Album Review: Mew – No More Stories
Concept: Mew tries to make alienation pleasant. Sound: The similarity to mainstream pop is undeniable — airy, boyish vocalists, synth stew, moseying surf guitar progressions. What Mew does differently is make its songs almost linear. There is very little reprise; the songs never seem to stop changing into something else. This takes its toll, however. [...]
Album Review: Patrick Wolf – The Bachelor
Concept: Classically trained performer Patrick Wolf tries to develop a romantic and sweeping commentary on our times. Sound: As much as megaflamboyant costume fetishist Wolf wants and tries to be David Bowie 2, now with more homoeroticism, he just can’t. That has nothing to do with the sound, of course…or does it? A like-minded album [...]
Album Review: Portugal The Man – The Satanic Satanist
Concept: Multi-genre band pursues pop rock and a bit of funk at their own peril. Sound: To set the record straight, these guys are not Beck, and are not what you would call musical chameleons. Their electronica is their specialty, as evidenced by their lesser-known EP It’s Complicated Being A Wizard, featuring one twenty minute song [...]
Album Review: Clutch – Strange Cousins From The West
Concept: Long time Maryland jam-band Clutch releases its ninth album, travelling further into blues territory while pondering their odd and translucent mythological dystopia. Sound: Clutch’s music has always been pretty unremarkable, but it has always been fast or heavy enough to keep itself a comfy vehicle for the band’s kooky narratives. This is no longer [...]
Album Review: The Dead Weather – Horehound
Concept: Jack White and a guitarist from Queens Of The Stone Age with two other people. Sounds awesome, right? Sound: Jack White’s on drums. He can’t sing and play drums at the same time, although his skills on a kit are adequate. The vocalist is the gal from The Kills, Alison Mosshart. She’s not so [...]
Album Review: Discovery – LP
Concept: Members of Vampire Weekend and Ra Ra Riot try to convince everyone that there’s something to love about the 80′s. All hipsters will agree by default, or is it by definition? Sound: There are moments that you can see what the group was on to, with ticklish digital arpeggios and swift club beats. That is [...]
Album Review: Dream Theater – Black Clouds & Silver Linings
Concept: Dream Theater produces another technically impressive but musically tired soundtrack for a movie based on a videogame, making an extra effort this time to be morbid with the aid of an autobiographical close call. Sound: Like most…okay, all prog rock bands, Dream Theater borrows quite a bit from King Crimson and Rush. As far as [...]
Double Album Review: Omar A. Rodriguez-Lopez – Cryptomnesia / Despair
Concept: New band members make for a slightly different sound. Oh wait, they’re a drummer and a bassist. Sound: This is easily the loosest Omar’s formula has ever dared get, which is definitely something for a fellow whose music has already been described by critics as ‘a homogenous ****heap of stream-of-consciousness turgidity’. The good news [...]
Album Review: The Decemberists – The Hazards Of Love (2nd Opinion)
Concept: Folk rock heartthrobs release their fifth album, originally intended as a rock opera. A young woman falls in love with a forest spirit, and is pursued by its vengeful mother when she becomes with child. Sound: The strongest parts of the album are the guest vocalists, particularly Becky Stark and Shara Worden, which better evoke [...]
Album Review: Mariah Parker – Sangria
Concept: Combination of Indian meter with Latin rhythm and jazz stylings. Sound: ‘World music’ is a cringe-inducing phrase, but the concept of this album is ambitious, and at some times it succeeds. The big name is Paul McCandless, a member of Oregon who has worked with popular groups like The Flecktones and The String Cheese [...]