REVIEWS

Divers is the fourth studio album by U.S. singer-lyricist Joanna Newsom, released on October 23, 2015 via Drag City. Release date: October 23, 2015 Artist: Joanna Newsom Label: Drag City Genre: Baroque pop, Avant-garde music Producers: Joanna Newsom, Noah Georgeson   This album was released a couple of months ago – Joanna’s first new album in five years. I never started listening to her until about two years ago. I discovered her when a very good friend of mine said...

Restorations LP3 (Side One Dummy) If The Constantines taught us anything in their decade-long run as the pre-eminent Canadian ambassadors to rock n’ roll before the Arts & Crafts artist roster showed the rest of the world that there was some great music being made in the great white North, they showed us that the secret to a great rock song isn’t always a mind-blowing riff – sometimes it has everything to do with sonic texture and a good vibe....

ARTIST: Adele – DATE: 12-20-15 ALBUM: 25 LABEL: XL Recordings/Beggars Group   There’s no other way to say it: Adele is the rightful queen of pop in 2015. Now three albums into her career, she has set and broken records with an ease which is almost comical, and done it with raw talent – not using salesmanship or clever gimmickry. Her third album, 25, continues in that tradition for the most part but, now, the singer has clearly lay down...

ARTIST: John Grant – DATE: 12-06-15 REVIEW BY: Bill Adams ALBUM: Grey Tickles, Black Pressure LABEL: Partisan/Bella Union Drugged. Disconcertingly deviant. Just plain different. These are just some of the words and phrases which leap to mind as one listens to Grey Tickles, Black Pressure – John Grant’s third solo album. Now, words like that paint a very divisive image in one’s mind’s eye – the implication is that you’ll either “get” it and love it or have no...

ARTIST: All Them Witches – DATE: 12-05-15 REVIEW BY: Bill Adams ALBUM: Dying Surfer Meets His Maker LABEL: New West Records Above all else, the first thing you need to know about All Them Witches is that nothing is exactly as it seems. If all you saw was the album cover, you could justifiably assume it was the work of a metal or stoner rock band – but you’d be wrong. If all you heard was the group’s name,...

ARTIST: Dilly Dally – DATE: 12-05-15 REVIEW BY: Bill Adams ALBUM: Sore LABEL: Partisan/Buzz Records In this age of computer-generated musical perfection, it’s refreshing to hear Sore – Dilly Dally’s debut album. For the first time in what feels like forever, listeners are confronted by a female-fronted (both on vocals and guitar) outfit who is unafraid to have (and bare) some teeth and anger without trying to be cute about it as well as presenting their music exactly as...

ARTIST: Bob Odenkirk – DATE: 11-08-15 REVIEW BY: Ollie Ottoman ALBUM: Amateur Hour LABEL: A Special Thing Records How exactly did Bob Odenkirk blow up like this? And actually, why did it take him so long? And why is he most famous for his smallest contribution to show business (a supporting character onBreaking Bad)? All these questions pop into my head when I think of the place Bob Odenkirk has in pop culture these days. The man has created...

ARTIST: Shannon & the Clams – VENUE: Great Scott – Allston, MA – 18/10/15 DATE: 10-29-15 REVIEW BY: Ollie Ottoman How can anyone in their right mind not have a smile on their face when listening to Shannon and the Clams? I know the band gets me smiling, and it has nothing to do with their live persona, their charming low-fi sound, their heavily rockabilly-inspired music or their matching costumes. At least that’s not the case not anymore. These...

ARTIST: The Brains – DATE: 10-21-15 REVIEW BY: Bill Adams ALBUM: Out In The Dark LABEL: Stomp/Warner Music Since they first stumbled out of a Quebecois crypt ten years ago, The Brains have always attempted to reach as many ears as possible. Of course, their first introduction was made as a psychobilly band – but it didn’t take long for the group to begin reaching for more inspiration from beyond the constraints of rockabilly. With each successive album, elements...

TITLE: Public Enemy – LABEL:Metropolis/Universal Music Group International DATE: 09-30-15 REVIEW BY: Bill Adams While saying that some things never change is only a fraction less trite than earnestly claiming that everything that an old group is oding currently is “same as it ever was,” that doesn’t mean seeing Public Enemy rule a stage in the second decade of the new millennium isn’t as gratifying as it was three decades ago. For twenty-eight years, Chuck D, Flava Flav and...