The Albertans: Legends of San Marco (Ernest Jenning Record Co.) The restrained pop of “Marie,â€� the song that opens Vancouver-via-Brooklyn-via-Alberta group The Albertans’ album Legends of San Marco, is a good indication of the sensibility to come: a subtlety that calls to mind The Go-Betweens, interplay among multiple vocalists, and a sense that this band’s … Continue reading
Category Archives: Review
Me @ Volume 1- Afternoon Bites: Book art, Dusted and Fluxblog turn ten, Joyland on Greenpoint, and more
- There Is a Documentary About Linotype. We Think This Is Awesome.
- Afternoon Bites: Carl Wilson’s 2011, Emma Straub makes a mix, Justin Davidson on Philip Glass, and more
- Hillary Jordan’s “When She Woke”: A Discussion
- Afternoon Bites: Steve Erickson talks politics, Mikhail Bulgakov gets unreal, Pam Houston on mentoring, and more
September 4, 2009, Author: , Leave a comment
Tags:: The Albertans
Reviewed: The Albertans // Legends of San Marco
Categories: C&U, Music, ReviewTags:: The Albertans
September 4, 2009, Author: , Leave a comment
Tags:: Reykjavik!
Reviewed: Reykjavik! // The Blood
Categories: C&U, Music, ReviewTags:: Reykjavik!
Reykjavik!: The Blood (Kimi) If Reykjavik!’s 2006 Glacial Landscapes, Religion, Oppression & Alcohol was the sound of innovative late-90s hardcore (think Refused, think Blood Brothers) gone epically irreverent, this is something stranger: an AmRep crunch spliced with manic vocals halfway between doom metal and hair metal. In places, this takes it to somewhere close to … Continue reading
September 3, 2009, Author: , Leave a comment
Tags:: Ty Segall
Reviewed: Ty Segall // Lemons
Categories: C&U, Music, ReviewTags:: Ty Segall
Ty Segall: Lemons (Goner) Lemons is the second album from Ty Segall, a San Francisco-based garage-rocker with ties to Thee Oh Sees. (John Dwyer’s Castle Face Records released album no.1 from Segall.) And while Segall is fond of throwing the occasional odd effect on his guitar, his work here takes a far more traditional path … Continue reading
September 3, 2009, Author: , Leave a comment
Tags:: Portland Cello Project
Reviewed: Portland Cello Project // The Thao & Justin Power Sessions
Categories: C&U, Music, ReviewTags:: Portland Cello Project
Portland Cello Project: The Thao & Justin Power Sessions (Kill Rock Stars) The name of the Portland Cello Project tells you much of what you need to know about them; additionally, the number of cellists ranges from eight to sixteen, and their repertoire can include anything from classical pieces to video-game themes. Their latest includes … Continue reading
August 3, 2009, Author: , 3 Comments
Tags:: Crystal Stilts, Dean + Britta
Live: Dean + Britta, Crystal Stilts; Prospect Park Bandshell, 08.01.09
Categories: Live, Music, ReviewTags:: Crystal Stilts, Dean + Britta
I think I’m coming around on Crystal Stilts. An abundance of people whose opinions I trust have had good things to say about them in the past, and I’m finding my indifference towards them moving distinctly towards the “like” column. Seeing them live had a dual effect on me: on the plus side, I found … Continue reading
July 6, 2009, Author: , Leave a comment
Live: Thee Oh Sees, Golden Triangle, The Beets, German Measles; Glasslands, 07.02.09
Categories: Live, Music, ReviewWas Glasslands humid for this Thursday night show? Yes; yes, it was. I spent much of the show flashing back to younger days spent in basements and VFW halls under similar sweltering conditions, and occasionally wondering whether my beard had made things much, much worse. German Measles were on first. I recognized a couple of … Continue reading
June 19, 2009, Author: , Leave a comment
Tags:: Eugenius
In Which Charming Pop Is Discussed
Categories: Me, Music, ReviewTags:: Eugenius
Some thoughts on Eugenius, and their 1992 album Oomalama, can be found at Tiny Mix Tapes.
May 27, 2009, Author: , Leave a comment
Tags:: Bonnie Prince Billy, Lightning Dust, Will Oldham
Live: Lightning Dust, Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy; Santos Party House, 05.20.09
Categories: Live, Music, ReviewTags:: Bonnie Prince Billy, Lightning Dust, Will Oldham
-The Part About Lightning Dust- Something about space and silence. Back in my zine-editor days, I remember interviewing Ted Leo, whose live setup at the time involved an electric guitar and very little else. We got to talking about Billy Bragg’s Back to Basics, and how that album — that sound, really — was defined … Continue reading
May 19, 2009, Author: , Leave a comment
Tags:: Permanent Records, Pow Wow!
Brief, Live: Pow Wow!; Permanent Records, 05.15.09
Categories: Live, Music, ReviewTags:: Permanent Records, Pow Wow!
So: buoyed by some fine press and an interest in good pop music, I headed to Permanent Records last Friday to take in an in-store from Pow Wow!, whose New-Jersey-to-Brooklyn transition was one to which I could relate. I entered a song or two into their set, and immediately liked what I heard: organ- and … Continue reading
May 13, 2009, Author: , Leave a comment
Brief Self-Promotion: Record Reviews Edition
Categories: Me, Music, ReviewQuick note: in the latest issue of Death + Taxes (the Comedy Issue, featuring Danny McBride on the cover), I have reviews of Papercuts’ You Can Have What You Want, Pink Mountaintops’ Outside Love, Deradoorian’s Mind Raft, and Suckers’ self-titled EP.
May 7, 2009, Author: , Leave a comment
Tags:: Cinemasophia, Jean on Jean, Ringfinger
Brief, Live: Cinemasophia, Jean on Jean, Ringfinger; Maxwells, 05.06.09
Categories: Live, Music, ReviewTags:: Cinemasophia, Jean on Jean, Ringfinger
Cinemasophia: Quasi harmonies bolstered by a massive sound: shoegaze density with some postpunk precision thrown in. Also: some “this is our first time in New Jersey” banter, which was pretty charming. Jean on Jean: Solid indiepop, performed solo; that I can’t think of much to say here shouldn’t suggest that I didn’t like the set. … Continue reading
April 26, 2009, Author: , Leave a comment
Tags:: concert, Live review, Moondoggies
Live: Moondoggies; Crash Mansion, 04.25.09
Categories: Live, Music, ReviewTags:: concert, Live review, Moondoggies
Writing about The Moondoggies is harder than it sounds. It isn’t that their music veers into complex, atonal sections utilizing previously-unknown tunings, or that their lyrics reference forgotten philosophies developed in postwar Europe. Rather, it’s the same problem I’m having as I formulate thoughts on the new album from Portland’s Weinland: namely, how does one … Continue reading
April 24, 2009, Author: , Leave a comment
Tags:: Glasslands, Suckers, Tanlines
Live: Suckers, Tanlines; Glasslands, 04.24.09
Categories: Live, Music, ReviewTags:: Glasslands, Suckers, Tanlines
Momentum can count for a lot. The last time I saw Brooklyn’s Suckers, on a bill a few months ago with Oxford Collapse and Real Estate, they played a set with no shortage of strong songs that nonetheless felt more like a collection of songs than a proper live set. Their songs are firmly rooted … Continue reading
February 24, 2009, Author: , Leave a comment
recommended music writing: 24 february 2009
Categories: Music, ReviewTrevor Kelley’s blogging again. This is, I’d say, a fine thing.
February 23, 2009, Author: , Leave a comment
Tags:: The Narrator
from the vault: the narrator / “anthems for us”
Categories: Me, Music, ReviewTags:: The Narrator
Two years ago, I profiled The Narrator for Death+Taxes. The piece never ran, for reasons that are unknown to me, and I was reminded as of the writing of the previous post that, hey, posting it here might not be a terrible idea. So, here it is, one of my favorite pieces of music-related writing … Continue reading