Reviews

Okkervil RiverThe Stage Names(Jagjaguwar)Don’t you love a CD that grabs you from the first song? The Stage Names certainly has it from top to the bottom. Songwriter/vocalist Will Sheff likes to jam as many words as possible into each song (in the John K. Samson vein). He doesn’t try to write a song as much […]

Ben LeeNew Wave(ben-lee.com)Australian troubadour Ben Lee has covered Against Me’s New Wave and made it available for free. “As heavy and gnarly as it sounds at times, it is unmistakably a pop masterpiece,” Lee writes on the blog entry accompanying the download. “I wondered to myself how these songs would sound acoustically.” By taking away […]

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, […]

Erin CosteloThe Trouble and the TruthIndependentThere is a maturity in Costelo’s voice and approach that is disarming in a debut. When she extends the “I” in “Pale Moon” into three and four notes, it has the heartiness of someone delighting in finally getting her song out there. Costelo is an alto who can reach higher […]

Christine FellowsNeverthelessSix ShooterFellows had me at the cover: a charming collage by Shary Boyle. Then it was true, swooning love, opening with a plucky, dramatic instrumental and a theatrical homage to Tim Findley’s Not Wanted on the Voyage. She even sends love letters to outsider shadow-box creator Joseph Cornell. Quirky and daring folk-pop, it’s no […]

M.I.A.KalaXLWhen the Sri Lankan-British rapper’s debut Arular blasted onto the scene with a giant “Galang,” we all stood at attention. This time, her message is heavier and less poppy, hurling dance-hall, Bollywood beats and deep didgeridoos into the mix. Still militant, still inventive, still best when turned up freakin’ loud. Sue Carter Flinncategories: Best of […]

Kanye WestGraduationUniversalReally, what’s left to say that Kayne hasn’t said already? Mr. West has once again proven exactly why he is the future of hip-hop. The much-hyped showdown with 50 Cent left Kanye awaiting the next contender for his throne. Few albums in 2007 were as exciting as this. Trevor Savorycategories: Best of the year […]

J-LiveThe Hear After Penalty/RykoWith impeccable timing, the respected Brooklyn rapper makes a record with enough in the grooves to help one ignore the antics of the game’s feuding millionaires. On The Hear After, the music boasts a bounce likely to linger long after you’ve gleaned what the fellow is on about. Like he says: “I […]

The Mark InsideStatic/ CrashMapleIn an age when bands are constantly, instantly pegged to specific genres, The Mark Inside defies all generalizations, straying from formulaic rock and taking a walk down an eclectic avenue. From the garage-rock anthem “Sweet Little Sister” to the highly danceable “Coming Back Under Attack,” the deep, bluesy “Dead Already” to the […]

Sigur RosTakkGeffenFrom the cinematic, slow-build beginning to its hesitant and reluctant end, this album is epic. The band continues on its path of anomaly in the kingdom of commercial rock. Even more so than the enigmatic early days of Radiohead, Sigur Ros’ enormous popularity does not seem to make sense and yet it absolutely does. […]

Todd Snider That Was Me 1994 – 1998(Hip-o)Snider is a Nashville smartass and charmer whose early work is due for a re-airing. This set picks the cream from the first three of his seven albums and will be a delight to recent converts. Comparisons to John Prine and Jerry Jeff Walker are apt, for both […]

VariousSearching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus OST (V2)Herein lies the ambience for the film where the Southern states get a freak show treatment, not entirely undeserved. Florida singer Jim White, central in the film, is on three tracks, with the remainder stoking the exotic angle. Johnny Dowd will make you think kindly on gun control with […]