By Scott Roberts; photos by Sue Volkert Like an unexpected visit from a reliable, old friend who you only get to see once every few years, a Blue Rodeo performance is like a warm embrace that fills your heart with happiness and makes you feel as if all is right, at least temporarily, with the […]
Sleepy Sun Fever ATP Recordings By Eileen Tilson Rumor has it that if you walk into certain bars in Amsterdam, you can walk up to the bartender who will then promptly ask you how you would like to “feel,” which you can then order from a long list of drugs to give you your desired […]
Tokyo Police Club Champ Mom + Pop Records By Eileen Tilson With the ridiculous influx of Canadian ice cubes, like Celine Dion, Nickelback and Justin Bieber, it is easy to miss something actually hot coming out of our northern neighbor, especially if you have a name that sounds like a group of Asian law enforcers. […]
The Moondoggies You’ll Find No Answers Here EP Hardly Art By Ellen Eldridge The title of The Moondoggies’ You’ll Find No Answers Here EP comes from the closing track, “Fly Mama Fly” which means the listener will travel through four songs loosely based on love and contemplation before arriving at the conclusion that there really […]
Hot Hot Heat Future Breeds Dangerbird Records By Al Kaufman After an ill-advised foray into pop on their 2007 release, Happiness Ltd., Canada’s Hot Hot Heat have returned to the hard-edged, dance-punk sound that they made them a sensation in 2003 with Make Up the Breakdown, and its single, “Bandages.” Future Breeds is full of […]
By David Courtright As the dawn of the Internet and subsequent decline of major label music is reshaping how music is made, understood and distributed, it could strike one as sadly ironic to hear an old rocker sing, “My, my, hey, hey/Rock and roll is here to stay.” In his opening song, “My, My, Hey, […]
A Fight to the Death Gesture Of A Gentleman By Ellen Eldridge At first glance, A Fight to the Death appears punk and the name most certainly anticipates a heavy, if not death metal, style. Upon closer inspection, when perusing past a photo pasted on the cardboard cover, a collage of lyrics, pages torn from […]
Nada Surf if i had a hi-fi Mardev Records By Al Kaufman The title of Nada Surf’s CD of cover tunes, if i had a hi-fi, sums up the theme. The title is about wanting and about music. In addition, it’s a fun palindrome. So goes this unexpectedly delightful collection. The chosen songs on hi-fi […]
Sam Quinn The Fake That Sunk A Thousand Ships Ramseur Records By Ellen Eldridge From the pencil-colored whale rising in a field of trees shaded by a multi-colored horizon on the album cover to the stylishly simplistic, silver-penned song titles, this Sam Quinn album, The Fake That Sunk A Thousand Ships, attracts. A sorrowful “Hello” […]
This Piano Plays Itself As the House.. Adair Park Recordings By Eric Chavez Adair Park Recordings artists This Piano Plays Itself are back for another jam session with their album As the House… An album with many sides, at times the sound is pure indie-rock, other times it aims more towards the pop sound. Creative […]
David Cross Bigger and Blackerer Sub Pop By Ellen Eldridge Bigger and Blackerer, the latest release from David Cross (available May 25 on CD and DVD), encompasses the inane sense of indignant humor for which fans fell in love with Cross in the mid ’90s during HBO’s series “Mr. Show.” For fans who may have […]
Band Of Horses Infinite Arms Columbia By Ellen Eldridge Band Of Horses writes songs which seep into the subconscious; perhaps, this can be attributed to the popular television shows like “Dog The Bounty Hunter,” which played “The Funeral,” from the 2006 release of Everything All The Time, a destined hit with almost five million YouTube […]
The Black Keys Brothers Nonesuch By Al Kaufman If looking at names alone, The White Stripes and The Black Keys seem like polar opposites. But while White Stripe Jack White went off and started a new band seemingly every week, The Black Keys quietly moved in and claimed the blue-eyed, fuzzy blues title from under […]
ALO Man of the World Brushfire Records By Al Kaufman Yes, the new ALO (Animal Liberation Orchestra) CD was produced by Jack Johnson, recorded in his solar powered studio in Hawaii, and distributed on his Brushfire record label. And, yes, it has a certain laid-back surfer sound to it, but while too much Jack Johnson […]
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