind Wild Nothing, loves his anguished ’80s synth-pop. After disbanding his punk band, Facepaint, he made a bit of a splash as Wild Nothing covering Kate Bush’s “Cloudbursting.” On Gemini, he digs a little deeper and unearths the likes of New Order and […]
Iron and Wine Kiss Each Other Clean Warner Brothers By Al Kaufman With Kiss Each Other Clean, Sam Beam, the person behind Iron and Wine, should finally rid himself of the neo-folkie tag. While 2007’s The Shepherd’s Dog hinted at a fuller sound, Beam goes in full force on Kiss Each Other Clean. The CD opens […]
Apex Manor The Year of Magical Drinking Merge By Al Kaufman In 2009, Ross Flournoy’s power-pop Southern California band, The Broken West, parted ways. Flournoy moved to Pasadena and developed a strong case of writer’s block. An NPR Monitor Mix competition, in which he was forced to write and record a song in a weekend, […]
The Moondoggies Tidelands Hardly Art By Al Kaufman Seattle’s Moondoggies have captured their town’s old grunge mentality while softening the sound. There is no fuzz and feedback on Tidelands. It is simply a gentle and melodic album of soul searching.
Wanda Jackson The Party Ain’t Over Third Man/Nonesuch By Al Kaufman Jack White (The White Stripes, The Raconteurs and whatever new band he happens to be in this week) seems to have a thing for older rebel women. First he resurrected the career of country maverick Loretta Lynn with Van Lear Rose. Now he takes on […]
Amanda Palmer Amanda Palmer Goes Down Under Liberator By Al Kaufman There are two basic tenets of a rock concert if you want to get the crowd riled up: 1. Say the city/state/country’s name 2. Say “fuck.” And if anyone knows how to pander to a crowd, it is punk performance artist Amanda Palmer. On […]
Animal & the Evolvers Heads Up Portugal By Al Kaufman First things first, Atlanta’s own Animal & the Evolvers are to be loved if only for the message on the bottom of their CD: “Pass the wine. Please feel free to rip this CD and share it with a friend.” No FBI warnings here. These […]
Young the Giant Young the Giant Roadrunner By Al Kaufman Young the Giant conjures up the melodic grandeur of The Killers in their prime. Although Sameer Gadhia’s vocals do not resonate with quite the same authority as those of Brandon Flowers’, there is no denying the band’s music is captivating and, at times, downright thrilling.
Sahara Smith Myth of the Heart Playing in Traffic Records By Al Kaufman At the tender age of 22, Sahara Smith sings like an old soul. If her voice is as beautiful and fragile and butterfly wings, they are also the toughest wings ever a butterfly possessed. They may flutter with the breeze, but they […]
The Head Stockwood By Al Kaufman The Head is an Atlanta trio who released a glorious power-pop CD, Puckered, in 2009, reviewed here. Their next CD will come out later this summer. In the meantime, they have offered a peek at what’s to come with this three-song EP. The lead cut, “Stockwood,” is a bit […]
The Dirty Guv’ners Youth Is in Our Blood By Al Kaufman Most band members aren’t exactly known for their academic intelligence. Make it a bluesy, southern rock band and the odds are even greater. Make it a good southern rock band and it’s a pretty safe bet that Dirty Guv’ners is the only such band. […]
My Chemical Romance Danger Days: The True Lies of the Fabulous Killjoys Reprise By Al Kaufman It’s been four years and numerous personal problems since My Chemical Romance released their last studio CD, The Black Parade. During that time, My Chemical Romance have grown and matured. Guitarist Frank Iero said when the band started out […]
Regina Spektor Live in London Sire By Al Kaufman Regina Spektor is an acquired taste. While most often compared to that other weird piano playing diva, Tori Amos, Spektor comes across as more appealing, and possibly slightly wackier. Spektor’s CDs have always been a mix of sheer beauty, idiosyncrasies, and sometimes downright annoyances. Live, the […]
David Mayfield The Parade By Al Kaufman David Mayfield has a voice as warm and friendly as a James Taylor smile. If The Parade were full of mid-tempo soft rockers it would be pleasant enough, but Mayfield is more than a Sweet Baby James clone. The bass player who grew up on bluegrass music is […]
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