Reviews
Jaill - That’s How We Burn (Album Review)
Andrew Limbong :: Tuesday, July 27th, 2010 4:00 pm
That’s How We Burn is the second full-length release from the Wisconsin pysch-pop band Jaill. Their straightforward take on pop craft does result in some moments of fun melody, but ultimately, everything sounds too similar for their hooks to really catch on. MORE »
Reviews, Video Games
Review: Alan Wake - ‘Cos This is Thriller
Daniel Casarella :: Monday, May 24th, 2010 10:34 am
Dark shadows have a way of hiding the truth. For a game as moody and dark as Remedy’s Alan Wake, this could be more the case about the game rather than its proposed story. Alan Wake was announced over two years ago and has been long rumored as Microsoft’s big psychological thriller. Many considered the game’s rich vistas and non-linear plot style a direct competitor to Sony’s thriller Heavy Rain. However Alan Wake doesn’t quite break through to the other side. It plays fine and in many ways is quite competent but it will never escape the shadows of its hype, which is unfortunate because if you take away all preconceived notions, the game is very good. It’s funny how the mind can play tricks on you.
Reviews
Review: The Black Keys - Brothers
Daniel Casarella :: Wednesday, May 19th, 2010 10:56 pm
Listen; The Black Keys are thunderous. For years now Auerbach and Carney have been cultivating this blues-rock flow with somewhat predictable but satisfying offerings. At times the Akron band sounded like they were about to teach ol’ Jack White a lesson or two about what it means to be the best rock duo alive. However its not until this time and this album do I really hear their next big sound. Brothers (nonesuch) is a big blast of blues, soul and rock n’ roll that is unrivaled in modern music. This album’s got balls.
Reviews
Review: Beach Fossils, Mon Khmer, Midnight Masses at Brooklyn Bowl
Gray Hurlburt :: Friday, May 14th, 2010 5:46 pm
Last night, Brooklyn Bowl in Williamsburg played host to Mon Khmer and Midnight Masses, two experimental rock groups that opened for the bliss-pop ensamble Beach Fossils. Depending on your taste in venues, going out to see music at this notorious megaplex can take the wind out of anyone’s hope for a great night of live music. Despite the location, the three groups had their sets dialed, with material either hedging towards shoegaze one way or endless-summer the other, making for a fun medley. MORE »
Reviews
CocoRosie: Grey Oceans Review
Johnny Sanford :: Tuesday, May 11th, 2010 1:00 pm
The nomadic duo known as Coco Rosie has spent time recording in Paris, Berlin, New York and Melbourne, and is currently based out of New Mexico. Their newest album, Grey Oceans, reflects this temporal existence by hopping around through eclectic beats, trumpet solos, ambient new-age inspired synth, hip-hop verses and even rag-time influences. Almost at whim, the musical landscape in which the sisters reside is altered in tempo and becomes something totally different in song structure. While this can lead to some strange and unaccountable transitions, their ethereal voices combine to create an almost trance-like state for the listener. MORE »
News, Reviews
The Dead Weather: Sea of Cowards Review
Johnny Sanford :: Tuesday, May 11th, 2010 12:15 pm
The Dead Weather are back.
And they’ve got another strange album, entitled Sea of Cowards out today. With tracks named “Die by the Drop,” “I’m Mad,” “Jawbreaker” and “Gasoline,” it’s easy to see where they’re trying to go. With brash, raw to-the-bone lyrics and instrumentation, this album left me feeling angry at something. I’m not sure if I was mad at the world, mad at the cultural void for actual rock bands, or maybe I’m mad at The Dead Weather themselves. The first three tracks are pure swamp rock with nods to the blues greats, but it loses some of the initial chemistry thereafter. MORE »
Reviews
Rodrigo y Gabriela: Live Radio City Music Hall
Colm McAuliffe :: Friday, April 30th, 2010 12:15 pm
Rodrigo Sánchez and Gabriela Quintero took to the stage at Radio City last night like two possessed sonic surgeons, rifling their way through a relentless (mainly) acoustic set leaving the audience barely enough time to breathe. For the uninitiated, Rodrigo y Gabriela essentially play thrash metal on classical acoustic guitars. It sounds like a relatively simple concept but the execution is terrifying.
Reviews, Should I Listen?
Fuck Buttons: Daytrotter Session
Nick Nicoludis :: Tuesday, April 27th, 2010 6:20 pm
Daytrotter, which I’ve mentioned before, is the source of all things good in world..of music, at least. They ask the best musicians out there right now to perform a live set in a studio, and the results are always a magical experience. Bands are able to demonstrate their live show abilities within the comfort of a studio, which in turn produces the incredible sessions Daytrotter is known for. Today’s session featuring British electro-heads Fuck Buttons is no acceptation to the forever-amazing rule. MORE »
Reviews
MGMT: Congratulations
Shannon Hassett :: Wednesday, April 14th, 2010 12:15 pm
Congratulations is an album of parts: part letdown and part refreshing; part success and part failure. It’s sort of like life out of college, and MGMT has certainly graduated from 2007′s pregame friendly Oracular Spectacular. The first minute of nearly every track sounds promising, but whether it will continue on solidly or delineate into a trying 12-minute melodrama is quite the tossup. “I Found a Whistle” works, as does “Congratulations” and “Songs for Dan Treacy.” Let’s just say “Lady Dada’s Nightmare” was appropriately titled, and “Brian Eno” failed to live up to its namesake; “Siberian Breaks” is worth the listen if you can make it to the five minute mark. Go in with no expectations and you will enjoy this record. Their work with Spacemen 3′s Sonic Boom easily makes itself known, and the band’s willingness to depart from the formula that brought them to fruition deserves to be commended, insultingly ugly cover art and all.
Reviews
Broken Bells’ Debut Album is Glitch-Pop Goodness
Johnny Sanford :: Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010 12:45 pm
Danger Mouse has a pretty eclectic resume. He gained worldwide recognition with 2004′s mash-up of the Beatles’ White Album and Jay Z’s Black Album, coining the clever mix of now and then as the Grey Album. Though totally illegal to sell as his own work, the freely distributed album did make the rounds around the world. While most of the world might’ve thought it a clever party trick, he wowed the world once again in 2006 with Gnarls Barkley’s St. Nowhere, the clever collaboration of hip hop soul singer Cee-Lo that produced the epic track “Crazy” and cemented him in the public as wunderkind instead of one-hit wonder. Broken Bells is his latest collaboration project, this time with James Mercer of The Shins. The self-titled debut album from Broken Bells is a pleasant mix of old and new, with hints of both performers’ previous works: the two work in synchronicity while blending fat beats, infectious melodies, glitch pop and bare acoustic often within the same song. MORE »
Reviews, Video Games
Review: Final Fantasy XIII - A Bustle in Your Hedgerow
Daniel Casarella :: Tuesday, March 16th, 2010 4:36 pm
You know how “Stairway to Heaven” builds slowly and then finally ruptures at around 4:20? It’s a great moment and you get swept away with in the ascending momentum of the song. Final Fantasy XIII, like the Zeppelin song, makes you earn your nut. For instance, the game starts you out in the fine tradition of a simple and new battle system. As you progress hour by hour this battle system gets amended and deepens. It’s a great way to make you master each layer of the complex system before you move on. I’ve also heard complaints that the game starts out too linear and doesn’t open up a vast overworld for you to explore right away. Rest assured it does, just not immediately. Final Fantasy XIII builds momentum steadily as long as you can get into the initial groove. Its about earning your quest, not receiving it from the onset.
Reviews, Should I Listen?
Rainbow Arabia Remix Album
Nick Nicoludis :: Tuesday, March 16th, 2010 2:20 pm
The break out LA spouse duo Rainbow Arabia are in the midst of working on their debut album, but that didn’t stop them from releasing a little bit of a teaser. The album, which you can snag via the Rainbow Arabia blog, was put up for download just a few days ago, but some of the tracks on the album have been leaking for a little while now and have been posted on he group’s myspace page and various other blogs. Combine the entrancing melodies and thumping, tribal beats the duo seems to thrive off of with reputable remix outfits, and you’ve got danceable gold MORE »
Reviews
Aloha: New Acres
Colm McAuliffe :: Tuesday, March 9th, 2010 9:30 am
First of all, Aloha’s latest release New Acres boasts a fantastic cover, a black and white drawing of a remote and secluded (perhaps unoccupied?) house somewhere in the countryside. Apparently, the idea was to create the vibe appropriate to a Great Gatsby garden party, sixty years later. Does the record live up to the cover art?
News, Reviews
Ganglians: Daytrotter Session
Nick Nicoludis :: Thursday, March 4th, 2010 3:20 pm
If you’re like me you love live performances. There is something undefinably beautiful about bands performing live. It’s one thing for a musician to be able to put out an amazing studio album when he/she can spend days on single tracks and weeks re-recording and mixing. But, when a band can pull off a live performance that sounds tight and clean the true musicality of the group is shown. The Sacramento Calif. band Ganglians recently performed an ethereal and intoxicatingly vibrant set for Daytrotter.com that is a heady jumbalaya made up of swirling vocals, punchy drums, eerily bright echoed-out guitars and multiple layers of beguiling sound. Read about it after the jump. MORE »
News, Reviews
Tiesto Remix of Muse’s “Resistance” Missing Something
Johnny Sanford :: Thursday, March 4th, 2010 2:00 pm
House music is an acquired taste. It generally needs a bloodstream full of uppers, downers, or both simultaneously. But when I found out that Tiesto would be remixing one of my favorite current rock bands, MUSE, I was excited to hear the results. When I bought their latest album, The Resistance, I was overwhelmed. Apparently, so were the people at NME Magazine, who crowned them “Best British Band,” as we reported here. I took a listen to the Tiesto version of “The Resistance,” and was nonplussed. But I thought, “Is this missing something, or am I missing something?” House music is adored in the UK, but it just doesn’t fly with me. Check out the remix for yourself after the jump. MORE »
