Spins
Thecocknbullkid review
Querelle (Iamsound) That Thecocknbullkid was born to Ghanaian parents and was reared mainly in East London isn’t much of a tagline these days. If she’s looking for an ethnic success story she need look no further than down the road to Stamford Bridge, where one of the world’s most expensive footballers is from Ghana. Musically […]
Woodstock revisited!
Woodstock: 40 Years On – Back To Yasgur’s Farm (Rhino) What better way to spend Lollapalooza weekend than with a six-CD set from a festival nine-years your senior in air-conditioned glory? Take it from someone who wasn’t there!
Baby Teeth reviewed
Hustle Beach (Lujo) We’ve all been there. You sit on the couch with a shit-eating grin, chuckling and guffawing away at a comedy you’ve seen a hundred times since high school while the person sitting beside you utters those infernal words, “This is stupid.” (This person who loves you?) And you say, “What are you […]
Dave Matthews Band reviewed
Big Whiskey & The Groogrux King (RCA) Big Whiskey & The Groogrux King will go down as the album Dave Matthews Band were making when saxophonist LeRoi Moore died, not that you’d know from the recording. Appearing: July 18th and 19th at Alpine Valley in East Troy, WI.
Ryan Bingham reviewed
Roadhouse Sun (Lost Highway) Of the criticisms levelled against Ryan Bingham’s major-label debut, Mescalito, was its obsession with establishing the author in a fabric of hobos, grifters, and drifters, an attempt to build cred through self-mythology. Appearing: Saturday, July 11 at Martyrs in Chicago.
The Wooden Birds reviewed
Magnolia (Barsuk) Ain’t no party like a dinner party, ‘cuz for a dinnerpartyyouneedaquietCD that don’t stop. Appearing: Saturday, June 20th at Schubas in Chicago.
The Lemonheads reviewed
Varshons (The End) Do di-do-do do-do do-do, di-di di-do-do. What’s that you say Mrs. Robinson . . . Appearing: June 19th and 20th at Double Door in Chicago.
Ha Ha Tonka reviewed
Novel Sounds Of The Nouveau South (Bloodshot) Catfish Haven and Ha Ha Tonka — both horribly named and with local ties — are destroying the notion that Missouri — and its horribly named locales from which the bands take their names — is full of Bud-swilling, Nickelback-blasting, NASCAR mooks. Appearing: Monday, June 15th at Schubas in Chicago.
The Legacy Of 1959
Dave Brubeck Quartet | Miles Davis | Charles Mingus Time Out | Sketches Of Spain | Mingus Ah Um (Columbia/Legacy) For its 2009 thesis, the Legacy reissue arm of Sony Music contends 1959 was jazz’s greatest year. While Miles Davis’ Kind Of Blue would establish that for any jazz novice, the label tosses three other […]
Dexateens reviewed
Singlewide (Skybucket) Southern music frequently treats poverty with a kind of patriotism, framing hardship as a speedbump on the way to better things or a loving sacrifice for children, etc. When it’s not, it’s a stock reason for getting drunk. Spurred on by their fans in Drive-By Truckers, Dexateens mix in some Stonesy rock to […]
Scott Herren’s springtime avalanche
Savath Y Savalas | Diamond Watch Wrists La Llama | Ice Capped At Both Ends (Stones Throw | Warp) Guillermo Scott Herren (not the activist poet Gil Scott-Heron) has never been shy to record as much as he wants, using as many aliases as he needs. But 2009 has been unprecedented. On April 14th, he […]
Neko Case reviewed
Neko Case Middle Cyclone (Anti) If we’re to believe the star-studded action/thriller Twister (“Finger of God!”), tornados are at least semi-predictable. In that sense, Middle Cyclone makes a whole lotta sense for Neko Case. Appearing: Friday, April 25th at Chicago Theatre in Chicago.
Buraka Som Sistema reviewed
Buraka Som Sistema Black Diamond (Enchufada/Fabric) Depending on your point of view, Buraka Som Sistema are either the apex or nadir of the M.I.A.-fueled Slumdog phenomenon. Appearing: Tuesday, April 28th at Sonotheque in Chicago.
Bat For Lashes review
Bat For Lashes Two Suns (Astralwerks) On Two Suns, Bat For Lashes (Natasha Khan) takes English folk and spins it on its ear, though the electro touches never help the update break its influences’ magnetism.
Ray Charles renewed
Ray Charles Genius: The Ultimate Collection (Concord) It’s possible you’re still dizzy. After all, the Backstreet Boys sang the National Anthem at the 2001 Super Bowl in Tampa and we’re still replenishing our sperm count. But apparently some little-known gospel/soul singer rendered “America, The Beautiful,” and if you’ve ever sought to complete your Backstreet shrine, […]
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