Author Archive
Reviews
Common – The Dreamer/The Believer (2011)
On his tenth studio album, nearly 20 years after he first hit the scene, Common is back with his best work since 2005’s Be. Some weak acting gigs and the abysmal Universal Mind Control in 2008 put Common out of most people’s mu...
Tracks
Video: Leslie David Baker – 2 Be Simple
Leslie David Baker (Stanley from The Office) makes his musical debut with "2 B Simple", featuring the best/worst music video you will ever see.
Reviews
The Black Keys – El Camino (2011)
The Black Keys kind of lost their edge last year with Brothers. While it was a good album, it didn’t reach the highs and lows that 2008’s Attack & Release or even 2006’s Magic Potion could hit. Instead, it opted to swim aro...
Reviews
St. Vincent – Strange Mercy (2011)
Strange Mercy marks a sonic growth for Annie Clark. More so than ever, she’s taking the inherent grandiosity of her instrumentation to its natural conclusion, turning each track into a swelling, jangly, distorted, yet organized...
Reviews
Cymbals Eat Guitars – Lenses Alien (2011)
Why There Are Mountains was one of the highlights of 2009 for me. It seamlessly melded Elliot Smith-esque melodies and aesthetic with a more contemporary garage-rock sound. The album was praised as a work of blissful art from a...
Reviews
Beirut – The Rip Tide (2011)
Zach Condon makes music that sounds bigger than it truly is. This fact is made apparent throughout The Rip Tide, Beirut’s first new LP in four years. And while the band’s previous works have had a ‘world music’ quality to them,...
Features
The “It’s Too Damn Hot” Southern Summer Mix
Jay brings us another summer compilation, this time featuring new material from the likes of Woods, The Stepkids, Girls, and The Belle Brigade. As we near the end of summer, these are some efforts that should allow listeners to...
Features
The Haret
The Haret sound like a 1940s Mississippi blues quartet that would be far more comfortable on the front porch of the general store than a modern music venue or bar. Instead, live recordings have revealed that frontman Ryan Baer ...
Features
New Tracks: 7/13
We take a look at some newly released singles from the past week (MP3s included). Artists this time around include Mister Heavenly, Blitzen Trapper, Cymbals Eat Guitars, and Real Estate.
Reviews
Shabazz Palaces – Black Up (2011)
Whoa. Where did Shabazz Palaces come from? It has only been a year since they’ve emerged onto the scene, and in that time have managed to subtly and fundamentally stretch hip-hop and dubstep to their exaggerated conclusions; ex...
