Islands
Return to the Sea
Equator (2006)
Islands is the kind of band that has the ability to suck you into their creative vortex and draw from you the emotions that they choose to illicit accordingly, all the while Return to the Sea remains very optimistic and upbeat. How could it not? If you are a follower of Islands leaders Nick Diamond and J'aime Tambeur (who recently … Read more
Isle of View
Gentle Firefly Radio
Undecided (2005)
Before I get to the review of Isle of View's Gentle Firefly Radio, I must state the following. This is by no means whatsoever a biased review. I like pop-punk music. I love The Descendants, earlier New Found Glory, Blink 182, and so on. But I don't like this band. Gentle Firefly Radio is very boring, and the singer's voice … Read more
Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan
Ballad of the Broken Seas
V2 (2006)
I must admit that I was shocked to hear of this collaboration, being familiar with Mark Lanegan and his work in Screaming Trees, Mad Season, Queens of the Stone Age and as a solo artist. A great deal of his material is dark, harrowing, and tends to exemplify the dirty, gravel cut images that the sound of his voice so … Read more
Ithi
Chapel Perilous
Utech (2016)
Ithi is a Brooklyn based duo, that had been so far exploring the experimental drone domain. Their 2011 release, The Persistence of Meaning, was based around the big drones, immense feedback and noise elements that they were able to conjure. A slight shift came with their next album, Within, seeing Ithi going into a more abstract, experimental rock tone. Their … Read more
Ivanhoe
Systematrix
Massacre Records (2013)
You'd think a band named after Sir Walter Scott's most famous work would tend towards the contemplative (or, at least, the historically literate). But judging by German band Ivanhoe's latest album, that characterization falls several yards beyond the mark. The truth is, there's very little intellectual merit, or even any redeeming value, to be found in Systematrix.The largest issue with … Read more
Izah
Finite Horizon / Crevice
Independent (2009)
Europe, as the old continent, contains a great deal of culture and a long history to help shape musicians and the work. Many in the United States move on obliviously with our lives while barely noticing some of the more well known bands from there. Izah is a group from the old continent that surely is under the radar of … Read more
J Church
The Horror of Life
No Idea (2007)
With the passing of Lance Hahn, the fragile punk continuum lost one of its all-time greats. Smart, critical, and relentlessly prolific, Hahn's work provided a formidable example of what could be accomplished in DIY music: punk not as a costume contest or stale doctrine, but a design for living. Hahn refused to separate his art and his life, delivering record … Read more
J. Bannon
The Blood of Thine Enemies
Deathwish Inc. (2008)
A few years back Jacob Bannon took some time from his busy schedule of providing vocals for Converge and design work for a whole lot of bands to create the as yet and more than likely only Supermachiner album (with Kurt Ballou also of Converge, Ryan Parker, and Seth Bannon of Daltonic). The effort was a foray into ambient music … Read more
Jack of None
The Tattle Tale Heart
Independent (2017)
Playfully naughty lyrics might have been the first thing I noticed about Jack of None's The Tattle Tale Heart EP, but there's more to this record created by three Filipino-born siblings, A.G., Maxine, and Julian Syjuco. Things change from sultry to sinister on a dime, and the album's combination of murky, atmospheric industrial rock with dark and poetic spoken word … Read more
Jack White
Blunderbuss
Third Man (2012)
Ever notice the similarity between Jack White III and the modern-day Willy Wonka, portrayed by Johnny Depp? Put a top hat on Jack White and suddenly to the eye he appears to be this musical magician. Pulling stunts like launching 1000 helium balloons tied to flexi-discs containing the Blunderbuss highlight, “Freedom At 21”, to his left-field performances with the likes … Read more
Jack White
Boarding House Reach
Third Man (2018)
Jack White has always been his own man. With The White Stripes, he cultivated a strong persona - turning blues guitar on its side and reworking what would normally be tired rehashed riffs and making them into something new and shiny for impressionable young ears.His first two solo albums, Blunderbuss and Lazaretto continued this tradition, giving the millennials a fresh … Read more
Jack's Mannequin
The Glass Passenger
Sire (2008)
A lot of artists resist fame. I've done interviews with bands for nearly five years now and have heard countless times from both nameless and recognizable acts that there were never any aspirations for a hit radio single or a gold album. For these people it seemed when something reached a point of popularity it lost authenticity. By acknowledging the … Read more
Jackie Carol
Check Check
Speak Music Media (2007)
Allow me to get this little factoid out of the way first, I have been listening to Nathan Ellis projects ever since he joined Coalesce; The Casket Lottery (Ellis' next band) introduced me to and gave me a great appreciation for much more mellow, but still challenging, music. When I heard that Ellis now is playing with a new group … Read more
Jacoti Sommes
Travel Time
Orange Milk Records (2020)
Clocking it at just under 27 minutes, Columbus, Ohio electronic music producer Jacoti Sommes’ 2020 release Travel Time is all around better than his excellent 2018 effort Ubermensch. I think the album’s title accurately reflects what it’s all about. Featuring a handful of longer tracks periodically broken up by short ambient interludes (“Phases” I through III) that sound similar to … Read more
Jalang
Santau
Heavy Machinery Records, Ruin Nation Records (2021)
2020 saw the release of Pontianak, the debut album of Lài. One year later (this review is very late, don’t worry, I am fully aware it’s two years later already) Santau, the debut album by Jalang is released. But is it a debut album if Lài simply changed its name to Jalang? Considering it is the first album under this … Read more
James LaBrie
Impermanent Resonance
Inside Out (2013)
Apparently, James LaBrie (vocalist for progressive metal gods Dream Theater) has a pretty satisfying solo career. I wasn't aware of this until doing some research, but he already has two solo releases under his belt--three, counting his newest release, Elements of Persuasion. (We'll leave the issues of whether or not his work with Mullmuzzler counts as "solo" releases until another … Read more
Janelle Monáe
The ArchAndroid
Wondaland Arts Society / Bad Boy (2010)
When music historians look back on the first decade of the 21st century, they'll no doubt highlight the dazzling array of pop musicians daring to innovate. Those producing music which both reinvents and creates, challenging conventions and spinning concepts and long-term constructions around their work. Except, of course, they won't. Pop has been sadly lacking of late, with depressingly little … Read more
Janelle Monáe
The Electric Lady
Wondaland Arts Society (2013)
It's encouraging that after releasing one of the best records of 2010, Janelle Monáe wasn't rushed into releasing the follow-up album to The ArchAndroid until she was good and ready. Three years have given her and her Wondaland Arts Society time to regroup and evolve and the range and talent of her collaborators this time around reflect the maturity Monáe's … Read more
