Spins
CDs For You Lovers Out There
Beautiful Ballads & Love Songs (Legacy) For its seemingly annual contribution to the Valentine’s industry, Legacy compiles Columbia, RCA, and Arista recordings of Aretha Franklin, Frank Sinatra, Billie Holiday, Miles Davis, and Barry Manilow.
Sam Amidon reviewed
Sam Amidon All Is Well (Bedroom Community) It can’t be cheap to fly from New York to Iceland, much less record there. Maybe that’s why Sam Amidon (“Samidon” from here out) sounds so blue on All Is Well.
Intodown reviewed
Intodown Brave New World (self-released) Guitarist Michael Clark attempts to stuff instrumental progressive rock into his guitar’s gig bag, mixing all sorts of fusion, surf, alt-rock, and acid influences.
Rhymefest reviewed
Rhymefest Man In The Mirror mixtape (self-released free download) Who knows what kind of megalomaniacal festivities we’re in for with the 25th anniversary of Michael Jackson’s Thriller this year (there’s already a masturbatorial video tribute on his homepage) — maybe Neverland Ranch will transform into a spaceship and finally take Jacko home. Chicago rapper Rhymefest, […]
Wu-Tang reviewed
Wu-Tang Clan 8 Diagrams (Wu Music/Universal Motown) Fourteen years removed from their debut, Wu-Tang Clan’s fifth album was undercut upon release by protestations within the band about 8 Diagrams‘ direction and the false-alarm announcement it contained a cleared sample of The Beatles’ “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.”
Thomas Ian Nicholas reviewed
Thomas Ian Nicholas Without Warning (self-released) The fact Thomas Ian Nicholas played “Kevin Myers” in the American Pie movies shouldn’t lead you to disparage his music. (He was also in Radio Flyer, Halloween: Resurrection, and some “Party Of Five” episodes if you think you need extra help forming your opinion.) The songs themselves are ammo […]
Lupe Fiasco reviewed
Lupe Fiasco Lupe Fiasco’s The Cool (Atlantic) It would be hasty to call Lupe Fiasco’s The Cool a sophomore slump, yet the second album from the righteous hometown rhymer isn’t as sonically satisfying as his 2006 debut.
Leigh Marble reviewed
Leigh Marble Red Tornado (Laughing Stock) Rootsy Portland singer-songwriter Leigh Marble has a crossbow full of rusty arrows ready for his second album, though its bookends have to duke it out with a soggy middle.
The Ocean reviewed
The Ocean Precambrian (Metal Blade) Berlin-based prog metallers The Ocean take their chosen moniker seriously, filling the Precambrian seas with all manner of metal-related creatures.
Plain White T’s reviewed
Plain White T’s Stop (Fearless) Given how loosely the Grammys regard the “Best New Artist” category — four of this year’s five contestants have been nominated for a second or third album — it was quite a surprise Lombard’s Plain White T’s didn’t get the nod. Fearless Records publicizing a reissue of the band’s second […]
Eazy-E reviewed
Eazy-E Featuring . . . Eazy-E (Capitol/Priority) This stray-tracks compilation of out-of-print pieces and collaborations cuts right to the essence of N.W.A founder Eazy-E, though such a feat is hardly difficult.
White Magic reviewed
White Magic Dark Stars (Drag City) Mira Billotte and Doug Shaw kind of bit off more than they could chew with last fall’s Dat Rosa Mel Apibus, which dropped about half of what it promised to deliver. They’ve found their way, though, in the Dark. Appearing: December 6th at Empty Bottle in Chicago.
Nellie McKay reviewed
Nellie McKay Obligatory Villagers (Hungry Mouse) Now that she has actually been part of a Broadway musical, Nellie McKay’s preference for Brill Building pop and showtunes could begin to hamper her. Appearing: December 11th at the Vic Theatre in Chicago.
Tulsa reviewed
Tulsa I Was Submerged (Park The Van) Tulsa are from Boston and sound like neither city. Their second EP (first physical), I Was Submerged, is as homeless as the wind that seems to blow through its seven tracks.
Peanut Butter Wolf reviewed
Peanut Butter Wolf 2K8 B-Ball Zombie War (Stones Throw) For this compilation, Peanut Butter Wolf’s task was simple: Create the soundtrack for “NBA 2K8,” one of the world’s most popular basketball video games. But he went and got all cerebral and shit. Appearing: Friday, November 30th at Abbey Pub in Chicago.
Recent Comments