Reviews

Nosaj Thing’s “Drift”

July 2nd, 2009 by

Progress, a natural part of the creative process, allows composer and listener to undergo ever-changing journeys. However, this progress is often a double-edged sword. As artists continue to evolve they run the risk of alienating their audience. If their album has been preceded by singles, people waiting for the debut album will be looking for more of the same, while people new to the group will be far more open to different sounds and styles.

Monroe Stahr, Their First Abum “DaShiJie”

June 26th, 2009 by

Every album has its very own time and place. For Monroe Stahr’s debut album, it really shouldn’t be very hard to deduce the right time. The first track is, “Summer Starts Here,” and that’s about right. The acoustic guitar paints a picture pretty early on of a veranda, or a nice bar/café patio in the hot summer sun, a comfortable, but somewhat [...]

Marching Band’s Spark Large : Happy Music

May 16th, 2009 by

Listening to Spark Large makes me think many things right off the bat. 1.) Sweden and Scandanavia’s rep for making great music lives up to the hype, rare enough in these days. 2.) Marching Band use incredibly lush accompaniments that always make me think of an unbelievably sunny, wonderful summer afternoon with a pretty girl in a yellow sundress. And, most importantly, 3.) they are really happy, and really, really good.

Recommended Dining: Veckatimest

May 12th, 2009 by

Sometimes “cool” music can seem a bit like vegetables: supposed to be good for you, but hard to choke down. Grizzly Bear’s last album, Yellow House, was my lima beans, but the newly released Veckatimest is my garbanzo beans, which I like infinitely more than lima beans. I am not sure why I like garbanzo beans so much more than lima beans, but I can tell you why I like the new Grizzly Bear album so much more than the last, here goes.

A Walk Through A Garden

March 21st, 2009 by

Miyadudu’s latest album is a stroll along the sunlit path strewn with kittens, fallen stars, and specters of lost love, an aural representation of these past eight years of LinDi’s life.

Sketched Notes on The Cure’s Latest Album, Dream 4:13

March 15th, 2009 by

Cure Expert Sabrina muses on life, death, and the loss of creative juices.

U2′s No Line on the Horizon… Where U2 Ends and Their Music Begins

March 5th, 2009 by

How do you review a piece of work from a long established artist, without being influenced by their existing body of work? Mache, once an ardent U2 fan, tackles this issue as she reviews No Line On The Horizon, U2′s latest (but seemingly not ‘greatest’) album.

Cold Fairyland and the Three Musical Genres

February 23rd, 2009 by

The album works well as a whole with each song blending seamlessly into the next. While listening to it, it’s actually difficult to tell when one song ends and the next begins. For me, that’s a sign of a great album. The cavorting satyrs that the music conjures in your head are another matter entirely.