REVIEWS

He’s My Brother She’s My Sister – Nobody Dances In This Town[Album]
REVIEWS

Over the last few years, several artists have managed to successfully resuscitate the theatrics of old vaudeville and revival productions (see The Dresden Dolls and Amanda Palmer’s solo work – to name just the biggest of big names) and actually made the form interesting again. It’s been really cool to watch and, with that success at hand, it almost seemed inevitable that interest would shift to another fading style of music, and someone would try to start reviving it too....

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1381
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Wednesday, 24 October 2012
Black Lips [Album]
REVIEWS

Artist: Black Lips Album: Arabia Mountain Label: Vice Records Every two years when Black Lips re-surface, each new recording is slightly more polished than the last, each managing to sound as though it cost nothing make. Sometimes it costs a lot to sound cheap, and with in-demand producer Mark Ronson helming their new opus, the trashy garage sound synonymous with the Lips was in question. However the result is perfect with Ronson’s diverse musical taste fueling the integrity of their...

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1088
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Wednesday, 01 June 2011
THE DECEMBERISTS – [DVD]
REVIEWS

ARTIST: The Decemberists – DATE: 03-07-07 REVIEW BY: Clara Druzgalski ALBUM: The Decemberists: A Practical Handbook (DVD) LABEL: Kill Rock Stars   The Decemberists are headed up. They recently signed to Capitol Records for their fourth studio album The Crane Wife, have been touring to promote it with sold out shows, and have somehow managed to get their name on the Coachella poster printed larger than Sonic Youth’s. I have no idea how that happened, but it just goes...

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Wednesday, 07 March 2007
NEKO CASE
REVIEWS

ARTIST: Neko Case VENUE: The Henry Fonda, Los Angeles DATE: 02-27-07 REVIEW BY: Aaron Autrand PHOTO: Timothy Norris There’s something to be said for the amount of pull an artist has with their peers. In the instance of Neko Case, there’s a hell of a lot of it. On her recent tour, she played with Eric Bachman of Crooked Fingers and supported Merle Haggard, and will play with Emmylou Harris in March. In rock terms, those last two would compare...

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Tuesday, 27 February 2007
LOS CAMPESINOS! – [EP]
NEWS

ARTIST: Los Campesinos! – DATE: 01-17-10 REVIEW BY: Bill Adams ALBUM: Sticking Fingers Into Sockets LABEL: Arts & Crafts/Wichita Now Playing: ‘Don’t Tell Me To Do The Math(s)’ from Sticking Fingers Into Sockets by Los Campesinos! If The Vaselines had been slightly more accomplished on their instruments, if Arctic Monkeys didn’t take themselves so seriously, if The Fratellis had a better sense of humor, well, none of them could have been Los Campesinos – a band smart enough to...

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89
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Sunday, 10 December 2006
JOAN JETT – [ALBUM]
NEWS

ARTIST: Joan Jett – DATE: 08-08-08 REVIEW BY: Bill Adams ALBUM: Sinner LABEL: Blackheart Now Playing: ‘Riddles’ from Sinner For her first album of new material since 1994’s Pure and Simple, Joan Jett has elected to go back to basics with Sinner. ‘Back to basics,’ in this case, means playing to the singer’s strengths: heavy handed guitar riffs and Jett’s own signature mezzo soprano growling vocals take stage center over The Blackhearts’ hard-driving rhythms that, this time, have a...

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74
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Sunday, 10 December 2006
Sonic Youth
NEWS

ARTIST: Sonic Youth DATE: 12-08-06 REVIEW BY: Jon Pruett ALBUM: Destroyed Room: B-Sides and Rarities LABEL: Geffen Pretty strange that just as Sonic Youth’s time at Geffen comes to an end, they also are riding strong on the energy of two back to back great albums (Sonic Nurse and Rather Ripped). The Sonic Youth devotee might chime in right here and say that they’ve yet to release a bad album, and while that is technically true, they haven’t been this...

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1238
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Friday, 08 December 2006
PELA
NEWS

ARTIST: Pela DATE: 12-04-06 WRITER: Aaron Autrand It’s one of the more annoying things about writing about music. An album crosses your desk in a little cardboard sleeve or a jewel case with no cover. It’s a band you’ve never heard of, one of twenty or so in the stack you have to listen to that day. Each CD gets about three minutes, usually enough to tell if it warrants another listen or will just go in a box and...

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1226
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Monday, 04 December 2006
PAVEMENT
NEWS

ARTIST: Pavement DATE: 12-04-06 REVIEW BY: Casey Lombardo ALBUM: Wowee Zowee: Sordid Sentinels Edition LABEL: Matador Records Now Playing: “Grounded” from Wowee Zowee Ah, sweet Wowee Zowee. The difficult third album. The one that true blue Pavement-philes derive the greatest pleasure in championing: it’s neither the definitive classic (Slanted & Enchanted) as deemed by establishment rock journos nor the beloved-by-girlfriends, 120 Minutes mainstay (Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain). No, with its mixture of kaleidoscopic songwriting...

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1422
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Monday, 04 December 2006
K-OS
REVIEWS

If turning something old into something new is what’s going on in music right now, then Toronto’s k-os is the man. His third record since 2003, and first for new label Virgin, clearly puts him as one of the most creative and talented musicians and producers in the game right now. The first track off 2007’s Atlantis: Hymns for Disco, “Electrik Heat – The Seekwill,” is yet another take on the “Funky Drummer” break, but there’s homage and a fresh...

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1242
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Wednesday, 29 November 2006