May 29 2009
I know, I know – I should find another way to collate my work in other places without making an additional post, but I couldn’t pass up a chance to spread the love about this great record. My review of Survival Strategies In A Modern World, the stellar new album from Liechtenstein (set for release on Slumberland Records on Tuesday, June 2, 2009) is up over at Simplenvrmt. Please head over there to read my thoughts and then go get this record – you can thank me later.
May 29 2009
Clock Hands Strangle
Distaccati
Chocolate Lab; 2009
From the outset of the eleven-song project that is Distaccati, Clock Hands Strangle struggles mightily to grab the horns of retro-cool country rock and wrestle it to the ground. Sadly, despite the band’s best intentions and superb musical acumen, I feel that the band has been bested by its subject. The record oozes with rambling roots rock, bleating horn sections, and an appropriately lonesome and forlorn sounding vocalist, to great effect at times. Despite the right components being play, it’s just a bit too unfocused and scattershot in my estimation.
Continue reading “Clock Hands Strangle – Distaccati“
May 28 2009
Pictures Of Then
and The Wicked Sea
Self-Released; 2009
Many parts of America are known for birthing bands with a highly distinctive regional feel and sound. Thanks to critics who write about popular music, literature, and even art, people can feel that they’ve visited these locales just by hearing the music. Take Minnesota for instance – due in large part to prominent groups like The Replacements and The Hold Steady, this state is renowned for producing bands that are workman-like in their touring regimens (not to mention beer consumption), while crafting rock music that is friendly, catchy, and hook-laden. What sets such acts apart is the proletarian everyman aspects of their music: there’s an earthiness, a connectedness to the soil that the glitzier pop acts on the East and West Coasts are unable to convey, much less attain.
Continue reading “Pictures Of Then – and The Wicked Sea“
May 27 2009
Phoenix
Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
Glassnote; 2009
Guest Contributor: Michael Dallas Miller
When I was handed this album, it took me a long time to decide how I truly felt about it. There is good reason why this record got my critical mind into a tug-of-war. The fast-paced guitar-pop of Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix is no doubt enjoyable, but does that make it good? Certain Eagles songs make me feel good, but overall, I don’t like the band. Same thing goes for Gwen Stephani, The Game, and David Bowie. In order to decide how good this album is, I had to look beyond the enjoyment and pick out the skill, the subtle working of this indie-pop quartet from Paris, France.
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May 26 2009
Ryan Bingham
Roadhouse Sun
Lost Highway; 2009
Back when I actively attempted to write lyrics, my songs were typically filled with rather thin philosophical meanderings that vainly pretended to be deep and meaningful. Granted, I wasn’t the first person to commit such a compositional travesty (and I won’t be the last), but I had yet to learn that my own story should be my focus – what I know, what I’ve learned, and where I’m going. People want to (and will always) connect with the tales of an honest, believable bard, no matter how happy or hard-luck they might be. And if there’s anything that Ryan Bingham does well, he knows how to enrapture people with his words.
Continue reading “Ryan Bingham – Roadhouse Sun“
