The MiniaturesComa Kid (MapleMusic)Although there are some good moments on the Miniatures’s debut, they are essentially sabotaged by the band’s Collectiv —Matt Charlton
Matt Charlton
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Danger Doom
Published December 08, 2005. Danger Doom The Mouse and the Mask (Epitaph) In a genre where sex, money and violence are prevalent topics, MF Doom and Danger Mouse have convened to make an album that features a talking milkshake and a song about piss so good it would make The Hidden Cameras jealous. The Mouse […]
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Hope of the States
Hope of the StatesThe Lost Riots(Epic)The Lost Riots is a mediocre album that’s gotten by on the words of a few attention-craving British tabloid journalists. It does contain some beautiful arrangements, but ultimately the songwriting is middle class and constantly resorts to going epic to save itself. And singer Samuel Herlihy’s vocals have all the […]
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Plastikman
Published November 13, 2003. Plastikman Closer (PaperBag) On Closer, Plastikman (AKA Richie Hawtin) produces a score for schizophrenia that’s about as accessible as a Cassavettes reference. His blips and bleeps make for some genuinely eerie moments, but ultimately the album goes too far inward. Hawtin leaves the listener to assign worth to Closer’s depth instead […]
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The Bravery
The BraveryThe Bravery(Island)It sucks to have to agree with anything that The Killers say or do, but when singer Brandon Flowers recently attacked The Bravery, saying “They’re signed because we’re a band…I think people will see through them,” he couldn’t have been more right. The Bravery makes haircut rock. Their songs are extensions of fashion […]
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Delays
DelaysFaded Seaside Glamour (Rough Trade)Delays are one of the few bands you could listen to your whole life and never realize the singer is not a female. Greg Gilbert sounds like Melissa Etheridge’s pitch shifted up a register, and that’s a good thing. His castrato-inspired vocals define the band’s serotonin-driven, ethereal pop music. Like Elbow […]
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Tapes N’ Tapes
Tapes N’ TapesThe Loon(XL)The first of the blog-rock superstars, Tapes N’ Tapes is just as noteworthy for its gradual build into the public’s conscious as its infectious music. Starting as a bedroom-based operation, the band found a rabid following through constant coverage on several key MP3 blogs. The resulting hype has propelled its debut album, […]
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Tony Joe White
Published November 25, 2004. Tony Joe White Heroines (Sanctuary) As the dust settles on the UK- fuelled “New Rock Revolution,” it’s become apparent that few of the world’s Greatest New Bands lived up to the legacy of the groups they modelled themselves after. For over-mimicked and under-purchased California outfit Fu Manchu, this is an old […]
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The Holmes Brothers
Published February 05, 2004. The Holmes Brothers Simple Truths (Alligator) The Holmes Brothers are a talented soul-blues group; Simple Truths is a collection of covers in the vein of Johnny Cash’s American Recordings. Though the Brothers turn in solid performances, peaking with Gillian Welch’s “Everything is Free,” the album suffers from lack of a Rick […]
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Magnolia Electric Company
Published December 08, 2005. Magnolia Electric Company What Comes After the Blues (Secretly Canadian) Magnolia Electric Company is the heartfelt piece of Americana that has been eluding Ryan Adams since the promise of his Heartbreaker album was washed away in a wave of hype, hair products and alcohol. Revealing a true understanding of the Americana […]
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Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang ClanThe Legend of Wu-Tang(BMG)The old maxim still holds: Wu- Tang Clan truly ain’t nothing to fuck with. While most of the group’s members are now focusing on either screen work or a crack addiction, this collection takes a balanced look back. With a cast of characters no fiction writer could match, Wu- Tang made […]
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The Rapture
Published October 30, 2003. The Rapture Echoes (Universal) On Echoes, The Rapture turn in an album of great music with excellent influences. Play it for any self-important record snob and watch as a single tear crosses their usual demeanour of irony and poor hygiene at the band’s subtle peppering of Gang of Four, Television and […]
