Album Reviews Archive
Daughn Gibson ‘Me Moan’ Album Review
July 6, 2013
Comparable to the lo-fi fuzz of Dirty Beaches, whose nostalgic efforts sound like an apt accompaniment to a drugged-out road trip across America with Hunter S. Thompson and David Lynch, Daughn Gibson’s stylistic arsenal is deeply intoxicating and unwaveringly sincere. One of Gibson’s most recognizable aspects is his deeply somber voice, which at times compares
Wale ‘The Gifted’ Album Review
July 6, 2013
As is the case with many rappers who ascend in reputation, Wale takes a giant step toward maturity on The Gifted, his third album. It’s his most stylistically virtuous yet, even if it becomes sporadically over-dependent on superfluous cameos from everyone ranging from Nicki Minaj to Jerry Seinfeld. Regardless, Wale shows a bold approach on
Kanye West ‘Yeezus’ Album Review
June 25, 2013
Kanye West’s Yeezus is a blast of sexually charged distortion that continues West’s trend of consistently entertaining idiosyncrasy. His over-indulgent tendencies act like a blinking light between pure brilliance and irritating exhibitionism, an aspect present more than ever on the thrilling, raucous, and occasionally puzzling Yeezus. Most albums suffer when recorded in haste, but the
The Mowgli’s ‘Waiting for the Dawn’ Album Review
June 25, 2013
LA-based eight-piece The Mowgli’s pack a crisply reverberating rock punch ideal for a beach day. Their Californian sound is joyously upbeat, with effervescent choruses that soar with a predictable nonchalance. The beachside setting shown on the cover of their new album, Waiting for the Dawn, provides an apt summary of the group’s ambition within, which
Bilal ‘A Love Surreal’ Album Review
June 23, 2013
It’s a bit funky and often psychedelic. The opener sounds like the score to a disjointed, but beautiful dream. It’s a little old school, but deeply layered and informed by modern music and technique. At times it can be very, very subtle. A Love Surreal is exactly the sort of record that nobody buys. A
The Knife ‘Shaking the Habitual’ Album Review
June 22, 2013
It’s been seven years since the last proper release from The Knife, during which the brother-sister duo of Olof Deijer and Karin Dreijer Andersson have stayed busy and kept their fans interested with various side-projects. Like their collaborative opera with Mt. Sims and Planningtorock, Tomorrow, In a Year, and then there were Olof’s solo EP’s,
They Might Be Giants ‘Nanobots’ Album Review
June 21, 2013
For a band that has been so prolific over so many years it seems likely that They Might Be Giants would have worn out their welcome a long time ago, but something about these guys has made them eternally likeable, or at least hard to hate. The worst case scenario for TMBG is to be
Bon Jovi ‘What About Now’ Album Review
June 21, 2013
Bon Jovi. A name and a brand synonymous with 80s hair metal, which is a genre term appropriately describing the priority order of hair, then metal. Even at the time, it was clear that this band was a little bit more vain and vapid than the rest, but they were also one of its stalwarts
Sigur Ros ‘Kveikur’ Album Review
June 19, 2013
For all the idiosyncrasies involving their made-up language and oddball instrumental concoctions, Icelandic rockers Sigur Rós are always a surefire bet to produce beautifully sweeping music. Their sound can alternate from quaint piano accompaniments to swelling orchestras in a heartbeat, which leaves room for the sporadic over-indulgences that come with such an ambitious approach. Sigur
Harry Connick Jr. ‘Every Man Should Know’ Album Review
June 18, 2013
Harry Connick, Jr. is best known to some for an acting career that includes roles ranging from that of an alien-fighting pilot in Independence Day to a district attorney on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. As a musician, his career is even more illustrious. Connick’s first release came in 1977, when he was 10
