Label: Viper Bite Records Released: May 19, 2008 Nice melodies, good hooks and the edges of its punk rock roots smoothed out, Paper the Operator’s sound seems like any of a thousand pop punk bands on paper. But there’s a little something else here. The title track has a punchy undercurrent that could sneak its way into the heart of… Read more »
Label: Free News Projects Released: November 18, 2008 Having grown up in the 80s, the current indie pop obsession with Casiotone pop is more annoying than charming. Of course, some bands pull it off and some don’t. Master Slash Slave is, overall, the former, but not without keeping at least a foot in the latter. The 80s pop-tronics of the… Read more »
Label: Jagjaguwar Released: November 4, 2008 Over the years, the term art rock hasn’t had a real solid definition, but it has consistently included bands that push creative limits even if some sacrifice the raw ability to rock in the process. To not call Wilderness an art rock band would be a mistake, but to limit them to the trappings… Read more »
Label: self-released Released: July 19, 2008 What would happen if the unabashed rock of the Who and the spunky power-pop of Cheap Trick took a drive down the twisting sharp turns of post-punk? Lanterns. If there is one quality that persists their Apocaplypse Youth EP, it would loud. Loud in the way mastered by big rock bands like the aforementioned… Read more »
Label: Columbia Released: 9/16/2008 A cover of Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues” is on Live From Boston, so I figured I’d skip right to that track and see whether Carlile and her band managed to do right by Johnny’s spirit. They did. What more do you want me to write? If that doesn’t make you go listen, nothing will. RatingsSatriani:… Read more »
Label: Stax Released: October 14, 2008 Soul has become a genre dominated by artists that have a real shortage of, well, soul. Sure, there’s Jill Scott and a renaissance for Sharon Jones and Bettye Levette. That first Joss Stone album a few years back was even pretty good. But for each of these artists, there seems to be bazillions of… Read more »
Label: Geffen Released: November 23, 2008 Chinese Democracy is an album almost a decade and a half in the making. For this album alone, Axl Rose and his revolving door of musicians that make up what he still calls Guns N Roses have been at it longer than most bands take for an entire career. The Beatles changed the face… Read more »
Label: Weathermaker Music (distributed by MVD) Released: September 15, 2008 As a studio band, Clutch has released several of my all-time favorite albums, but those came out a decade or more ago. As a live band, Clutch has never satisfied me. Their dynamic heavy groove that sets them apart from the field of Sabbath and space rock devotees that have… Read more »
Label: Sony Legacy Released: September 16, 2008 (originally released in 1959) “Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that’s creativity.” – Charles Mingus These aren’t just words from Charles Mingus. He didn’t always manage to make things simple, but one of the many amazing things about Mingus Ah Um is that he took this incredibly… Read more »
Label: Epic/Legacy Released: November 11, 2008 I always had a tough time understanding why Cheap Trick was so popular. Sure, “Surrender” is among rock’s greatest songs and they had their share of other decent tunes, but why would they stand out like they did? The answer I was told is contained in their live show and this 30th Anniversary Edition… Read more »