64 total search results — Page 2 of 4
Why? – Alopecia
Review — March 31, 2008
I'm still trying to fully wrap my head around this album. Why? hails from Oakland, California and puts an interesting hip-hop touch to their predominantly indie rock sound. Frontman Yoni Wolf is one of the founders of Anticon Records, and was also one-third of the late electronica/hip-hop group cLOUDDEAD, where …
Various Artists – Enjoyed: A Tribute to Björk's Post
Review — April 16, 2008
Tribute albums have never really sat well with me. With each song, I usually hear every band featured saying, "Hey, we can do this song better than the original artist." But it's very rare that a cover will be nearly as good or enjoyable to listen to as the original. …
Sunny Day Sets Fire – Stranger Remix EP
Review — April 21, 2008
Choosing a band name is a tricky thing. If you choose one that sounds lame, people will write you off before they've even heard you. In this case, if you choose a name that's very close to a band that's already existed, then the listener has to wonder a few …
Carrigan – Young Men Never Die
Review — May 18, 2008
Hailing from Vermont, Carrigan plays ambient post-rock, but more structured and upbeat than you would think. Although the group is a duo now, they had a couple transient members formerly from Drowningman and The Cancer Conspiracy during 2003. The Drowningman connection intrigued me; an old heavy gem that I hadn't …
Jon McKiel – The Nature of Things
Review — June 12, 2008
So it's finally summer, and that usually means an overload of new music. I can't name the number of songs or albums that remind me of a specific summer in my life. Something about the change of pace and warm weather that just makes music attach itself to memories. What …
Candle – Miles and Miles and Miles
Review — June 16, 2008
Candle is the brainchild of singer/songwriter Kevin Coons, who expanded his solo recording project into a full band. Miles and Miles and Miles is the group's third release in as many years, and boasts a country tinged folk sound with small touches of indie rock. The album begins with "Pennies …
Lords of the North – Lords of the North
Review — July 7, 2008
Ah, the sludge. The slow and heavy beats that make you want to grow out your hair just to make head-banging that much better. One of most recent additions that can fall under this category is Seattle's Lords of the North. Dripping in epic imagery and determined to bring blues …
Girl Talk – Feed the Animals
Review — July 29, 2008
Girl Talk is Gregg Gillis, a DJ from Pittsburgh that has been praised up to the leader of the mash-up sub-genre. For those who don't know, mash-up is when a DJ layers multiple tracks from different songs on top of each other to create new tracks. This is usually supplemented …
Samamidon – All is Well
Review — August 12, 2008
Whether or not a band is unknown is pretty subjective. While I was at the Portraits of Past reunion show in Berkeley recently, many passers-by and uninformed parents continued to ask who was playing. They saw the line of 500-plus kids and couldn't believe that this line was for a …
Don't Trip – The Root of All Evil
Review — September 8, 2008
Don't Trip is a hardcore band that hails from the Bay Area of California. Northern California has been a hotbed for hardcore bands in recent years, so it's a hard game to jump into. After a self-released demo last year, Don't Trip comes back with the ten-track Root of All …
Ratatat – LP3
Review — October 1, 2008
Even if you haven't heard of Ratatat, you've heard them. They boast an impressive list of their songs featured in endless commercials and movies. Ratatat is everywhere. Beginning in 2004 as simply a guitar and synth, they recorded their entire debut album on a laptop. With their fortunate connections they …
The Sea and Cake – Car Alarm
Review — October 27, 2008
That easy, jazz-infused post-rock has come a long way since adopting a mispronunciation of their intended band name (The "C" in Cake). The Sea and Cake have extended themselves as a group after almost fifteen years, and now eight full-lengths, of playing. After taking a three-year hiatus, The Sea and …
Makeout Party – Lengths and Limits
Review — December 4, 2008
I'll admit it; I have a few musical guilty pleasures. I have a few albums that I'm embarrassed to own but I still love nonetheless. Makeout Party seems like they could be one of those bands. The name alone is a little off-putting, whether it reminds you of the awkward …
Jukebox the Ghost – Let Live and Let Ghosts
Review — December 15, 2008
Sometimes I think I take music too personally. I find myself judging others all too quickly when I hear their music tastes; it can make or break my impression of them. I'll give people a little bit of slack if their choices aren't really my thing, but other times the …
Speaky – Mashcore Volume 2
Review — December 22, 2008
Over this past summer, file-sharing fiends around the world rallied behind the leak of the new Girl Talk album. Everyone felt pretty suave for getting such a hyped item before its release date, although many were confused at how different the new album sounded. Unfortunately, soon after that they all …
Sigur Rós – Með Suð í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust
Review — January 7, 2009
The consistently elusive Sigur Rós returns to bless our ears with more soft-spoken Icelandic genius. Is that too much? Perhaps, but this is coming off of their double-disc collection of b-sides Hvarf-Heim released barely a year ago, not to mention the extensive touring they have done in between. I first …
Protestant – The Hate. The Hollow.
Review — February 2, 2009
Sometimes bands lose sight of what they originally set out to accomplish. They get whipped up in their popularity and compromise themselves, and in turn can pander to a wider audience for fear of losing their reputation. Protestant is not likely to be one of those bands. This Milwaukee hardcore …
Koufax – Strugglers
Review — February 12, 2009
My preconceptions about Koufax are somewhat idealized. I put them in the better, earlier days of Vagrant Records, before Dashboard blew up beyond belief and before they started signing bands like Senses Fail. I remember first hearing "Younger Body," from their second full-length Social Life, on a compilation and …
The Appleseed Cast – Sagarmatha
Review — March 10, 2009
It's been almost three years since we were last graced with an album from The Appleseed Cast, 2006's much more straightforward Peregrine. This is the second album lacking original drummer Josh Baruth, being replaced by former The Casket Lottery member Nate Richardson. Anyone who had the privilege of seeing …
