MuseThe Resistance Warner Brothers By Eileen Tilson The odds are fairly good that Matt Bellamy probably is not sleeping very well. Plagued with problems, real or imaginary, Bellamy’s world is filled with back alley government conspiracies and apocalyptic endings, which he so descriptively portrays in his Muse’s fifth studio album, The Resistance. Muse is declaring […]
Monsters of FolkMonsters of FolkShangri-La Music By Al Kaufman Supergroups are often hit-or-miss affairs. For every successful Traveling Wilburys (George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Roy Orbison and Jeff Lynne), there are two or three extremely disappointing Thorns (Matthew Sweet, Sean Mullins, and Pete Droge). Monsters of Folk would certainly fall in the former category.
Joshua James Build Me This Northplatte/Intelligent Noise By Scott Roberts Once in a while, an artist or an album bursts on the scene that seems absolutely destined to be huge, both in critical accolades and sales. Of course, there are always intangibles that come into play that inexplicably stop a CD or musician from […]
Rose Melberg Homemade Ship K Records By Scott Roberts In the mid- to late-1990s, Rose Melberg was one half (along with Jen Sbragia) of the duo The Softies, a band who carved out their own brand of delicate, melodic music — whisper-pop, if you will — employing only quiet electric guitars and goose-bump inducing harmonies […]
Whip ItSoundtrackRhino By Al Kaufman "This soundtrack is my mix tape for you," writes Drew Barrymore in the liner notes for the soundtrack for Whip It, the film she directed about an indie girl in Texas who falls in love with roller derby. This collection sounds like Drew Barrymore. It's got fun, attitude, feminism, sappy […]
Alberta Cross Broken Side of Time ATO Records By Eileen Tilson In 1931, Salvador Dali painted one of his most famous pieces, The Persistence of Memory; a painting that all the world is familiar with, it depicts melting clocks down by the ocean side. Many claim this was Dali’s way of depicting the irrelevance of […]
They Might Be GiantsHere Comes ScienceDisney Sound By Al Kaufman Since the band's inception in 1986, many have accused geek rockers They Might Be Giants (namely, John Linnell and John Flansburgh) of being a kids' band. Between silly songs, such as "Purple Toupee," they put songs about American history, like "James K. Polk," or social […]
Blue Mother TupeloHeaven & Earth By Al Kaufman Ricky and Micol Davis are so happy and in love that you just want to smack them upside the head. He sings to her, "I like it when you smile," and she returns to him, "You make my life worth while," on the track "Tupelo." Their liner […]
By Sam Parvin With The Constellations’ recent signing to Virgin Records, I anticipated a rather rowdy show at The EARL on Thursday night, and, girl, was I right! There was not one disengaged body in the bar – the performers would not stand for such allowances. Peaking around the corner through the back door to […]
Gordon Gano and the RyansUnder the SunYep Roc by Al Kaufman In 1983, when the Violent Femmes put out their self-titled debut album, they changed music. Their folk-punk sound, Gordon Gano's staccato whine, and his lyrics that mixed sex, violence, humor and God equally spoke to almost every alienated (read every) teenager. The Femmes didn't […]
Pete Yorn & Scarlett JohanssonBreak UpAtco By Al Kaufman Actress Scarlett Johansson's CD of Tom Waits' covers, 2008's Anywhere I Lay My Head, met with mixed reviews. Be that as it may, kudos should be given to Johansson for choosing the way-too-talented-and-cool-to-be-commercially-successful Waits as the artist she wished to cover. She plans on doing it […]
Chris KnightTrailer IIDrifter's Church By Al Kaufman Usually when an artist returns to the well that brought him success, the water does not taste as crisp. For Americana musician Chris Knight, that is most certainly not the case. When Knight released The Trailer Tapes, solo acoustic demo tracks he laid out in 1996 before he […]
Mark KnopflerGet LuckyReprise By Al Kaufman Mark Knopfler has come a long way since “Sultans of Swing.” The 1977 hit for Knopfler’s band Dire Straits created that trademark fuzzy guitar sound that would serve Knopfler well for the next 30 or so years. Yes, Knopfler has grown and changed over time. His music often has […]
Frank Sinatra Seduction: Sinatra Sings of LoveReprise By Kevin C. Madigan You can never have too much Sinatra. This fine collection happens to coincide with the new Twyla Tharp production Come Fly With Me, which opens this month at Atlanta’s Alliance Theatre. The album features a cross-section of impeccable Sinatra standards built around the theme […]
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