Ramona Falls – Intuit

Posted in Reviews by yewknee on Jan 7, 2010
Rating: 4.0 / 5
Label: Barsuk
Website: myspace.com

I love Menomena side projects because they inevitably sound like Menomena in some fashion. This is no different, as it sounds like elements of Menomena... similar production style, familiar vocals and instrumentation. If Menomena never existed, I think it is safe to say I... More

Yonlu – A Society in Which No Tear Is Shed Is Inconceivably Mediocre

Posted in Reviews by yewknee on Jan 7, 2010
Rating: 3.0 / 5
Label: Luaka Bop
Website: yonlu.com

For me, this record can not be appreciated without knowing the back story. As a work independent of context it is an indie pop record inspired by the likes of Tropicalia, Elliott Smith and bedroom pop everywhere. Knowing the backstory of sixteen year old Vinicius Gageiro... More

Jeepster – What If All the Rebels Died?

Posted in Reviews by yewknee on Jan 7, 2010
Rating: 3.0 / 5
Label: Distile Records
Website: myspace.com

Sort of dancey, sort of dark, sort of slow, sort of constant rising tension. It's a lot of different things and it's sort of hard to pin down. Feels like a record I might not ever think to conciously put on but whenever it comes around it's pleasing, enjoyed and appreciated. More

Great Lake Swimmers – Ongiara

Posted in Reviews by dolorosa on Nov 4, 2008
Rating: 2.8 / 5
Label: Nettwerk
Website: greatlakeswimmers.com

Great Lake Swimmers, along with the likes Band of Horses or Iron & Wine, are successfully reviving a traditional folky sound made popular by Neil Young and a bunch of other bands my Dad used to listen to. It's a softer, more personal sound than the screamo and pop music the... More

Neil Young – Chrome Dreams II

Posted in Reviews by billwhite on Oct 31, 2008
Rating: 3.3 / 5
Label: Reprise
Website: neilyoung.com

Neil Young has kept his career relevant and fresh for forty years by one simple trick. He maintains his guitar skills at the second year level. The ragged and dirty soloing on the 18 minute "Ordinary People" is as amateurishly exuberant as that on "Down by the River." This... More

The Mohawk Lodge – Wildfires

Posted in Reviews by dcsfinest on Oct 23, 2008
Rating: 3.1 / 5
Label: White Whale
Website: mohawklodge.ca

They say the hardest thing about singing in a band when you're trying to make it is finding your own voice. Even Scott Weiland, who now seems like he was born to be a rock star, spent much of his early days in Stone Temple Pilots trying a little too hard to sound like Eddie... More

June – Make It Blur

Posted in Reviews by dolorosa on Oct 21, 2008
Rating: 2.8 / 5
Label: Victory Records
Website: junerock.com

The members of June play melodic rock music that, despite landing them a record deal with Victory, is more akin to the music currently being released by the Fueled By Ramen roster. Like many of those bands, June's mainstream appeal and notoriously ad-happy record label all... More

The Asteroid #4 – An Amazing Dream

Posted in Reviews by lordfundar on Oct 13, 2008
Rating: 2.5 / 5
Label: Rainbow Quartz
Website: asteroid4.com

If nothing else, the fourth release from Philidelphia-based outfit The Asteroid #4 offers enough oceans of static to more than satisfy any fancy for psychedelic pop. It's too bad that this same ocean then overwhelms the album. It eliminates any immediacy in the ballad "Ask... More

Fats Domino – Greatest Hits: Walking To New Orleans

Posted in Reviews by billwhite on Oct 13, 2008
Rating: 3.8 / 5
Label: Capitol
Website: fatsdominoonline.com

Before the levees broke and Fats Domino was counted among the missing of New Orleans, his career wasn't exclusive to the music of that city. That's changed now, he being among the survivors and his music has been given a historic authenticity. In my view, Fats Domino... More

The October – Bye Bye Beautiful

Posted in Reviews by morganphillips on Oct 13, 2008
Rating: 3.2 / 5
Label: Sparkgun
Website: theoctober.com

If there's one thing The October can do, it's create a mood. Their second album, ...Bye Bye Beautiful is an endeavor as crisp as the month their name invokes. Unlike their seasonal namesake, however, they have yet to create something terribly different or unique. Stuck... More