Esben and the Witch, 'Wash the Sins Not Only the Face,'– Album Review
On their muddled sophomore album, Brighton's Esben and the Witch churn out gothic-tinged art-rock that unfolds in an obscure fog, washing over without truly penetrating. The trio's heavily hyped debut,...
View ArticleNight Beds, 'Country Sleep'– Album Review
Winston Yellen's jaw-dropping debut album opens with 'Fateful Heights,' an a capella lullaby sung with simmering passion -- one lonely tenor voice engulfed in eerie silence. In our flashy indie era of...
View ArticleTyler, the Creator, 'Wolf'– Album Review
Tyler, the Creator doesn't rap a single line on 'Wolf,' the eponymous intro of his third studio album. But, in its two minutes of overblown absurdity, that track defines this 22-year-old provocateur's...
View ArticleThe Besnard Lakes, 'Until in Excess, Imperceptible UFO'– Album Review
If you had to pick one track that best represents the Besnard Lakes sound, it'd be 'The Spectre,' a gushing waterfall of sonic mysticism from the band's fourth studio album, 'Until in Excess,...
View ArticleJames Blake, 'Overgrown'– Album Review
Dubstep, in principle, is about dissolving into the ether. It's music with very specific parameters: drowsy BPMs, wobbly sub-bass, the click-clack patter of digital percussion -- repetitive soundscapes...
View ArticleFall Out Boy, 'Save Rock and Roll'– Album Review
For us Fall Out Boy freaks, the past decade has been a disorienting whirlwind. What once began as a pop-smart, heart-on-sleeve emo outfit has gradually swelled -- album by album -- into an overblown...
View ArticleShe & Him, 'Volume 3′– Album Review
In the long lineage of actors-turned-pop-songwriters, Zooey Deschanel is one of the few with serious credentials as both. But her image, in many ways, precedes her and prevents any valid discussion of...
View ArticleDeerhunter, 'Monomania'– Album Review
Would any of us care so much about Deerhunter without the schtick? From day one, Bradford Cox has been an indie-rock provocateur (pushing buttons with his volatile stage presence, giving some of the...
View ArticleVampire Weekend –'Modern Vampires of the City'– Album Review
As you probably already know, the guys in Vampire Weekend graduated from Columbia. They aren't poor. With their dapper, upper-crust fashion sense, it often looks like they just walked off the set of...
View ArticleDaft Punk, 'Random Access Memories'– Album Review
Wrapped up in the overblown, ubiquitous promotional cycle (SNL teasers, behind-the-scenes interviews, etc.) behind Daft Punk's latest album, it's easy to forget these EDM-pioneering robots are human...
View ArticleEureka the Butcher, 'Music for Mothers'– Album Review
After his mother’s death, Marcel Rodriguez-Lopez decided to honor his family matriarch through music. And so he did — in the strangest possible fashion. ‘Music for Mothers,’ his debut LP as alter ego...
View ArticleQueens of the Stone Age –'…Like Clockwork'– Album Review
For the past 15 years, Josh Homme has subtly tweaked and refined his music like a mad scientist. For all its visceral power, Queens of the Stone Age is built on a formula -- a heavy, colossal,...
View ArticleRogue Wave, 'Nightingale Floors'– Album Review
Zach Rogue is incredibly gifted at writing one particular style of song: quirky, tuneful, big-hearted indie rock. And over the course of three wonderful albums (2003's 'Out of the Shadow,' 2005's...
View ArticlePortugal. The Man, 'Evil Friends'– Album Review
Over seven schizophrenic studio albums, Alaska's Portugal. The Man have built a career on sonic illogic, jumping from psych-rock to emo to prog-like stations in a bizarre cable package. But with 'Evil...
View ArticleCapital Cities, 'In a Tidal Wave of Mystery'– Album Review
Prior to joining forces as Capital Cities, Ryan Merchant and Sebu Simonian collaborated by writing commercial jingles. Listening to the duo's debut LP, 'In a Tidal Wave of Mystery,' that fact becomes...
View ArticleEmpire of the Sun, 'Ice on the Dune'– Album Review
Empire of the Sun have never been shy about their ambitions -- and they've never been afraid of looking like idiots. The Australian duo's debut album, 2008's 'Walking on a Dream,' was as puzzling as it...
View ArticleSigur Ros, 'Kveikur'– Album Review
When critics write about Sigur Ros, they often focus on the easy bullet points: the band's Icelandic heritage (along with its lazy accompanying imagery: wafting glaciers, massive boulders, deserted...
View ArticleMood Rings, 'VPI Harmony'– Album Review
Mood Rings do the whole “reverb-worshipping guitar-pop” thing better than most. But the best moments on ‘VPI Harmony’ suggest they’re capable of way, way more. Continue reading…
View ArticleBosnian Rainbows, 'Bosnian Rainbows'– Album Review
When Omar Rodriguez-Lopez recently parted ways with prog-rock experimentalists the Mars Volta, fans were understandably baffled. As Volta's guitarist, composer, producer and overall sonic dictator,...
View ArticleBell X1, 'Chop Chop'– Album Review
Leave it to Bell X1 -- Ireland's second-favorite alt-rock heartthrobs -- to soundtrack the apocalypse with a disco beat. 'The End is Nigh' closes the band's sixth studio album with that quintessential...
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