Various Arists Nophi Compilation Four Nophi Recordings By Giles Turnbull This 20-track compilation CD is the fourth in a series released by Nophi Recordings since 2000. Nophi was set up in 1999 as an experimental label for electronic music, of which founder Randy Garcia is a veteran exponent. Over the years, Nophi has given deserved […]
Robyn Body Talk Pt. 2 Konichiwa / Cherrytree By Cory Albertson Three months after releasing Body Talk Pt. 1, which contained a piece of pop perfection in the single “Dancing on My Own,” Robyn returns with Body Talk Pt. 2, continuing the series’ excellent electropop experimentations. With fellow Swede Klas Åhlund (Sugababes, Kylie Minogue) acting […]
Lauris Vidal Better Part P Is For Panda By Giles Turnbull Lauris Vidal’s work is characterized by carefully sparse band arrangements, making his songs always sound fresh because of the space that seems to let them breathe. His effective writing finds many different and interesting ways to do this from one track to the next. […]
Bobby Bare Jr. A Storm – A Tree – My Mother’s Head Naked Albino Recordings By Micah McLain The majority of Bobby Bare Jr.’s recordings take a while to really get into your head and settle in, and his latest album is no exception. Although he stays mostly within the realm of alt-country, his lyrics […]
Paloma Faith Do You Want The Truth Or Something Beautiful? SIN / Sony UK By Giles Turnbull Press play and the room transforms into a lively jazz-era dance hall, complete with house band. Onto the stage comes Paloma Faith, a British singer-songwriter, bringing with her a stylish infusion of pop, trip hop and soul, cutting […]
Lakes The Agreement Self-released By Giles Turnbull “Life? Don’t talk to me about life!” says Marvin the Paranoid Android, repeatedly, in Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. I harbor a suspicion that Marvin might have co-written many of the lyrics on Lakes’ debut album, The Agreement. Admittedly it’s been a summer full of exceedingly, in some […]
Jenny and Johnny I’m Having Fun Now Warner Brothers By Al Kaufman Those who complain that Rilo Kiley does not have enough Jenny Lewis will have the same problem with Jenny and Johnny. Jenny and her flame, Johnathan Rice, basically trade songs on their coming out disc, relegating the other person to back-up harmonies and […]
Darker My Love Alive As You Are Dangerbird Records By Al Kaufman Darker My Love fans who have come to expect reverb-filled psychedelia are going to be grossly disappointed in Alive As You Are, their third release. However, those who mourn the pleasing harmonies and jangly guitars of the now defunct Americana darlings, The Jayhawks, […]
Oranjuly Oranjuly Self-released By Lizzie Burnham When Oranjuly was delivered to my inbox, the fleeting hope that they were from The Netherlands came to mind. Even though they are not the Oranje, they are not to be written off. This power pop quintet, whose name consists of orange and July, hails from Boston, Mas., and […]
Apocalyptica 7th Symphony Jive/Sony Music By Ellen Eldridge As August draws to a close, Apocalyptica announces one of the best releases of 2010, and I can confidently say this having been unable to stop playing the ten tracks on 7th Symphony since receiving the CD. For a band of Finnish cello rockers, Apocalyptica have come […]
Dead Confederate Sugar The Artists Organization (TAO) By Ellen Eldridge From the start of the warping and undulating tones of the guitars, it would be easy to instantly feel lost. For fans who expected some semblance of similarity from the debut Wrecking Ball, prepare to take a turn through the jungle of sound and emotion […]
Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin Let It Sway Polyvinyl By Lizzie Burnham As a bright, impressionable 19-year-old college sophomore, I was introduced to Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin (SSLYBY). However, let me backtrack a little and give you a bit of insight on how and why they came to play at my school. […]
Scissor Sisters Night Work Downtown Music/Polydor By Leila Regan-Porter New York City’s Scissor Sisters is one of those bands that is just hugely popular overseas. The group joins the formidable list that includes the likes of The Strokes, White Stripes, The Killers, Kelis and Kings of Leons – all American artists that blew up in […]
Arcade Fire The Suburbs Merge By Al Kaufman Arcade Fire is the most popular band on the planet right now. They didn’t get there by being subtle. Their wildly popular Neon Bible was their grandiose statement concerning the political climate circa 2006 (hint: they didn’t like it). Funeral, well let’s just say it was rather […]
Ed Harcourt Lustre Piano Wolf Recordings By Scott Roberts “It’s not easy to be happy and get way with it,” sings Ed Harcourt on “Haywired,” the second song on his winning new CD Lustre, but somehow he seems to have found a way to do both. On his fifth full-length release, and the first on […]
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