Spins
Next Stop . . Soweto reviewed!
VARIOUS ARTISTS Next Stop . . Soweto (Strut) South Africa’s “Mbaqanga” age evolved in the shadows of apartheid, marrying Zulu folk with Western jazz and pop found on the (literally) black market.
High On Fire reviewed
Snakes For The Divine (E1) By all reasonable accounts – ignoring the kinds of people who insist Mastodon’s Remission is better than Leviathan – High On Fire’s 2007 Death Is This Communion is its magnum opus. That’s partly because High On Fire is High On Fucking Fire and doesn’t bother with shit that doesn’t rule […]
Alkaline Trio reviewed
This Addiction (Heart & Skull/Epitaph) For all the grumbling that Alkaline Trio have strayed from the rawer sound present on the act’s initial outings, the three-man punk outfit don’t seem to have any trouble getting bodies out to see them. Appearing: February 27 and 28 at Metro in Chicago.
Spins: Neil Young
When Young Was Restless: Reissues (Reprise) Even though it may not have been evident at first, in hindsight it’s obvious that Neil Young would be Buffalo Springfield’s breakout star. It’s his songs – not Stephen Stills’ or Jim Messina’s or Richie Furay’s – that eventually transcended their era. There’s some hippie-dippy flower waving going on, […]
Andrew Belle reviewed
The Ladder (1L) Of the nickel advice we dole out to young bands, a stalwart is “if you’re going to release music, you better be able to handle people not liking it.” A lot of people might end up enjoying Andrew Belle’s The Ladder, but an equal number will look to light up message boards […]
Mulatu Astatke reviewed
New York – Addis – London (Strut) Fans of Jim Jarmusch’s Broken Flowers might know Mulatu Astatke’s spy jazz for the way it soundtracked Bill Murray’s hunt.
R. Kelly reviewed
Untitled (Jive) Whatever its artistic merits, Untitled is Weird Al-proof, an utterly ridiculous R&B spoof with its creator an amalgam of Luther Vandross, Luther Campbell, and Steve Stiffler.
Michael Londra gets festive
Beyond The Star (Celt Productions) Locally based Irish native Michael Londra has taken the logical step and made a holiday album — and, like he told the Sun-Times, he doesn’t rock the house.
Daptone Gold reviewed
Various Artists Daptone Gold (Daptone) Lee Fields, Naomi Shelton, Charles Bradley: these are names that all fans of classic soul music should know, but likely don’t. Along with Sharon Jones, these are vocalists who have been baring their life on the mic for years yet weren’t given the proper platform until connecting with Brooklyn-based […]
Fuck Buttons review
Tarot Sport (ATP) The title of Fuck Buttons’ debut, Street Horrrsing, really opened my eyes. Suddenly I was envisioning a pirate barebacking a pony down Columbus Drive. And the band’s name? No more was it a salacious euphemism for a woman’s sweet spot, but a repudiation: “I love zippers and can never get enough of […]
Baling The Beatles
The Beatles Stereo Reissues At the Entertainer, we do it for you. We suffered through some 14 albums of some obnoxious old band called The Beatles, who’ve plagued the universe with new versions of their old albums. The following are our results. Beware.
Jay Farrar & Benjamin Gibbard reviewed
One Fast Move Or I’m Gone: Kerouac’s Big Sur (F-Stop/Atlantic) Son Volt’s Jay Farrar and Death Cab For Cutie’s Ben Gibbard met after being asked to record songs for the Jack Kerouac documentary that shares titles with this album. They then bonded and wrote some more. Appearing: Monday, October 26th at Lincoln Hall in Chicago.
Tinariwen reviewed
Imidiwan: Companions (World Village) Tinariwen are exactly the sort of guitar band who you feel could break Joe America’s skittishness toward “world” music, yet stand in their own way. The title of their fourth album translates to “companions,” which suggests an unfortunate, one-world Benetton pretense. If people only stayed to find out what’s meant by […]
Sleeping At Last reviewed
Storyboards (Asteroid-B) Sleeping At Last will be one of Chicago’s great what-ifs. Handpicked to open one of the first few Zwan gigs and given time to craft a sweeping, Radiohead-style debut, their success only seemed a matter of when.
The Antlers review
Hospice (Frenchkiss) Noise, even if it was just a texture, used to stand out. When some bebop saxophonist assailed you with a foul note you knew it, just as a rapacious feedback squeal could jump off a slab of vinyl and unseat you if even for the shortest moment. Appearing: Monday, September 21st at Subterranean […]
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