Label: Old Sombrero Music Released: March 17, 2009 Some albums are amazing in the way they push the boundaries and change the rules while others are amazing in the way they perform within existing boundaries and prove long established rules. There isn’t much that’s new in Paula Sinclair’s music. She plays something that walks a fine line between country and… Read more »
Label: VH1 Classic Records Released: March 3, 2009 Probably the biggest trap into which a live album can fall is that of sounding too much like a studio album. After all, if it sounds pretty much like the studio cuts with crowd noise in between, what’s the point? A live album should inject different energies or arrangements into the songs… Read more »
The Netherlands’ MySon takes sound quality and precision very seriously. They eschew it, concentrating instead on the raw art and energy that is at the heart of great rock n roll. They recently released a second demo that may have a more focused sound, but doesn’t compromise their principles of noise. Check out the new tunes on their Myspace page…. Read more »
Tippy Canoe & The Paddlemen – “Mass Transmissions” (2009) from Skizz Cyzyk on Vimeo.
Label: Alaska Records/No Breaks Released: July 2008 If one word could describe this 7″, it would be visceral. Nothing seems calculated or planned. Benard blasts through two songs of dissonance, frantic rhythms and pure passion in just under five and a half minutes. In that short time, they leave everything out there, their hearts on their post-hardcore sleeves. Saying that… Read more »
Label: Columbia Released: January 27, 2009 “The Wrestler” is the bonus track on Springsteen’s latest album, Working on a Dream. It’s a honest tale set to poignant music. It connects in the way we expect Springsteen to connect. However, it is appropriately labeled as bonus material, because it really doesn’t fit the rest of the album. The strings on the… Read more »
One of my favs. It’s hard to believe they were once a little band playing clubs. Then they grew… And grew… And grew…
January 5, 2009 – Los Angeles, CA – Broadway Calls are a power trio from Rainier, Oregon, which is about one hour north of Portland and has a population of just under 2000 people. In the tradition of bands like Jawbreaker, Green Day, The Jam and Alkaline Trio, Broadway Calls craft songs that are filled with gritty guitar, breakneck drums,… Read more »
Label: Fontana International Released: November 11, 2008 There aren’t many albums as low-key as Sunday at Devil Dirt. Every movement of the album is so subtle that it’s difficult to discern. The first two tracks, “Seafaring Song and “The Raven,” seem more like movie soundtrack material than the road into a dynamic album, but they set the sparse scene for… Read more »
Label: Steamhammer/SPV Released: January 27, 2009 There’s a fine line between grand and grandiose. Most concept albums are so much the latter that they never even get close to the line. Sepultura, veterans of the concept album, aren’t close to that line either, but they’re on the good side. Their new album, A-Lex, is based on Anthony Burgess’ novel A… Read more »