Spins
Scotland Barr reviewed
Scotland Barr & The Slow Drags All The Great Aviators Agree (Monkey Barr) “Nothing wrong” is kryptonite for roots rock albums. All The Great Aviators Agree even has the misfortune of using the word “agree” in its title; supply an “-able” and you have the advance word on Scotland Barr’s copacetic all-rightness.
Kassin+2 reviewed
Kassin+2 Futurismo (Luaka Bop) Built upon the trio of Kassin, Domenico Lancellotti, and Moreno Veloso (the series’ first volume was by Moreno+2, the second by Domenico+2) Futurismo has a bossa nova backbone (not unlike pioneers Caetano Veloso or even Os Mutantes), but forces some not-too-subtle rearrangements that don’t ultimately redefine Brazilian terminology, but that generalistic […]
Torche reviewed
Torche Meanderthal (Hydra Head) A band called Torche releases a record called Meanderthal on the label Hydra Head. Sounds like a sure formula for beards, abstract song titles, lots of tempo changes, and eight-minute tracks, doesn’t it? Thinking-man’s metal, right? Appearing: Sunday, July 20th at Empty Bottle in Chicago.
The Black Angels reviewed
The Black Angels Directions To See A Ghost (Light In The Attic) The Black Angels’ debut, Passover, got a free pass from critics who agreed its dark-alley psychedelia was more than the sum of its obvious influences. But trying to tap the same black-tarred vein doesn’t serve them quite as well on Directions To See […]
K’naan reviewed
K’naan The Dusty Foot Philosopher (Independent Media) MC and poet K’naan has no shortage of real-life struggles to speak on being a refugee of Mogadishu, Somalia, the place he calls “the most dangerous city in this universe.”
Power Quest reviewed
Power Quest Master Of Illusion (Napalm) When keyboardist Steve Williams and Steve Scott left Dragonheart in 2000, they surely did so thinking their new project, Power Quest, had just as much chance “making it” (this is power metal we’re talking about) as their old band did. Wrong.
The Sword reviewed
The Sword Gods Of The Earth (Kemado) If Gods Of The Earth can’t accomplish it, then The Sword might as well submit to the fact heavy metal’s community, especially the so-called “real metalheads,” are never going to accept them.
Neon Neon reviewed
Neon Neon Stainless Style (Lex) The project’s a joke ode to fallen entrepreneuer John DeLorean, but Neon Neon proves Super Furry Animals frontman Gruff Rhys is someone who, given the opportunity, can communicate clearly.
Mariah Carey reviewed
Mariah Carey E=MC2 (Island) Before Amy Winehouse was arrested, Britney Spears shaved, and Ashlee Simpson taped “SNL,” Mariah Carey fell apart on MTV and began one of the most spectacular celebrity flameouts the world had seen.
Century reviewed
Century Black Ocean (Prosthetic) Carson Slovak’s tightly wound Century manage to create space for themselves on their third album, though, in accordance with some prevailing scientific theories, that space is finite.
Jason Miles & DJ Logic reviewed
Jason Miles & DJ Logic Global Noize (Shanachie) Fusion/bop veteran Jason Miles and the man largely credited with funneling jazz into early hip-hop, DJ Logic, are joined by Meshell Ndegeocello, John Popper, Vernon Reid, Bernie Worrell, and more in a largely frustrating, bland world blend.
Leona Lewis reviewed
Leona Lewis Spirit (J/Syco) Is your business facing a profit squeeze? Is your market controlled by customers interested in lowest price only? Using the equation “Profit Margin = Promotion + Promotion + Promotion” you too can delude yourself into thinking you’ve outflanked a sagging industry.
Love reissued
Love Forever Changes (Collector’s Edition) (Rhino) One big difference between this version of Forever Changes and the last time Rhino reissued it is the event of Arthur Lee’s death.
Muse reviewed
Muse H.A.A.R.P. (Warner Bros.) The argument for live DVDs and against live CDs all in one snappy package.
Munk/Amelia reviewed
Munk Modest Among The Living (Waxboy) Amelia A Long, Lovely List Of Repairs (Adrenaline) After a high-speed collision with a drunk driver in 2003, Munk had to suppress the aftermath because his second album was arriving a month after the wreck. Amelia frontwoman Teisha Helgerson reportedly underwent cancer treatments. So Modest Among The Living and […]
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