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Finally! They get it Right!
December 3, 2008 – 6:22 pm by Alan Cook
Unfortunately, when the mass-media covers the vinyl resurgence it is usually casts it as some kind sort of kitschy nostalgia item. With an introduction that goes something like, “Remember those 12” black disks that you used to listen to that are collecting dust in your addicts and basements? Some people still listen to them. Aren’t they wacky for putting up with hisses and pops?”
The cynical hacks that usually write for The New York Times must all be on vacation because someone over there took the time to interview manufacturers of high end turntables (Sumiko and Walker), discuss the differences between direct drive and belt drive, and the importance of proper cartridge alignment. To top it all off no one is made to look like a kook or a crackpot. Be careful New York Times you might lose the scorn of audiophiles everywhere for your audio coverage.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/02/technology/techspecial2/02table.h…
ALBUM REVIEW: She & Him, “Volume One”
November 30, 2008 – 10:34 pm by Bryan Bierman
Album = ***1/2
Sound = ****
There’s an old saying that actors want to be musicians and vice versa. A lot of actors have bands who we are aware of, not because they’re good, but because girls think Johnny Depp is cute. And usually we’re all like “no, Keanu Reaves, we don’t want to hear your new band’s demo.” (R.I.P. Dogstar). Sometimes actors are given a chance at recording because there’s money to be made. For the most part, they are put up with the best producers who pump enough studio technology into the songs until the actor actually starts to sound like he or she can sing and they can put another thing on their resume that theykind of did. Read the rest of this entry »
ALBUM REVIEW: Mates of State, “Re-Arrange Us”
November 30, 2008 – 10:40 am by Alan Cook
(2008, Barsuk)
Sound ***
Performance *** 1/2
Review by, Alan Cook
In these difficult economic times everyone is trying to do more with less. Mates of State are no exception. Even more than The White Stripes or The Black Keys the pure cacophony of joyous noise that these two individuals are able to create is nothing short of a small miracle. Because there are only two musicians the drums are called upon to carry nearly 100% of the rhythmic duties as well as to try to act as a melodic voice along with the keyboards. Imagine the music of Belle & Sebastian, pared down to a male/female duo or a precious moments version of The White Stripes. If I were forced to use only use one word to describe this work it would be “charming.” Read the rest of this entry »
ALBUM REVIEW: The Black Keys, “Attack and Release”
November 30, 2008 – 10:16 am by Alan Cook
(2008, Nonesuch)
Review by, Alan Cook
Is heavy, riff based Rock back in style? If the likes of The White Stripes, Wolfmother, Secret Machines, and The Black Keys have anything to say about it the answer is a rousing “Hell Yes!” Recorded in just 14 days, the Black Keys’ “Attack & Release” has a strong DIY feel from the water color and pencil cover to the hand built recording console that was used during the sessions. Read the rest of this entry »
ALBUM REVIEW: Sunn O))), “Oracle”
November 30, 2008 – 9:58 am by Vince Capece
Sunn O))) “Oracle”
(2007 Southern Lord)
Review: Vince Capece
Here’s a little back ground on this reviewer’s mindset. Reviewing anything, whether it’s cars or books or theater or movies or music, is easy. Heap praise on the big names (Toyota, Stephen King, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Martin Scorsese, Bob Dylan) and bash anyone new/different and few people will question the review. Pepper in some insights based on your narrow personal taste and you can’t go wrong. Read the rest of this entry »
ALBUM REVIEW: Bon Iver, “For Emma, Forever Ago”
November 30, 2008 – 9:30 am by Vince Capece
“For Emma, Forever Ago” by Bon Iver
reviewed by Vince Capece
Sound: ****
Music: **** ½
On first pass, I dismissed this album as just another artist with nothing much to say and no significant way to say it. But a glance or a casual listen can miss the details and I missed many here. And I gained so much by spinning the record again. Read the rest of this entry »
ALBUM REVIEW: ENVY “all the footprints you’ve ever left and the fear of expecting ahead”
November 7, 2008 – 9:59 am by Hunter Busch
Sonic Quality: ***
Album Proper: ***
Settle in, kids, and I’ll tell you a story…the story of Envy and their record All the Footprints You’ve Ever Left and the Fear Expecting Ahead.
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It was a dark and stormy night (well, it was night anyway) and three mad music-scientists were gathered in the moodily lit music library, sipping ale. A pleasant yet acrid smoke filled the air as they began their inspection of the latest specimen:
Dwight: “What’s this one?”
Me: “Its that Hardcore/Screamo band.”
Pony-Boy: “Cool.”
The record was put on and the sleeve passed around to allow a cursory glance at the album art and track titles. The music began; mellifluous, tense, with a driving backbeat that implied a forthcoming break in the musical levee. Envy, instead, defies expectation and instead delivers a ten second silence…
..
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Then the levee breaks unleashing stomping rhythms, crashing cymbals, distorted screamed vocals and epic guitars.
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ALBUM REVIEW: EVANGELICALS, “The Evening Descends”
October 29, 2008 – 9:49 am by Hunter Busch
EVANGELICALS – The Evening Descends
(2008, Dead Oceans)
Sonic Quality: *****
Album Proper: *****
Mitch Hedberg once said: “Dreaming is work. One minute I’m sleeping and the next thing you know, I have to build a go-cart with my ex-landlord.”
Trying to write about this record is a bit like deconstructing a particularly dense dream the following morning. You can remember pieces; images, sounds, bits of things said but what really stays with you in the light of day is the way it made you feel. This record feels great. After just one listen, you’ll find yourself bouncing through town humming half-recalled melodies and grinning ecstatically. Read the rest of this entry »
ALBUM REVIEW: R.E.M. “Accelerate”
October 29, 2008 – 9:38 am by Andy Smith
R.E.M.
“Accelerate”
(Warner Brothers, 2008)
Music: ****
Sound: ****1/2
by, Andy Smith
Back in 1983, did anyone think that we’d still be talking about R.E.M. 25 years later? Sure enough the band that basically defined what used to be called “college music” is still at it, and after a series of less-than-inspiring records (am I the only one who dug the offbeat Up!), Accelerate is a return to form in a big way. Lean and taut with 11 songs clicking in at under 35 minutes, Accelerate is a blast of raging guitars and energy with less of the subdued R.E.M. we have come to expect from their records since, well, always. But if you have seen the band live even in recent years, there’s no doubt that they prefer to let it rip, and the pairing with U2/Snow Patrol/Hives/Bloc Party producer Jacknife Lee is a successful one as Lee gives the band his trademark massive wall of rock sound. Read the rest of this entry »
