Spins
Blue Ash revisited
Blue Ash No More, No Less (Collectors’ Choice) An overlooked, ’70s gem. A key to power pop along the lines of Big Star and The Raspberries. Selected by The Guardian as one of the “1,000 Albums To Hear Before You Die.” Is it really any good?
Franz Ferdinand reviewed
Franz Ferdinand Tonight: Franz Ferdinand (Domino) It took nearly four years for Franz Ferdinand to decide more bass, less guitar.
Cut Off Your Hands reviewed
Cut Off Your Hands You And I (Frenchkiss) Maybe Cut Off Your Hands are shy. Their debut EP, supposedly a mixture of demos, hid behind herky-jerky, heard-this-before post punk that created concern about the speed with which New Zealand processed trends. Though it’s unfair to heap history on a young band’s shoulders, the tracks showed […]
Christ Inversion renewed
Christ Inversion Christ Inversion (Housecore) Word of a Phil Anselmo black metal band might be news to some, but those who keep close tabs on the former Pantera/current Down frontman and his myriad sideprojects know Christ Inversion is actually an early ’90s experiment just now sincerely seeing the light of the day. Or maybe the […]
Warship reviewed
Warship Supply And Depend (Vagrant) There’s nothing wrong with incorporating a lot of influences and styles in an album, unless it makes it a big sloppy mess like Warship’s Supply And Depend. Appearing: Thursday, December 18th at Reggie’s in Chicago.
Neil Young made younger!
Neil Young Sugar Mountain: Live At Canterbury House 1968 (Reprise) Contrary to popular belief, Neil Young was not born aged 45. His hair was always unkempt, however, and so was his presence, as this 40-year-old document attests. Appearing: December 9th at Allstate Arena in Rosemont.
Warren Zevon reissued
Warren Zevon Warren Zevon Expanded Set (Rhino) Introducing Warren Zevon always required clarification: He got a huge leg up from Jackson Browne, but . . . He hung out with the Mellow Mafia in ’70s L.A., but . . . For all practical purposes, Warren Zevon is his debut album, but . . .
Wild Beasts reviewed
Wild Beasts Limbo, Panto (Domino) It takes special circumstances to make the music public pine for hyper-literate, ultra-confident, flamboyant, British art-school types — but that’s the angular, post punk world we inhabit.
Beyoncé reviewed
Beyoncé I Am . . . Sasha Fierce (Columbia) The success Beyoncé’s fans have handed her is disproportionate to what the former Destiny’s Child has given back. Currently she’s brandishing a singular talent to slice a project directly down the middle — and still render it uneven.
Two Decades Of Century Media reviewed
Various Artists Century Media — Covering 20 Years Of Extremes (Century Media) It’s not fair, but to review Century Media’s 20-year celebration, in which the renowned metal label has former and (mostly) present-day acts cover other former and present-day acts, inevitably turns into more a critique of the label’s current place in heavy metal than […]
Omara Portuondo reviewed
Omara Portuondo Gracías (Montuno/World Village) So, she has gone a little soft. Can you blame her? Omara Portuondo stuck it out for decades as Cuba’s starlet, and even smiled pretty when Ry Cooder dragged her back into the spotlight for Buena Vista Social Club.
Brother Von Doom reviewed
Brother Von Doom Relentless (Deathcote) Everything about Relentless, pre-CD-player insertion, says “totally fucking badass.” Everything about Relentless, post-CD-player ejection, says “total fucking waste of time.”
Godhead reviewed
Godhead At The Edge Of The World Driven Music Group Wow. What the shit happened to Godhead? ‘Cause this sure isn’t the same band from eight years ago.
The Showdown reviewed
The Showdown Back Breaker (Solid State) Nashville’s The Showdown are a metal band. Just ask ’em. In the one-sheet for Backbreaker (Solid State) “metal” is used 10 times. Appearing: Thursday, October 30th at Metro in Chicago.
Frida Hyvönen reviewed
Frida Hyvönen Silence Is Wild (Secretly Canadian) One gets the sense Swedish musician Frida Hyvönen assumes some sort of entitlement with the way she treats her material. She’s gonna try everything, ready or not. Appearing: Monday, November 3rd at Lakeshore Theater in Chicago.
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