Jonas Brothers - A Little Bit Longer
Artist: Jonas Brothers Review: History teaches us not to dismiss kiddie pop. Stevie Wonder was once Little Stevie Wonder, just as Lil Wayne was once little Lil Wayne, child gangsta rapper. And let's not forget ex-Mouseketeers Britney and Justin. Purists disdain teenybopper music as cynical pap, foisted on the young by Svengalis who lurk in the shadows, counting money. But bubblegum can be a great farm system, honing skills that pay dividends in later life. Lately, Disney's kiddie pop has been plenty profitable, with High... Rating: 4 Stars
Alex O'Neal, Alex Loves
One to avoid like a cold sore on Valentine?s Day.
Juana Molina - Un Dia
Artist: Juana Molina Review: Imagine if Tina Fey quit comedy and sang electronics-based folk songs. That's the path Juana Molina took more than 10 years ago in her native Argentina, leaving her job as a TV comedian to pursue experimental folk. Her fifth disc is her most adventurous, combining avant-garde vocals with the atmospherics of Portishead and My Bloody Valentine. With looped guitar, hypnotic percussion and a bit of feedback, the title track sounds like two songs playing at once. The centerpiece is a trio that includ... Rating: 4 Stars
Luciano, Jah Is My Navigator
Jah Is My Navigator is a return to form, and a good indication of what the fuss is about.
Republika
Historia zespołu przerwana w połowie drogi przez śmierć wokalisty, bez którego nie byłoby grupy. Jednak właśnie to smutne wydarzenie podkreśliło mocno legendę zespołu zbudowaną m.in. jednym z występów na festiwalu w Jarocinie....
L.Stadt
Łódzki kwartet powstały w Strasburgu z połączenia pasji z solidnym wykształceniem muzycznym, kultywujący wymierającą tradycję wydawania EP-ek i posiadający w swoim składzie dwóch perkusistów. Nic dziwnego, że nazywany jest nadzieją polskiej muzyki. ...
Tunng
Zaczęło się w 2003 r. od dwóch pasjonatów muzycznego eksperymentowania Mike?a Lindsaya i Sama Gendera. Zamknięci w piwnicy tworzyli swoje pierwsze folkowe kawałki. Tak powstał londyński zespół Tunng, który po cudownym rozmnożeniu stał się...
White Denim - Exposion
Artist: White Denim Review: With their EPs, Austin's White Denim have built buzz as the next heroes of fuzzed-out psychedelic power blues in the style of the White Stripes and the Black Keys. But while "All You Really Have to Do" and "Shake Shake Shake" support that rep, their debut full-length shows a more versatile outfit. "Don't Look That Way at It" mixes looped guitar swarms, wordless chants and off-kilter grooves. "Wda" is a gear-shifting jam that echoes golden-era Pavement. And "All Truckers Roll" is a woozy road ant... Rating: 3.5 Stars
Phish - At The Roxy
Artist: Phish Review: Recorded in 1993 during a three-night run in Atlanta, this mammoth eight-disc box captures Phish right when they were putting a spit-shine polish on the live improvisation that would make them kings of the Nineties jam-band scene. At the Roxy is a must-have for one reason: the second show on February 20th, where Phish unleashed their most experimental set to date. On Disc Five, guitarist Trey Anastasio, keyboardist Page McConnell, bassist Mike Gordon and drummer Jon Fishman play for 60 nonstop... Rating: 4 Stars
Vedder Eddie
Jeżeli w latach 70 królem amerykańskiego rocka był Neil Young, lata 80 należały do Bruca Springsteena, to herosem kolejnej dekady został frontmen grupy Pearl Jam Eddie Vedder....
Mars Volta, The
Na początku był zespół At the Drive-In. Młodzi muzycy z El Paso w Teksasie, zafascynowani dokonaniami Pink Floyd, Fugazi i The Smiths, na początku lat dziewięćdziesiątych rozpoczęli poszukiwania swojej własnej drogi....
The Fratellis, Here We Stand
Here We Stand is a baffling album... really, it's hard to see the point.
Bang Gang
Z czym się kojarzy Polakom Islandia? Z gejzerami i krańcem Europy. Może dzięki koncertom Bang Gang zacznie się kojarzyć z dobrą muzyką alternatywną. ...
The Breeders, Mountain Battles
You can't help wondering what kind of blistering gems this lot could have produced if they really let rip in the studio.
Elton John - Elton John (Deluxe Edition)
Artist: Elton John Review: Elton John was a lot of things — sideman, session man and flop, with a long tail of failed solo releases, including the 1969 LP Empty Sky — before 1970's Elton John made him an overnight star. He wasn't afraid to admit it. John packed a bonus scrapbook in the original lavish packaging of 1975's Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy with bad-hair photos, comic music-press ads ("You've been warned! Elton John is 1968's great new talent") and other ample proof of his time, with... Rating: 4 Stars
Jay Z
"Allow me to re-introduce myself/ My name is Hov', OH, H-to-the-O-V" kokieteryjnie literował swoją ksywę na "Black Album", mającym być jego ostatnim w karierze....
Anti-Flag - The Bright Lights Of America
Artist: Anti-Flag Review: Pittsburgh punks Anti-Flag have long proclaimed their leftist outrage on their albums, and they act on their convictions too: The band's press bio lists ten different organizations its members have worked with, from Amnesty International to PETA. Unfortunately, The Bright Lights of America, Anti-Flag's second major-label album and eighth overall, proves for the billionth time that good intentions don't always make good music. With producer Tony Visconti (David Bowie) giving the songs cla... Rating: 2.5 Stars
Elton John - Tumbleweed Connection
Artist: Elton John Review: Elton John was a lot of things — sideman, session man and flop, with a long tail of failed solo releases, including the 1969 LP Empty Sky — before 1970's Elton John made him an overnight star. He wasn't afraid to admit it. John packed a bonus scrapbook in the original lavish packaging of 1975's Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy with bad-hair photos, comic music-press ads ("You've been warned! Elton John is 1968's great new talent") and other ample proof of his time, with... Rating: 4.5 Stars
The Sleeping Years, We're Becoming Islands One By One
Dale Grundle has written an album that is well paced and diverse enough to never quite cross the precarious line between gentle subtlety and dullness.
Rodney Crowell - Sex & Gasoline
Artist: Rodney Crowell Review: Ever since 2001's The Houston Kid, country singer Rodney Crowell has been coming to terms with his private life in his music. The largely acoustic Sex & Gasoline is his meditation on femininity — not just a celebration of women, but a real attempt at empathy. In the midtempo shuffle "The Rise and Fall of Intelligent Design," he imagines what it feels like to be female. Over the fingerpicked folk of "Moving Work of Art," he reveals his own tendency to objectify women. And in "I've Done... Rating: 3.5 Stars
Big Blue Ball (Peter Gabriel) - Big Blue Ball
Artist: Big Blue Ball (Peter Gabriel) Review: Gabriel fans hoping for a follow-up to 2002's Up will have to keep waiting. Big Blue Ball is neither new nor is it strictly Gabriel, although the pioneering art rocker's aesthetic stamp (and, on four songs, his voice) is all over this global-music mosaic. In the early Nineties, Gabriel staged a series of jam sessions at his Real World Studios in the English countryside, where musicians ranging from Sinéad O'Connor to Living Colour guitarist Vernon Reid to soukous legend Papa Wemba sang or played... Rating: 3 Stars