What is it about the dark horse that makes people actively watch a race and quietly hope it wins? People can deny that they do it all they want, or lie and say they saw it coming all along, but maybe it's just symptomatic of the human condition to pray that the underdog will have his day because, somehow, it might mean that the guy clinging for dear life to the bottom wrung of every ladder can power out, climb...
Mexican architect Luis Barragán was once quoted as saying, “I think that the ideal space must contain elements of magic, serenity, sorcery and mystery.” It's an understandable assertion to make; a structure is just that without those things but, with them, it has a story and can mean something to people. For that reason, were he alive today, it's a good bet that Barragán would want to try and inhabit The Acorn's new album, No Ghost. According to the liner...
As anyone that suffers from chronic nightmares can tell youthere reaches a point in every dream sequence when the dreamer knows events are about to turn into something very dark, disturbing or ugly. That's when the nightmare starts. On Becoming a Jackal – Villagers' new album for Domino – that moment is where the album starts; as “I Saw The Dead” eases the record open with vibrant swirls of strings and keys and an acoustic guitar, an otherworldly sense of...
There are moments when one has to wonder what the mitigating factor might have been that prompted a band to spontaneously re-think its' sound from the ground up, and listening to Born Ruffians' sophomore effort, Say It, is one of them. When the band released Red Yellow & Blue in 2008, Born Ruffians had already established itself as a mildly synthetic and playful little band, complete with a tendency to get a little sophomoric for fun through a couple of...
After an almost two year absence from American soil, the mighty Iron Maiden have returned with a vengeance. The band has just launched The Final Frontier World Tour, and will be playing twenty-two dates in select cities across the US and Canada before heading over to Europe for a handful of festival shows. As if that wasn't enough, Iron Maiden will also be releasing The Final Frontier, their first studio album in almost four years, on August 17th, 2010. To...
There's no arguing that there is an artistry in making records, but few bands realize all of the artistic possibilities that putting together and releasing an album affords. There are some conventions that many bands don't think to challenge – like how to design an album cover, for example. For many artists, an album cover is easy – take a picture, pick a typeface, slap the band's name in said typeface on said photo. Presto! Instant album cover. Not every...
In some ways, it's almost unbelievable that Oasis' core line-up was only together for fifteen years. The band's stack of headlines and tabloid press is literally leagues deep; the tempestuous relationship that siblings Liam and Noel Gallagher have run through has always seemed to have had a camera lens in front of it. It's been a pretty incredible ride – from Liam sitting in the balcony heckling his brother through an MTV Unplugged performance in 1996 to the final fight...
It has now been seven years since Sarah McLachlan last released a full length studio album (the Christmas album, Wintersong, doesn't count – nor do Closer: The Best Of…, Rarities, B-Sides and Other Stuff Volume 2, Bloom or any of the four live albums that have come out since 2003, because they were all easy, soft option releases) and, after such a long time, one would think that any release to come along would be one of two things: either...
After nearly 40 years, six Grammy awards, a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction and the distinction of having the best-selling album of the century, the Eagles could have easily been just relaxing on some exotic beach since 1979 or so. Instead, the sixty-something Don Henley, Timothy B. Schmit, Glen Frey and Joe Walsh are playing three-hour sing-along fests for their adoring fans. With each member demonstrating that there’s no lack of vocal power, smooth musicianship or enthusiasm, it...
I know I'm supposed to be an impartial news writer, but how do you stay calm when the news is this good? Just announced, one of the greatest cult bands ever, The Vaselines, has returned. That's right, Eugene Kelly and Frances McKee have reconciled any animosity they may have been harboring and reunited. Not only that, they've returned with their first new album in twenty years, Sex With An X! The album – which will find Kelly and KcKee joined...