In 2006, the Raconteurs (the pairing of Brendan Benson’s cheery pop sensibilities with Jack White’s rock and roll decadence), released their first album, Broken Boy Soldiers. It was a fun…
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277 Articles
Dw. Dunphy
1 Min Read
They said it would never be done. I said it would never be done. Geffen/Interscope/ Universal prayed that it might, but Axl Rose kept them at bay for more than…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
Too many electronic releases fall within two extreme aesthetics: icy cold or super dance party warm. It’s hard to make non-traditional, machine-made notes sound humane, simply because they’re not. With…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
There’s a lot that stands out about “I Will Possess Your Heart,” the first single from Death Cab for Cutie’s new album, Narrow Stairs, out May 13 on Atlantic Records….
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
As everyone learned in Freud 101, the oft-controversial psychologist believed there are three egos in each of us: the Id (which focuses on our most basic desires — namely, food…
Darren Robbins
1 Min Read
Many summers ago, I was a counselor at a remote summer camp in the heart of lake-bound Michigan and, suffering from a bad case of cabin fever (literally), I had…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
Whether or not you’re a fan of his music, it’s hard to argue that Trent Reznor, the creative mastermind of Nine Inch Nails, is constantly at the forefront of innovation….
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
Many seem eager to send bands like Vampire Weekend to the firing line for their afro-pop-lite brand of indie rock. For those on the often thankless crusade for authenticity, meet…
Taylor Long
2 Min Read
It’s a damn good thing that Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova won an Oscar for their song from the independent picture Once, if only because it means they have something…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
There’s so much to like about the self-titled debut from Tacoma, Washington’s Mono in VCF, it’s hard to know where to start. As a debut, it’s almost too good. Mono…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
For five years now, the Mars Volta has colored the alternative rock scene with their hardcore-prog-jazz hybrid. They’ve represented the point where hippies, metalheads and avant-garde fans could meet in…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
Coming into their first full-length, Vampire Weekend are in the precarious position of having a reputation that precedes them. Before their self-titled debut can be properly digested and enjoyed, let’s…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
Cat Power (aka Chan Marshall) makes two ballsy moves with her new album, Jukebox, largely considered her second covers album, though it contains two originals. She leads off with the…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
Dear Chris Walla, As a longtime Death Cab for Cutie fan, I was pretty excited to hear about your solo album. By “longtime fan,” I mean longtime fan. We’re talking…
Taylor Long
2 Min Read
Quirk is a risky thing to play with. If it’s not done in the right way or if it’s taken too far, it can seem insincere, gimmicky, or severely limit…
Robert Cass
2 Min Read
Throughout the CoCo B’s self-titled debut album, frontman Kevin Castillo’s casual, somewhat sleepy vocals, similar to those of the Strokes’ Julian Casablancas or Phoenix’s Thomas Mars, initially lulled me into…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
Not since the Riot Grrl movement has there likely been a better time for alternative female singer-songwriters. With the likes of Feist, M.I.A., Lily Allen, and (on a smaller scale…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
The two biggest criticisms that Black Mountain’s In the Future is likely to receive are the following: 1. STONERS 2. They’re not doing anything “new” These points do hold weight….
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
At first, Finian McKean’s Monsters of the Deep Woods seems deceptively simple, with its sparse acoustics and oblique lyrics. Each successive listen, though, reveals a new layer of meaning and…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
Like a wolf in sheep’s clothing, rapper Lupe Fiasco mixes sentimentality with harsh attacks on the hand that feeds him in his sophomore effort, The Cool. He attempts to do…
Jeff Giles
2 Min Read
Pseudosix – Pseudosix (2007)purchase this album (Sonic Boom) Review by Matt Keeley Pseudosix is a band out of Portland Á¢€” apparently, they started as a one-piece, but grew into a…
Jeff Giles
2 Min Read
The Sharp Things – A Moveable Feast (2007)purchase this album (Bar/None)review by Kenn Scott New York’s The Sharp Things and their new album A Moveable Feast are a little hard…
Jeff Giles
1 Min Read
Jonah Smith – Jonah Smith (2007)purchase this album (JRS Direct) Smith bills himself as a “roots/soul singer-songwriter,” but musically, he’s less Bill Withers (or even Ray LaMontagne) than Amos Lee….
Jeff Giles
1 Min Read
Bryan Eich – Sleeping By a Wire (2007)purchase this album (CD Baby) Fans of deliciously hooky Britpop (by way of Brooklyn) have a new best friend in Bryan Eich, whose…
Jeff Giles
3 Min Read
No Second Troy – Narcotic (2007)purchase this album (CD Baby) Almost since there was such a thing as rock & roll, the people who love it have been split into…
Jeff Giles
2 Min Read
Duane Dolieslager – The Opposite of Optimist (2007)purchase this album (CD Baby) As eagle-eyed readers of this space may have noted, starting some weeks ago, I began running record reviews…
Jeff Giles
3 Min Read
Justin Branam – Words Worth Mentioning (2006) purchase this album (CD Baby) It’s February 1996, and I’ve got the hots for this girl who happens to be a big Jars…
Jeff Giles
1 Min Read
Will Harrison – A Place Called Home (2007)purchase this album (CD Baby) “Send my love to Carolina / ‘Cause in my mind, that’s where I’ll be,” sings Will Harrison on…
Jeff Giles
1 Min Read
Layabout – Suburban Legend (2007)purchase this album (CD Baby)Review by Jamie LyonLayabout is a Los Angeles-based jazz/pop trio founded by keyboardist and vocalist Edward “Tex” Miller and his partners John…
Jeff Giles
2 Min Read
Johnny Lloyd Rollins – Let’s Be Poor Together (2007)purchase this album (CD Baby) The cool kids — like Billy K., who recommended Johnny Lloyd Rollins to me last fall —…