Album Reviews Archive
Album Review: Of Monsters and Men ‘My Head Is An Animal’
April 29, 2012
When I think of music from Iceland, the artists coming to mind are very bold and innovative, and probably couldn’t have come from any other corner of the world. A band like Sigur Ros is totally unique, and it’s hard to imagine anyone else doing the things Bjork has done over the course of her
Album Review: Justin Townes Earle ‘Nothing’s Gonna Change The Way You Feel About Me Now’
April 28, 2012
The album opens with Justin Townes Earle wearing his heart not just on his sleeve, but holding it in an outstretched hand. He begins ‘Am I That Lonely Tonight’ by setting the scene of sitting alone and listening to the music of his father, Steve Earle, wishing for the phone to ring. It’s a very
Album Review: Florence + The Machine ‘MTV Unplugged’
April 22, 2012
MTV Unplugged performances are often career highlights, and though one could say that the powers-that-be at MTV have become a wee bit less picky in recent years as far as who gets the Unplugged treatment, Florence + The Machine seems like a great choice. Though, just because a band or an artist has a fantastic
Album Review: Rascal Flatts ‘Changed’
April 21, 2012
The titular opener, ‘Changed’, seems to present the case for a new and improved Rascal Flatts. If that’s the case, they’ve served it up a bit cold, with a dated sound complete with a guitar solo cribbed from any power ballad circa 1993. Maybe the title is an unfortunate coincidence, but it comes across as
Album Review: Skrillex ‘Bangarang’
April 15, 2012
Skrillex has developed a reputation, albeit somewhat in jest, for sounding a bit like a dialup modem or a dying hard drive, though his sounds are not particularly different from what is very typical of electronic music and dubstep right now. They are definitely not bad sounds, and it’s likely that this is just the
Album Review: Snow Patrol ‘Fallen Empires’
April 14, 2012
Fallen Empires is an album of subtle movements. Even if you are not consciously aware of the direction of travel, you are most certainly being taken somewhere. The question is how far Snow Patrol is willing to go. The opener, ‘I’ll Never Let Go’, builds suspense and introduces the band’s desire to include some new
Album Review: The Mars Volta ‘Noctourniquet’
April 8, 2012
It quickly becomes clear that Noctourniquet is a different album for The Mars Volta, but it’s not immediately obvious what has changed or in which direction they are heading. The band would probably be quite happy to hear that, as these guys like very much to test their listeners. That said, played alongside their past
Album Review: Madonna ‘MDNA’
April 7, 2012
On Hard Candy Madonna catered a bit too much to the dance scene, and as a result it didn’t have the emotional impact many had hoped for and expected. After all, at that point Madonna could seem little more than a brand name for a compilation of music by different producers. While almost every one
Album Review: The Shins ‘Port of Morrow’
April 1, 2012
The Shins were never really the most interesting indie band, but they’ve always been a very good one. Their indie cred lies somewhere between Modest Mouse and Maroon 5, while frontman James Mercer is often regarded as a musical genius. Their existence in a space somewhere on the periphery of the mainstream has seen them
Album Review: Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds ‘Self-Titled’
March 31, 2012
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Gallagher recently spoke–in his typical unfiltered manner–on the subject of bands putting out new material past what some would consider to be their prime years. “No one gives a shit about your new record. Play the fucking old ones,” he said. It shouldn’t be a surprise then that Noel
