review

Review: The Moondoggies, You’ll Find No Answers Here EP

Posted by on June 18th 2010 0

by Jared Iversen
Rating: B

The Moondoggies are a four-piece band from Seattle, Washington who blend blues, soul, rock, and country to create an infectious sound that radiates with whiskey-soaked Americana. Their music is fresh, but familiar, harkening back to the woodsy, psychedelic sounds of greats like The Grateful Dead and The Band, while sharing elements with fellow west coasters Fleet Foxes and The Donkeys, namely soft harmonies and laid back guitars, but a bit rougher around the edges. The Moondoggies effortlessly combine all of these different components, comfortably living in a nearly unclassifiable genre (at least not without using multiple hyphens) with a sound that lies somewhere between the west coast and the south, classic rock and modern folk. There’s something endearing about these long-haired, bearded guys and the music they make, or maybe it’s the name. Read More »

Post to Twitter

Review: Jamie Lidell, Compass

Posted by on June 15th 2010 0

by Catherine DeGennaro

Rating: B

Sometimes it’s all too tempting to pigeonhole the beardy and bespectacled gentlemen of alternative music. Each crafting his own brand of the thinking man’s pop song. All crooning those literary lyrics. But despite blending in inconspicuously with his contemporaries, Jamie Lidell’s sound stands out, sitting more comfortably among the likes of Stevie Wonder and Sly & The Family Stone. It’s clear from the video for “The Ring,” the single from his newest release, Compass, that Jamie has a lot of soul. Or perhaps that he has a lot of sand in his pants. Maybe both. That being said, his manic twitches and convulsions are not at all ill suited to the feel of Compass as a whole. All written and recorded in a few frantic fell swoops, Compass plays like an album that was, well… all written and recorded in a few frantic fell swoops. Coasting in on the tailwinds of his collaboration with Beck, Wilco and Feist on the Record Club’s recreation of Skip Spencer’s Oar, Lidell’s work on Compass draws from the same manic, experimental energy with many of the same players contributing. And as with most things done with manic, experimental energy, the results on the album are exciting, if inconsistent. Read More »

Post to Twitter

Review: Various Artists,Broken Hearts and Dirty Windows: The Songs of John Prine

Posted by on June 14th 2010 0

by Caroline Klibanoff
When I first heard of this compilation a while back, I was elated—all my favorite modern-yet-rootsy artists covering one of America’s most prominent songwriters. High expectations aside, Broken Hearts and Dirty Windows: Songs of John Prine does a solid job of paying tribute to Prine’s work, which is the ultimate goal of a tribute album. If nothing else, these songs highlight his talent far more than the skills of the artists themselves, making for an all-around pleasant collection for Prine fans both new and old.
For the most part, the picks are well-suited to the songs, even if the Drive-By Truckers’ “Daddy’s Little Pumpkin” proved a little too honky-tonk for my taste and the mere trace of Lambchop/Kurt Wagner’s voice has always struck me as atrocious and even more so on Prine’s “Six O’Clock News,” as it grates and shuffles in every non-melodious direction.
So that one may be a number you choose to skip. Which is alright, because a later track features the reigning lords of indie-Americana, Deer Tick, who do sweet justice to “Unwed Fathers” with a subtle dobro slide and whispery guest vocals from Liz Isenburg. Jim James rests his lovely falsetto on the heels of a discreet pedal-steel mandolin-like sound to make “All the Best” into a far more charming version than Prine’s original scathing “love” song.
Read More »

Post to Twitter

Review: Health, ::Disco 2

Posted by on June 14th 2010 0

HEALTH-Disco2
HEALTH:Disco::Get Color:Disco2. Anyone familiar with pre-2002 SAT analogy jargon can easily decipher that colon-enjambed phrase as “HEALTH’s self-titled debut album HEALTH is to Disco, the remix of said album, as Get Color, the same group’s second album is to Disco 2, the band’s second remix.” Duh.
Read More »

Post to Twitter

Review: Sage Francis, Li(f)e

Posted by on June 11th 2010 0

by Dominique Barron
Rating: B-

If all you knew about Sage Francis was that he is a hip hop artist you might be a little confused when you first start listening to his latest album release, Li(f)e. The intro to the opening track, “Little Houdini,” sounds as if it belongs in a folk song, far away from the thought-provoking lyrics of a heartfelt rapper. I am a big fan of artists who aren’t afraid to create music that bends genre expectations and Sage Francis does just this. If you were to separate the instrumentals from the lyrics it would sound like two completely unrelated albums. Read More »

Post to Twitter

Review: Pearly Gate Music, Pearly Gate Music

Posted by on June 10th 2010 0

by Fiona Hanly

Rating: B-

Zach Tillman’s self-titled debut into the folk scene did not strike a chord with me—but the name, the name did. Zach Tillman is Joshua Tillman’s brother. Most recognizably a member of the folk darlings Fleet Foxes, Joshua has also been a member of several other groups and has released prolifically as a solo artist. Big brother Joshua, little brother Zach, meet WGTB. To be completely honest, it is unclear which brother is the older and which is the younger—however, several clues, including each brother’s respective time spent being a presence in the indie folk scene, and especially the raw, even unpolished sound of this album itself, indicate Pearly Gate Music is very much Zach’s little-brother-debut. Read More »

Post to Twitter

Review: Igor Butman Big Band, Moscow at 3 A.M.

Posted by on June 8th 2010 1

by John Kenchelian

Rating: B

The new album, featuring music by Nick Levinovsky(who also conducts the band) from Russian saxophonist Igor Butman’s Big Band is interestingly titled: Moscow @ 3 AM. It starts out with a dark vamp on the first song, “Russian Passion,” which makes one think of a late night in Moscow. However, once it gets going this song really grooves, featuring at different times, the trombone, trumpet, and sax sections. Maybe this was just the fact that I was playing it on iTunes, but one can barely hear the piano when the entire band is playing, and as a piano player, that disturbs me. Butman doesn’t wait to bring out the biggest star on this album, Wynton Marsalis, featuring him with a solo on the very first tune. Read More »

Post to Twitter

Review: Deer Tick, The Black Dirt Sessions

Posted by on June 8th 2010 0

by Britt Shaw


Rating: A-
As Deer Tick’s frontman, John McCauley, says on the band’s no-frills website “We like to put on memorable shows, the kind of shows that you don’t see very often. If you don’t want to get covered in beer or confetti at one of our shows, I’d suggest not standing up in the front.”

Rhode Island’s contribution to the budding alt-country genre, Deer Tick, came to my attention a year ago when I heard “Easy” on Seattle’s KEXP radio, and from that point on I had to have more. More raucous southern rock-inspired guitar riffs. More gritty vocals and Let-me-tell-you-about-having-the-Blues lyrics. More music that didn’t sound like it was made for listeners aged 15-22 but instead by a young band that appreciates older, great musicians like John Prine, Hank Williams, and Chuck Berry. Read More »

Post to Twitter

Page 4 of 7« First...23456...Last »