Trevor MacLaren

The BeatlesLet it Be… Naked(EMI)With this release Beatles collectors are confronted with three versions of Let it Be: The mediocre Spector mix, the legendary bootleg of Glyn John’s original mix—known as Get Back—and now McCartney’s approved mix. The sound and stripped down feel they strived for is here, but Let it Be… Naked lacks the […]

GaloreAmplifier(Universal)Fronted by Haligonian Barry Walsh—of the late, great Cool Blue Halo—Galore is a ballsy trip to ’70s glam and power-pop. At times channelling This Year’s Model-era Elvis Costello, Galore owes much of its sound to T-Rex, The Raspberries, early Bowie and Cheap Trick. They gorge on Marc Bolan’s sleazy teenage romanticism on “Typical You” and […]

Yoko OnoYes I’m a Witch(Astralwerks)Ever since she rose to prominence as a factor in John Lennon’s dissatisfaction with The Beatles, their fans have hated her. So it comes as no surprise that she has finally accepted that fate, calling this collaborative project Yes, I’m a Witch. Love or hate her, Ono was always great at […]

Brian WilsonSMiLE(Nonesuch)It’s been 37 years since Capitol Records announced the follow-up to The Beach Boys’ teenage opus Pet Sounds. After being abandoned by Brian Wilson in ’67, SMiLE finally sees its first (legal) release in a complete form. It’s a new recording by Wilson and The Wondermints and it sounds remarkably like the old bootleg […]

The Early NovemberThe Mother, The Mechanic and The Path(Drive-Thru)A band releasing a three-CD set is a bit ostentatious. Emo-indie rockers The Early November almost pull it off. The band’s weaknesses show, but the writing is fairly solid throughout. The set is a concept of sorts, about a son and his overbearing father. The son grows […]

The SadiesNew SeasonsOutside distribution/yep rocSince their last trip into the studio on 2005’s superb Favourite Colours, The Sadies have released a surf-driven instrumental soundtrack to a documentary on hot rod designer Ed “Big Daddy” Roth, Tales of the Rat Fink, and a blistering two-disc live album, In Concert, Vol.1. New Seasons marks a slight change, […]

MinibarFly Below the Radar(Distro III)LA-based UK roots popsters Minibar play interesting mix of So-Cal folk rock that recalls latter-day Byrds with a light sprinkling of Britpop. The record has some solid moments of roots-rock that could pass for a mediocre Tom Petty record, but their reinventing the wheel can’t compete with bands like Counting Crows. […]

Steve Wynn & The Miracle 3Tick…tick…tick (Redeye) Steve Wynn returns to LA’s Paisley Underground, where in the ’80s his band Dream Syndicate had created what was probably the scene’s finest moment, The Days of Wine and Roses and its single “Tell Me When it’s Over.” Though he goes back in time some 20 years ago […]

Eux AutresHell is Eux Autres(Grenadine)Another brother and sister guitar/drum duo, but they manage a brilliant mix of lo-fi icons Billy Childish and Pavement with ’60s pop-rocker Françoise Hardy. Every track is killer pop and deserves to make your White Stripes records obsolete. Even when they sing in French these Portland, Oregon brats make listeners cheer […]

The BeesFree the Bees(Virgin/EMI)The Bees are the new hype from across the pond, just coming in to save the day before Franz Ferdinand once again becomes a slain prince. Free the Bees, released to typical acclaim last year in England, takes sounds — that are all too familiar, really — from 1968, but manages to […]