album review

Innovation is inherent to the very foundations of Radiohead as a band. This would explain why lead singer and guitarist Thom Yorke would dabble in DJing shows while Jonny Greenwood would engage in composing film scores; one of which is the subject of this review. Greenwood is a tried and tested composer with his previous scores for the films Bodysong and There Will Be Blood. There Will Be Blood is one of my favorite scores of the past decade and it was not even written for the film in the first place. The score for Norwegian Wood was intentionally written for the film and once again demonstrates Mr. Greenwood’s ability to transcend genre and make a musical masterpiece with any and all tools given to him. Read More »

Alyosha, the debut solo EP from prominent Arizona musician Tobie Milford, is beautiful. And I mean that in every sense of the word. Sounding at once stripped-down and symphonic, Milford’s uses nothing more than a violin and his voice, performing live in a studio over and over again, to produce a staggering musical accomplishment in just over 30 minutes. Alternating between sweeping, orchestral soundscapes and weightless pizzicato, Milford seamlessly weaves his fiddle and his vocals into a single expression of his equally poignant message. Read More »

The word “telekinesis” is defined as the power to move something without touching it. Isn’t that exactly what good music is supposed to do? Move us (in a good way) without touching us (because, well, it can’t)? Precisely. Good one, Michael Lerner. Very punny.

Lerner’s latest release under said band name, Telekinesis, is 12 Desperate Straight Lines. I’m of the conviction that good albums can teach us something. 12 Desperate Straight Lines teaches us that breaking up sucks (and of course we knoooow), but breaking up doesn’t have to sound like it does. Read More »

Jessica Lea Mayfield can’t fall in love. She has examined herself and her lovers from every angle and can’t seem to figure out what’s going wrong. She certainly wants nothing more than to be in love—a mature incarnation of a little girl’s princess fantasy– but she can’t honestly connect with those she loves. Except maybe on her latest album, Tell Me. Even here, though, you have to look into the lyrics to find her mental cacophony because her deadpan voice gives hardly anything anyway. She’s the least believable narrator, yet strangely enough, empathizing with her comes so natural.

Read More »

Friends, I believe that it’s about that time of year to slow down and experience the cold winter melt away to make way for the coming of the spring’s bright blue skies. Our Canadian indie folk trio, The Rural Alberta Advantage, sing to these same skies about the transience of the moment, and all those things that haunt the soul of folk musicians; falling in and out of love, finding yourself reaching out to those whom you’ve lost over time. Read More »

New York City rapper Beans has long been aptly described as experimental. Both in his role as a founding member of Antipop Consortium and throughout his solo career, he has been known for his unusual, electronica-infused beats and complex, stream-of-consciousness rhyming style. On his fifth solo LP, he is clearly not done experimenting. The intricacy of his beats occupy the full spectrum, from the straightforward “Gluetraps,” which literally consists of a drum machine and two alternating synth tones, to “Blue Movie,” which appears almost randomly thrown together on the first listen because it incorporates more digital instruments than I care to count and can’t seem to decide on a tempo. Read More »

I think I can speak for almost all of my close friends in saying that few artists hold a place in our hearts that even come close to Radiohead. Our entire collective experience with music has been centered around discussing which of the band’s many masterpiece albums is our favorite for that day, trying to decipher new interpretations for OK Computer and Kid A, and keeping abreast of all of Thom Yorke’s photobombs.

Having said that, it’s no surprise that each of us were stunned and indescribably elated when we heard that Radiohead would release a new album, The King of Limbs, last week. Our excitement increased exponentially when on Friday each of us learned that the new album was to be released a day early. From that point on, we’ve immersed ourselves in these eight tracks and nothing else. Read More »

Oh No Oh My (previously Oh No! Oh My!) lost something more than lines and dots between their debut album and their second full-length release, People Problems, but the Austin, Texas based band claims that the change was a necessary one. Their myspace page explains that “Oh No Oh My grew up” between their 2006 self-titled debut and People Problems. Ultimately, I agree, but a lot of things come with growing up. The album definitely reflects maturity that was missing from earlier work, but there is also an inescapable sense that the spontaneity that defined the band’s first musical efforts left with the exclamation points. Read More »