Dave Hayden

VariousThe Aristocrats OST(V2)Although there is very little true “action” in comedy doc The Aristocrats, something is nonetheless lost in the translation to CD. The clips are lifted directly from the film without any re-editing, so you get tracks that jump from audio-bite to audio-bite, from comedian to comedian and you can get lost easily. Maybe […]

Tanya DonellyWhiskey Tango Ghosts (4AD)Rumour has it Tanya Donelly has been listening to a lot of Lucinda Williams, Emmylou Harris and Neko Case lately. You don’t have to venture too far into Whiskey Tango Ghosts to find confirmation. This latest album is sparsely arranged, folkier and more grounded than what we usually expect from Donelly. […]

Minus StoryThe Captain Is Dead Let the Drum Corpse Begin (Jagjagwuar)With little chance of a new Neutral Milk Hotel album (frontman Jeff Mangum is on a Syd Barrett-inspired hiatus), it is good to see some musicians keen on picking up the NMH mantle. And Minus Story does it more than convincingly well. Slide whistles, recorders, […]

The Artic MonkeysWhatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not(Domino)In the UK, The Arctic Monkeys are the latest “It” band to hit the scene. The band’s rise to instant stardom started a few months back after someone leaked demos. As the demos got around and the ether-buzz grew, the Arctic Monkeys got tagged as […]

Black FrancisBlueFingerCooking vinylChris Thompson has decided to resurrect his Black Francis alter-ego, but anyone expecting BlueFinger to be a full-on throat-wrecking return to Pixies-era spit and fury will be disappointed—most of the material stays within the singer-songwriter territory Thompson’s carved out over the last decade. He starts off right, though, with “Captain Pasty” and “Threshold […]

American Analog SetSet Free (Arts & Crafts) If there is an established band that fits neatly into the Arts & Crafts family, it is American Analog Set. AmAn Set’s early albums featured sprawling, elegant ruminations on musical space and time, with a sound that has been perfectly described as the intersection of Yo La Tengo […]

Sarah McLachlanAfterglow Live(Nettwerk)The most striking thing about this concert is how far Sarah McLachlan has come from a modest, energetic singer songwriter to this Goliath of a music-biz celebrity who puts on a slick set. It’s not too far from Las Vegas top-dollar glitz where every solo, bridge and between song banter is tightly paced. […]

Midnight MoviesMidnight Movies (Emperor Norton)Music fans who sort-of like Evanescence but feel the band’s hooks are too obvious should perhaps give Midnight Movies a first and second look. Beyond the obvious comparisons—female lead vocalist, haunting and sombre music lines—this LA trio trades in the (overdone) sonic knock-out punch for more subtle dynamics that often lure […]

VariousChristmas for Lovers (Verve)Verve has released many Christmas compilations with hardly any repetition. This one, included in the label’s “for Lovers” series, is no exception. Along with heart-warming classics by Mel Torme and Ella Fitzgerald, there are some great, lesser-known recordings from guitarist Kenny Burrell, singer Billy Eckstine and the indisputable king of sax Gerry […]

Four TetRemixes(Domino)The electronica wizard Kieran Hebden (AKA Four Tet) is certainly one of the more adventurous and prolific artists out there. This two-CD retrospective highlights his talents as a producer/remixer and as a composer. The first CD showcases his favourite remixes of the past few years—from artists like Aphex Twin to Madvillan to Beth Orton–demonstrating […]