Steve Miller Band Bingo! Roadrunner By Al Kaufman Steve Miller has sold exactly 1.6 gazillion copies of the Steve Miller Band Greatest Hits 1974-78. In the ’80s, every single person in the United States either owned a copy or knew a person who owned a copy. For college freshmen, the album came in the orientation […]
Kylie Minogue Aphrodite Astralwerks By Cory Albertson Critics and the public alike enjoy comparing pop’s various princesses in an effort to see who’s ripping off who with what outfit or which one’s beating the other on the charts. But when you’re Kylie Minogue and you have over two decades of experience as pop royalty, releasing […]
Future Islands In Evening Air Thrill Jockey David Courtright It’s only so often an album comes along that so entirely captures the imagination, so resolutely devours the listener, exists in its own time and place in a state of almost perfect stasis, free from time. The indie music blog world is often a cauldron of […]
The Junior League Band Jelly Roll Beaver Records By Jim Simpson The Junior League Band’s third full-length release begins with the most promising and enticing invitation to a party as ever there was one: “Give me some sugar and hold me tight/The whiskey’s out, don’t be a stranger tonight.” With banjo player/lead singer Lissy Rosemont’s […]
Trances Arc TA Self-Released By Eileen Tilson Twice in my Atlanta music life has my dear friend “The Pirate” sat me down at Six Feet Under to talk music. The first time he did this, he told me about The Constellations, which of course I instantly loved. The second time he told me about Trances […]
The Chemical Brothers Further Freestyle Dust/Parlaphone/Astralwerks By Ellen Eldridge From its static opening – described as “alien morse code” on the website – throughout well-blended songs, The Chemical Brothers’ seventh release, Further, holds true to its title taking listeners further into the experience of music. The cover art shows a woman not only diving into […]
Will Kimbrough Wings Daphne By Al Kaufman Like his musical friends Tommy Womack, Rodney Crowell, and, to a lesser degree, Todd Snider, Will Kimbrough has comfortably settled into middle age. On his fifth solo CD (he has released at least five others as part of various bands and produced a few others) Nashville/Americana stalwart Kimbrough […]
Modern Skirts Happy 81 EP Self-Released By Sam Parvin With technology innovation growing exponentially by the day, a return to the good ole days is sometimes in order. When one is able to combine more primitive techniques and deliver a product worthy of competing with the rest of ‘em, well you’ve got gold.
JK & The Lost Boys Street Lights & Avenues EP Self-Released Remember Blues Travelers from the mid-’90s? Well, if that group had died, their reincarnation would be JK & The Lost Boys. Some mellow jam sessions, catchy hooks and clever lyrics have all be bunched in together in the band’s EP Street Lights & Avenues. […]
Hole Nobody’s Daughter Mercury Records By Ellen Eldridge It ain’t easy being green, says Kermit the Frog, and those who have followed Courtney Love through the last two decades can rest assured it ain’t easy being Love. From gutter girl to grunge to glam, she has strengthened her backbone on the people who love to […]
Alejandro Escovedo Street Songs of Love Factory Records By Eileen Tilson He has collaborated with Ryan Adams and Whiskeytown. He was in punk outfit, The Nuns, who opened up for the Sex Pistols. He counts Bruce Springsteen among his loyal fans, who also plays on his latest album, Street Songs of Love. So who is […]
Karen Elson The Ghost Who Walks XL Recordings By Eileen Tilson In the famed novel, Le Fantôme de l’Opéra, Christine Daaé receives her “Angel of Music” who guides her, molding her into Paris’ most enchanting chanteuse. While this Phantom remains hidden in the background, his presence is always felt in each of Daaé’s performances. This […]
Wolf Parade Expo 86 Sub Pop Review by Ellen Eldridge By the time a band releases its third full-length album, it has had a chance to revel in both experimentation and commercial sounds. With the drum-heavy opening of Wolf Parade’s third release, Expo 86, these four guys announce themselves with the line sung by Dan […]
Laurie Anderson Homeland Nonesuch By Al Kaufman Laurie Anderson began putting together the pieces of Homeland when W was in the midst of his presidency. The CD deals with the Iraq War, the bank bailouts, global warming, and our consumer culture, sometimes all in one song. “Only An Expert” is the clear stand out. With […]
Back Row Baptists Broken Hearts & Bad Decisions Vintage Earth Music By Al Kaufman As the name implies, The Back Row Baptists are a group that carry a Bible in one hand and a bottle of whiskey in the other. They want to be good but, well, there are just so many fun evil things […]
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