Reviews
Albums
Grouplove – Spreading Rumours (2013)
With the abundant success of Grouplove’s first album Never Trust a Happy Song – producing hits such as “Colours”, “Itchin’ On A Photograph”, and “Tongue Tied” – and the release of hit single “Ways to Go”, anti...
Albums
Hockey – Wyeth IS (2013)
After losing two members in 2010, pop group Hockey returned this year with a new LP, Wyeth IS. It acts as a successful comedown with the usual pop smarts.
Albums
Superchunk – I Hate Music (2013)
Imagine my excitement at the prospect of reviewing I Hate Music, the new LP from Chapel Hill-based indie-rock royalty Superchunk. Then it occurred to me: A record of such magnitude will surely be drowned in press, researched e...
Albums
Jason Isbell – Southeastern (2013)
Jason Isbell was a major part of The Drive-By Truckers’ songwriting success the past decade, his talents alongside the songwriting of Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley providing some of the most memorable country and folk concocti...
Albums
Pet Shop Boys – Electric (2013)
The Pet Shop Boys will probably still be writing effectively rousing electro-pop when they’re old and grey. Consistency and durability are the duo’s trademarks. Since 1986, The Pet Shop Boys have released a new albu...
Albums
Preservation Hall Jazz Band – That’s It! (2013)
Preservation Hall Jazz Band continue to reign as a source of consistency in the world of jazz. Taking their name from the Preservation Hall venue in their native New Orleans’ French Quarter, the collective has consisted of a ro...
Albums
Editors – The Weight of Your Love (2013)
British group Editors combine rich elements of post-punk and alternative to create a polished sound ripe for radio placement. With a Mercury Prize nomination for 2005 debut The Back Room and a slew of top 10 singles, Editors ha...
Albums
The Mowgli’s – Waiting for the Dawn (2013)
LA-based eight-piece The Mowgli’s pack a crisply reverberating rock punch ideal for a beach day. Their Californian sound is joyously upbeat, with effervescent choruses that soar with a predictable nonchalance. The beach-s...
Albums
Wale – The Gifted (2013)
Despite some hiccups along the way, Wale shows a new-found maturity on The Gifted, his third album. It’s his most stylistically virtuous yet, even if it becomes sporadically over-dependent on superfluous cameos from everyone ra...
Albums
Daughn Gibson – Me Moan (2013)
Comparable to the lo-fi fuzz of Dirty Beaches, whose nostalgic efforts sound like an apt accompaniment to a drugged-out road trip across America with Hunter S. Thompson and David Lynch, Daughn Gibson’s stylistic arsenal is deep...
