Written by Fense
So my end of year list was part hit, part miss. I nailed it, for the most part, but flubbed by including two ’07 albums. To be a pal, I left up the two (Beirut and Stars) and simply crossed them out. So, that left my 33 and 1/3 off by two. I’ve taken it upon myself to add new numbers 32 and 33. Proceed… Read More »Top 33 and 1/3 of 2008, The Edits
Written by Ron Trembath
A truly lovable indie/ambient sound is hard to come by in a world of music filled with angst and worry. Thankfully there are melodically in-tune bands like matt pond PA. Few bands are so in touch with a rampant disregard for what may please the incumbents of a sadder existence. In a time of constant crisis, a gathering like matt pond PA (MySpace) and his merry men can serve as a fairweather fellowship. Read More »matt pond PA: The Freeep
Written by Ron Trembath
This eccentric five-some make music that combines so many elements or rock-n-roll, they create their own genre. And Daylight Breaking by Rogue Motel (MySpace) puts it all out on the table. Each song is full and has an individual tone that’s set over breathtaking melodies. For a band that only formed as a whole on the first night of recording, they play with a great sense of unity and ambition. Not to mention an “ole time rock-n-roll” vibe. Read More »Rogue Motel: Daylight Breaking [Album Review]
This is what happens when old stodgy people like myself start listening to bands like Hot Lava and albums like Lavology. We start dancing awkwardly in our bedrooms at ungodly hours well past our company-required bedtimes. We start talking like we’re 14 again (of course, using more modern slang like BFF and WTF and ROLF) and stop using caps and punctuation.
I’m calling it a pReview, as Cleemann‘s release of 45 Minutes Mostly About Caring is not slated for official release until February 2009 at the earliest — a promo release featuring the cover below (by Franz Jacobi) was sent out in a limited batch in 2007 and 2008. Word on the street is that Series II Records, currently one of the best CD-R labels in the states, is planning a state-side release around 45 Minutes. Read More »Cleemann: 45 Minutes Mostly About Caring [Album pReview]
There have been several great folk releases this year. What may come as a surprise, however, is that many of these are standard, clean folk artists playing standard, clean folk music. Nothing fancy, nothing new, but plenty good. At first glance, Dylan Trees appear to fit this category with their EP, Charlie Horse. Read More »Dylan Trees [Feature Band]
This material, though new, is not really new. There are so many parallels between First Frost and the earlier work of The Lucksmiths (MySpace), that it virtually dwarfs any element that could be considered a fresh direction from Australia’s pop darlings. And that is what makes First Frost both extremely comforting and a damn great album. Read More »The Lucksmiths: First Frost [Album Review]
Written by Jon Hegglund
One of the best moments for a music fan is hearing potential realized, and a first listen of Deerhunter‘s Microcastle yields exactly this kind of revelation. The tangled, messy neo-psychedelia of 2006’s Cryptograms was an achievement in its own right, a record whose best moments came when coherent, powerful songs seemed to emerge, almost accidentally, from a dark carnival of dissonant sound. One listen to Microcastle, though, is evidence enough that Bradford Cox and his Atlanta mates have moved onward and upward with a startling clarity and focus. Read More »Deerhunter: Microcastle [Album Review]
In approaching a new album for the first time, there is often a conflicting duality of emotion. On one hand, there is anticipation — being completely new to an album, one cannot help but be excited about what the jewel case might contain. On the other hand, there is fear — fear that the album will not live up to expectation, or at least live up to either the hype or the band’s prior material. After listening to opening tunes “Noni’s Field” and “Italo”, I was succumbing to the latter. On Canopy Glow, Anathallo (MySpace) simply wasn’t living up to their former selves. Read More »Anathallo: Canopy Glow [Album Review]
It would be great if life were as smooth and simple as a Jonathan Clay (or Jason Mraz, Howie Day, etc.) song. In a genre like this, what I like to call bubbly acoustic, even the saddest of moments could seem minuscule and easily bearable. Call it a guilty pleasure, but these indie, John Mayer influenced strummers and singers are a much brighter light in the world of pop music than we have seen in, oh, the last ten years at least! (See: boy bands, rap metal, and Fall Out Boy). Read More »Jonathan Clay: The Acoustic Sessions [Album Review]
