Album Review: Baroness – Blue Record
Concept: Virginia sludge rock group continues their ‘primary’ saga, following their Eps 1, 2, 3, and their Red Album. Sound: Rock music isn’t really in need of any more throwbacks — there’s still a bad taste in its mouth after Wolfmother, Chickenfoot, and countless others. On the other hand Baroness is better at achieving the [...]
Album Review: Bob Dylan – Christmas In The Heart
Concept: Dylan redoes the Holiday standbys for charity. Sound: Please, God, no. People say they appreciate Dylan’s voice; what they mean is they appreciate its attachment to his material. This is not Blonde On Blonde; this is a panicked sprint through the ‘classics’, and Dylan’s voice paints a blood-soaked nightmare with the up-tempo polka rendition [...]
Album Review: Monsters Of Folk – Monsters Of Folk
Concept: Conor Oberst uses his new label for an all-”star” shindig. Sound: Not folk, so sorry. There is a wide range of Americana, which is honestly better unless you have a damn good lyricist/songwriter. Every member of the band could use some time to brainstorm and recover; My Morning Jacket hasn’t gained much from their [...]
Album Review: Throat Sprockets – Throat Sprockets
Concept: Rock band plays rock music. Sound: The guitarist and bassist are pretty frantic, with nice effects to match their playing style. As with most bands starting out, the problem is the vocalist. The frontlady is looking to mimic Gwen Stefani, but she does not have the pipes at all, and is always falling flat [...]
KJNB Vault Album Review: EPA – Water Quality Report PSA
Artist: Environmental Protection Agency Album: Drinking Water. Know What’s In It For You Released: Self-released, 2004 I never realized the Environment Protection Agency was in the business of making music, but in the course of KJNB’s massive overhaul of our CD collection, I came across this one-of-a-kind release. When I saw it, I knew I [...]
KJNB Vault Album Review: Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan – Star Rise (1997)
Concept: Canadian composer Michael Brook remixes the work of the Qawwali superstar. Sound: Sometimes it’s too much techno, not enough Khan. They still use him as an excuse to drag their remixing out for several minutes at a time. Occasionally he’ll leak through with a total face-melter, and you forget about the suffering the preceding [...]
KJNB Vault Album Review: The Pooh Sticks – Million Seller (1993)
Concept: Why the hellll would you ever name your band this? Okay, now that that’s out of my system, it’s about being a regular joe with visions of grandeur. Sound: Pop rock. Did I miss something? There are some very catchy riffs and vocal harmonies. I think that’s it. Lyrics: With each track so mercifully [...]
KJNB Vault Album Review: Steve Hahn – Stickburst (1994)
Concept: Steve shows off the potential of the ‘Chapman Stick,’ better known as the freaking Warr guitar. Sound: This really is an awesome instrument that needs more use. What you have is more or less a bass running straight into a guitar, with big ol’ pickups so that everything can be finger-tapped: the closest you [...]
KJNB Vault Album Review: Trotsky Icepick – Carpetbomb The Riff (1993)
Concept: The second to last album for the 90′s indie rockers. Sound: The guitarists are pretty worthless, as are the vocalists, but the bassist and drummer have taken off the white gloves and are beating the ever-loving hooey out of this recording. As a band they sound like they’ve lost the ambition to be anything [...]
Album Review: Zack Kouns – I Lift My Hands Against the Gods
Artist: Zack Kouns Album: I Lift My Hands Against the Gods Released: Self-released, 2009 Huh. Where to begin. Should I begin with what Mr. Kouns lists on his Myspace as some of his band members – “sensing man’s terrible seperation from himself,” “thin purplish scar,” “piers as empty as arms”? Or maybe his influences? “The [...]