Spins
Jermaine Dupri compiled
Jermaine Dupri Y’All Know What This Is . . . The Hits (Island/Def Jam) Jermaine Dupri deserves acclaim because he has been a notable producer for 15 years. But if this 10-song collection were to be exhibit A, it’d imply nothing Dupri has done is classic.
Dan Wilson reviewed
Dan Wilson Free Life (American) In Dan Wilson, legendary producer Rick Rubin hears a songwriter for the ages — a natural talent in a business hung up on image and projection. I still hear the guy who made every night of my last two years in college end exactly the same: crooning “Closing Time.” Appearing: […]
Rock Four reviewed
Rock Four Memories Of The Never Happened (Cooking Vinyl) When you read mention of Israel’s Rock Four, the word “Beatles” is invariably invoked. Their influences are slightly more modern (and blustery — in a good way) than that.
Nyles Lannon reviewed
Nyles Lannon Pressure (Badman) Nyles Lannon’s role in his day band Film School seems clear — textures, textures, textures.
The Mabuses reviewed
The Mabuses Mabused (Magpie) Tangled in carnival mosaics and gymnasium big band while overdosing on Ray Davies, The Mabuses somehow squeeze out an album.
Tom Brosseau reviewed
Tom Brosseau Cavalier (FatCat) Reducing Tom Brosseau to just him and an acoustic guitar isn’t much of a pare down. A bigger test would be surrounding him with a marching band and patching some electrical tape over his yap. Appearing: Thursday, November 1st at Logan Square Auditorium in Chicago.
Magnet reviewed
Magnet The Simple Life (Filter) Magnet, aka Even Johansen, is proof you can’t bank a living on having one of your songs played on The O.C. Appearing: Friday, November 2nd at Vic Theatre in Chicago.
Les Savy Fav reviewed
Les Savy Fav Let’s Stay Friends (Frenchkiss) For their first album in six years, New York’s Les Savy Fav embrace the disco punk/Gang Of Four revival (they helped touch off) without showing a bit of rust.
His Name Is Alive reviewed
His Name Is Alive Xmmer (Silver Mountain) A record deal with 4AD used to mean something, almost as if you could record by fiat. You could do anything, people would respect it, and if the relationship ended it was because 4AD were selling out and not you. Appearing: Thursday, October 25th at Schubas in Chicago.
Small Sins reviewed
Small Sins Mood Swings (Astralwerks) Next time you bring a ruler to hip-hop’s knuckles for glorifying guns, you might consider stopping by electro pop for a swat or two.
The Coral reviewed
The Coral Roots And Echoes (Columbia/Red Ink) When The Coral emerged from the garage rock onslaught of 2001, the influences they boasted made their future sound as colorful and vast as their namesake. Just hearing the words “Captain Beefheart” provided refuge amid a sea of bands prepared to blurt “Iggy! MC5!”
Stateless reviewed
Stateless Stateless (K7) If hard times are the sister of vibrant new music, then it shouldn’t be too hard explaining Stateless.
Gene Watson reviewed
Gene Watson In A Perfect World (Shanachie) Country veteran Gene Watson has emerged from his gospel era intact, entering a new relationship with Shanachie Records as a back-to-basics man.
.40 Cal reviewed
Dipset Presents .40 Cal Broken Safety 2 (Koch) Dipset’s plan for manifest destiny includes keeping .40 Cal on an incredibly short leash.
Athlete reviewed
Athlete Beyond The Neighbourhood (Astralwerks) Even though it wasn’t cool to like it, there was a sense in the British press Athlete’s debut, Vehicles & Animals, was redeemable because it smacked of fun. It made the reaction to 2005’s Tourist — a backlash from people who were never in their corner to begin with — […]
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