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 […]
Matt Charlton
Posted inArts + Music
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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Conversion
Jon Boudreau is usually a warm and outgoing guy. Every time I visit the CDPlus location he manages on Barrington we talk for a while about new albums we like and local bands we hate. That all changed a few weeks ago. As I brought box after brimming box into his store, containing all the […]
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The Grinch is back
February has come with its usual tidings. The ice on the sidewalks has settled into a seemingly permanent residence as wind cuts through the city with the bite of a sandstorm. Workplaces are full of idle complacency as the realities of seasonal affective disorder and the mid-year break of primetime TV takes hold. The festive […]
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Hylo country
It’s getting harder and harder to write a story on Canadian music without at least mentioning Paul Aucoin’s name. The Halifax-born producer/musician has left his stamp on a growing number of bands through his production work. He plays in The Old Soul, The Fembots and is a contributing member of Cuff The Duke. Now, with […]