Regina SpektorFarSire By Al Kaufman Regina Spektor is a poet. As such, she has license to be nonsensical and downright weird if she so desires. She can talk about making a "computer out of macaroni pieces," or boldly state that "blue is the most human color." But she can also utilize beautiful metaphor. When she […]

Little Boots Illuminations Elektra By Leila Regan-Porter British people (disclaimer – I am one) have no problem with hailing a pop princess as leader of the future of great music. We've gushed over Robbie Williams, Sugarbabes, Duffy and Sophie Ellis Bextor in the same sentence as Coldplay, Razorlight, Amy Winehouse and Jamiroquai. We birthed the […]

CitifiedAbsenceeskimo kiss records By Eileen Tilson The Five Physiological Methods of Perception are used by the human body to mentally grasp something outside of our bodies. These senses: Sight, Touch, Smell, Hear and Taste, have been repeated to us since childhood as the tools needed to fully comprehend the world around us. On the EP […]

Carley TanchonPeridot By Al Kaufman Carley Tanchon is one of those young women who is as fat in voice as she is lithe in body. There are plenty of pictures on the accompanying booklet  of her exposing her long, limber arms. Just as there are plenty of moments on this album that allow her to […]

It’s Elephant’s Gets Along By Julia Reidy The danger latent in having a frontman with such a recognizable voice — in this case one with a crackling, blues-rock bent that bends and scoops from pitch to pitch — is that everything else will go unnoticed. But Brent Jay’s vocal performances, for Atlanta band It’s Elephant’s, […]

Broken Promise Keeper Ice Cold Pop By Scott Roberts In the recent movie The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, the wide-eyed, backwards-aging title character is asked about whether he’s too old to be working on a tugboat. “There’s no age limit,” he innocently replies, “as long as you can do the work.” I suppose the […]

The Morakestra Witness To Connection Stratking Records By Chris Homer On their sophomore album, Texas’ The Morakestra creates a record of hook-filled rock songs built around multiple soaring guitar riffs and the haunting vocals of Will Mora. The LP’s tracks range from the acoustic folk sound of “Angel” to the upbeat Franz Ferdinand-style rhythms of […]

Todd Snider The Excitement Plan Yep Roc Records By Noel Wurst I was 16 years old when Snider’s first album, Songs for the Daily Planet, came out. “Talkin’ Seattle Grunge Rock Blues” was a hidden track on it (remember how awesome hidden tracks were?) and it was the funniest thing I’d ever heard in my […]

Foma Inverness By Eileen Tilson Sitting right on the cusp between EP and LP at eight tracks and 25 minutes in length, Inverness is full of complexities in its design and build yet is very organic in its execution. Listing contributions from six musicians (Edward M. Burch, Chani Hawthorne, Jeffrey Schmidt, Hun Kim, Charith Premawardhana […]

Country Line StrangersHeartbreak Motel By Eileen Tilson Lead singer Matt Megrue needs to take up unfiltered Camels and Jeremiah Weed straight out of the bottle. His vocals are too smooth for the intentions of the band; in fact, his lyrics bring you to places you have definitely been… middle school dances, seedy bars and rural […]

Ben Folds Presents:University A Cappella!Epic By Al Kaufman Leave it to Ben Folds to make geek chic. A cappella music has been the butt of jokes on everything from The Office to Scrubs. But Ben Folds, who is not adverse to meeting cheese head on (the guy produced a William Shatner CD for crying out […]

Deleted Scenes Birdseed Shirt What Delicate Recordings By Ben Grad “Turn to Sand,” the first track from Deleted Scenes' Birdseed Shirt, is the best track on their new album. By itself, it's enough to make a listener very very eager to see their Star Bar show tonight.  The Washington, DC-based band plays a (on first […]

Terry Anderson and the Olympic Ass-Kickin TeamNational ChampionsDoublenaught Records By Al Kaufman Everyone needs a good ass-kicking once in a while. Rock music has needed one for a good long time now. Terry Anderson, who often teams up with former Georgia Satellite Dan Baird to make up the Yayhoos, is just the guy to do […]

Casiotone for the Painfully AloneVs. ChildrenandAdvance Base Battery LifeTomlab By Al Kaufman Chicago native and film school dropout Owen Ashworth and his Casio make up Casiotone for the Painfully Alone. It's a combination of a painfully flat voice with a lots of digital beeps and beats. On Vs. Children, Ashworth has grown warmer and more organic, […]

Ear PWRSuper Animal Brothers IIICarpark Records By Al Kaufman Devin Booze and Sarah Reynolds, the duo that comprise Ear PWR, are so gosh darn cute you just want to pinch their cherubic little cheeks. Super Animal Brothers III is full of so many hyperactive, day-glo loops and beats it makes Gwen Stefani sound like Peter […]