Reviews

Paul McCartneyMemory Almost Full(MPL)McCartney, possibly the wealthiest entertainer in history, has been reticent about using the events that put him there as fodder. He loosens up a bit on Memory Almost Full, and it gives proceedings a sense of connection and warmth. The four songs that run from “Vintage Clothes” through “House of Wax” flow […]

BattlesMirrored(Warp)Featuring ex-members of Helmet and Don Caballero, skull-crushing grooves could be expected to make up a large portion of Battles’ debut LP. But unexpected are the number of hooks that ride those grooves and propel Mirrored from just a pretty cool instrumental record to one of the best albums of the year. Unlike the two […]

Wax PoeticBrasil(NuBlu)Turkish-born and New York-based arranger/producer Ilhan Ersahin, working under the name Wax Poetic, presents a scattershot of styles on Brasil. The only consistency throughout: the big-ass kick drum that dominates every track and ends up distracting the listener. (Wax Poetic’s roots are in trip-hop, a low-end, heavy-footed genre, after all.) The beats don’t vary […]

Kate NashMade of BricksFictionAlthough Kate Nash’s thick- accented singing style is always compared to fellow Brit Lily Allen, on her debut album Made of Bricks, Nash sounds more like Regina Spektor’s tweemo younger sister. After the jingly single “Foundations” became an online phenom, the fun pop album was released early—a mish-mash of styles that play […]

OxAmerican Lo Fi weeworkFans of Vancouver alt-country band Ox will be pleasantly surprised by this sophomore effort. The typical-country acoustic guitar and quaint vocals are replaced with minimalist, reverb-rich distorted electric guitar and gritty vocals. “Sugar Cane” is heartbreakingly melancholic thanks to this change—reminiscent of “Wavering” from Dust Bowl Revival. Inspired by life on the […]

Julie DoironWoke Myself UpKillbeat MusicPerhaps her most upbeat work yet, Julie Doiron crafts music for those who sway from side to side and call it dancing. Part confession, part documentation, her lethargy is crafted into a colloquial retelling of reoccurring heartache. Woke Myself Up relays a period of inward questioning, love both lost and found.Shannon […]

Jens LekmanNight Falls Over KortedalaSecretly CanadianFunny that Lekman is on Secretly Canadian, because Sweden’s where it’s at, as far as inventive, catchy pop goes (even Britney Spears should thank her Swedish producers for saving her latest). Named after a Gothenburg neighbourhood, imagine Frank Valli interpreted by a kinder, gentler, more delicate Morrissey, floating on Belle […]

Under PressureCome CleanEscape ArtistWith lyrics like “sing no songs of joy/where love and hope are failing,” Under Pressure’s Come Clean is at once mesmeric and depressing. A shift towards a nihilistic sound is an omen of things to come. Raging thrash and dense sludge might not come close to describing the misanthropic and sublime moments […]

Martha WainwrightI Will Internalize EPMapleI Will Internalize is the third release from the other Wainwright child this year. Following on the promise of the Bloody Motherfucking Asshole EP and her full-length eponymous debut, Internalize features more of Wain-wright’s quirky Joni Mitchell-meets- Tom Waits folk. The disc is rounded out by the title track “New York, […]

Alive & LivingPLOIndependent Evolved from his 1999 solo record, Time Between Failures, former Chore frontman Chris Bell has devised a new melodic, folky, master plan. Those in search of another Chore record need not apply — PLO (as in Please Leave On) is drastically different than anything his distorted former ensemble ever released. Accompanied by […]

MetricLive it outUniversalMetric’s website claims the group has played 450 shows since 2002. That explains a lot about their increased popularity, since the release of the indie-synth-rock gem Old World Underground, Where Are You Now? in 2003. It also explains the sound of the new record Live it Out, produced by guitarist Jimmy Shaw in […]

LadytronThe Witching HourRykodiscLadytron is what DJs would play for roller skaters in an abandoned Eastern European factory. It’s retro, stylized, with pounding yet danceable beats that are as icy-sweet as the mint chocolates found in Christmas stockings. This UK-based four-piece made its name with the breakout Light and Magic, one of the best records, in […]