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Posted by Joseph Bridges on Friday, February 27, 2009,
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Artist: Sound & Shape
Title: The Love Electric EP
Label: Engineer Records
Genre: Progressive Rock
Nashville, Tennessee is a breeding ground for a myriad of artist with a wide range of talents. Sound & Shape is no different in their offering up music they hope will draw in a thinking crowd with their ambient sounds and honest lyrics compiled over pure rock. There are several bands that come to mind in this approach on making an album-Pink Floyd, Yes, and recently The Mars Volta. With ...
Posted by Joseph Bridges on Thursday, February 26, 2009,
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Artist: Annabel
Title: Now That We’re Alive
Label: Self-Issued
Genre: Rock/Pop
Rating: 7.7/10
I can honestly say I had never seen a hand sewn cd cover until today. They had me at plaid. That was all it took for me to load this EP into the iPod and take a listen. Ohio (I know firsthand) is not known for producing very many musical artists with much talent; but I think Annabel has added their name to the short list. With Ben Hendricks on guitar, Andy Hendricks on drums, and Scotty Moses ...
Posted by Joseph Bridges on Wednesday, February 25, 2009,
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Artist: Slightly Stoopid
Title: Slightly Not Stoned Enough to Eat Breakfast Yet Stoopid
Label: Stoopid Records
Genre: Reggae Rock
Rating: 7/10
Sitting on the sunny beaches of California has inspired many musicians to write music of the summer. The sun bathing, surfing, lazing in the sand genre spawned Slightly Stoopid in the mid 1990’s and since then they have blended acoustic rock sensibilities with a reggae overtone. Slightly Not Stoned Enough to Eat Breakfast Yet Stoopid is the...
Posted by Joseph Bridges on Tuesday, February 24, 2009,
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Artist: Beirut
Title: March of the Zapotec/Realpeople:Holland
Label: Badabing Records
Genre: Folk/Pop/Electronica
Rating: 8.2/10
First there were gypsies, then Parisians, and now Mexicans. Zach Condon, recording under the name Beirut with his small band of musicians, has made his band known worldwide for its truly indie sensibilities with his ukulele and playfully lilting vocals. March of the Zapotec is Condon's take on the Mexican funeral processions he saw while visiting a few yea...
Posted by Joseph Bridges on Monday, February 23, 2009,
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Artist: The Bigger Lights
Title: Fiction Fever
Label: Doghouse Records
Genre: Rock/Pop
Rating: 7.9/10
There are a ton bands floating around the country doing everything from playing in small bars to opening for larger acts in huge venues. The only difference between the majority of those bands and The Bigger Lights is the fact that they can write a very infectious tune. This trio from Virginia is starting out their career in the right way with their bright and powerful debut EP titl...
Posted by Joseph Bridges on Monday, February 23, 2009,
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Artist: Portugal. The Man
Title: Censored Colors
Label: Equal Vision Records
Genre: Progressive Rock
Rating: 8.2/10
Alaska doesn’t produce a lot of rock musicians and especially ones with a progressive flair. Portugal. The Man produces an excellent record for their third effort, Censored Colors. Some people may have listened in the past and not liked the quirkiness of the band or maybe they didn’t like the fact that their name is actually two sentences. Whatever your nonsense r...
Posted by Joseph Bridges on Saturday, February 21, 2009,
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Artist: The Pretty Things
Title: Philippe DeBarge and The Pretty Things
Label: UT Records
Genre: Rock/Pop
Rating: 9.5/10
The Pretty Things were on a run in 1969. They had released several singles that charted over the past five years in the United Kingdom and Australia, had four albums under their belt, and even had a secret pseudo band called Electric Banana that made stock music for B-rated horror movies. But even with their mild success in their homeland of England and around Europe,...
Posted by Joseph Bridges on Saturday, February 21, 2009,
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Artist: The Creepshow
Title: Run For Your Life
Label: Stomp Records
Genre: Rock/HellBilly
Rating: 8.9/10
When it comes to explaining a musical act straight from a 1960’s B-rated horror movie, it is not easy to come up with words to describe such a strange way to make music. The Creepshow have been exploring the pop horror movie scene with their instruments since 2005. Since that time they have carved out a true niche in modern alternative punk niche with their tunes. For their sec...
Posted by Joseph Bridges on Friday, February 20, 2009,
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Artist: The Heartless Bastards
Title: The Mountain
Label: Fat Possum
Genre: Pop/Rock
Rating: 9.4/10
When critical members of a band split, most musical creativity gives way to albums that are less artistic and lack true continuity. Usually after only one additional album, the remaining artist gives up and starts a new project. I’m glad Erika Wennerstrom decided that only a change of scenery would be best to give new life to her band The Heartless Bastards. For her third album, Wen...
Posted by Joseph Bridges on Thursday, February 19, 2009,
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Artist: Martha Wainwright
Title: I Know You’re Married But I’ve Got Feelings Too
Label: Zoe Records
Genre: Pop/Rock
Rating: 5.8/10
There will never be a dirth of jazzy, sexy, and sultry women crooning songs about forlorn lost love and love they cannot attain. But, there are not many that can claim such a musical family. Martha’s dad is Loudon Wainwright III, the folk singer and actor mostly known for his work in the sixties and seventies and her brother, Rufus, is well known t...
The British Invasion brought a huge influx of music across the pond in the early sixties and infused the United States with an influence that still lasts until this day. The modern pop and rock genres closely follow their roots back to The Beatles, The Who, even Herman’s Hermits; but Manfred Mann somehow has been lost in the vast shuffle. Raven Records is seeking t...
Posted by Joseph Bridges on Wednesday, February 18, 2009,
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Artist: Head Like a Kite
Title: There is a Loud Laughter Everywhere
Label: Mush
Genre: Electronic Rock
Rating: 6.9/10
Seattle will never have a lack of musical entertainers. The music capital of the northwest cranks out bands and musicians so fast, it’s hard to keep track, let alone, listen to them all. Head Like a Kite has risen from the pile. On his second album, David Einmo has gone forward in his quest for musical nirvana.
Einmo’s first album Random Portraits of the Home Mo...
Posted by Pete Shather on Tuesday, February 17, 2009,
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Artist: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
Title: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
Label: Slumberland Records
Genre: Rock/Pop
Many bands like The Pains of Being Pure at Heart aspire to be like the past in their noisy, do-it-yourself aesthetic. Few can rip the music into a fury and conjugate the sounds into something everyone would want to listen to more than once; but somehow their energy pushes them to forefront of the crowded world.
Posted by Joseph Bridges on Tuesday, February 17, 2009,
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Artist: Bowerbirds
Title: Hymns for a Dark Horse
Label: Dead Oceans
Genre: Folk/Pop
Rating: 6.1/10
North Carolina has produced its share of folksy backwoods farmers and hunters who love to pick on guitars around the campfire. Bowerbirds is the latest installment, and they deliver a very good performance on their debut album, Hymns for a Dark Horse. Phil Moore and company deliver a vast array of melodies using harmonicas, an old accordion, and sleepy violins. Hymns for a Dark Horse ...
Posted by Joseph Bridges on Monday, February 16, 2009,
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Artist: Yoav
Title: Charmed and Strange
Label: The Verve Music Group
Genre: Alternative Rock/Pop
Rating: 6.8/10
After listening to the debut album Charmed and Strange by the artist Yoav, most people will have to check their ears. It’s true; there is no spinning of vinyl or keyboards on this disc. There are no instruments except the acoustic guitar. Using a complex use of loops and different reverb techniques with his six strings and soulful voice, Yoav crafts a very unique sound ...
Posted by Joseph Bridges on Monday, February 16, 2009,
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Artist: The Apes
Title: Ghost Games
Label: Gypsy Eyes Records
Genre: Art Rock/Pop
Rating: 6/10
On Ghost Games, the Washington D.C. quartet, The Apes, give us an odd assortment of artistic musical license from jangly art pop to over use of a moog synthesizer to true rock and roll straight from your next door neighbor’s garage. This fourth effort by The Apes showcases the new talent in lead singer Breck Brunsun who replaced Paul Wiel at the helm. Brunsun guides fans and casual liste...
Posted by Joseph Bridges on Sunday, February 15, 2009,
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Artist: Demians
Title: Building an Empire
Label: InsideOut Music
Genre: Progressive Rock
Rating: 7.5/10
The great minds of the French have given humanity many things over the years - modern diplomacy, the model constitution for countries around the world, mustard, mayonnaise, and other condiments- but they have now given us a wonderfully interesting progressive rock quartet, Demians. What started as an individual project for Nicolas Chapel, who sings with a growl here and there and ...
Posted by Joseph Bridges on Sunday, February 15, 2009,
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Artist: The Bad Plus
Title: For All I Care
Label: Heads Up International
Genre: Experimental Jazz
Rating: 8.5/10
What do Nirvana, Pink Floyd, Jeff Tweedy, the Bee Gees, Roger Miller, Yes, Heart, and The Flaming Lips have in common? Before you blow a fuse trying to connect this random group, listen to The Bad Plus’s new album For All I Care. The Bad Plus has regularly covered other artist from other genres, but their latest with Wendy Lewis singing lead vocals is a new take on the...
Posted by Joseph Bridges on Saturday, February 14, 2009,
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Artist: The Flamin’ Groovies
Title: Groovies Greatest Grooves
Label: Sire/ Rhino
Genre: Rock/Pop
Rating: 9.6/10
The Flamin’ Groovies came to the front of the American music scene at the wrong time and in the wrong place. In an era dominated by hippies wanting their rock and roll to be authentically strung out and psychedelic, The Flamin’ Groovies insisted on playing bluesy rock with the tinges of pop they enjoyed from the British Invasion a few years earlier. The hippie crowd...
Posted by Joseph Bridges on Friday, February 13, 2009,
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Artist: Charles Manson
Title: LIE: The Love and Terror Cult
Label: ESP-Disk
Genre: Folk
Rating: 8/10
If you listen to LIE: The Love and Terror Cult without actually knowing the creative artist, you might like the folk music done by Charles Manson with a little help from his groupies. There were many days tripping on various drugs and jamming along with local musicians in those days trying to score the big record label deal. Some have surmised his lack of success was one of his reas...
Posted by Pete Shather on Wednesday, February 11, 2009,
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Artist: San Kazakgascar
Title: Greetings from Beautiful…
Label: Lather Records
Genre: Folk
With music straight out of a Middle Eastern movie set in 1972, San Kazakgascar puts its strange flavor of quirky music to the test on its album Greetings from Beautiful... The goofy character shows through from the cover art all the way to the lyrics; but there are spots of sunshine poking its rays through to the sunny beach on which this band must play.
Posted by Joseph Bridges on Wednesday, February 11, 2009,
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Artist: Pas Chic Chic
Title: Au Contraire
Label: Semprini Records
Genre: Rock/Pop
Rating: 8/10
Those silly Canadians. At first you think they use English with a funny accent, and then they come out of nowhere with their French. Pas Chic Chic is made up of members from several Montreal bands and delivers on their second full length album, and first on a music label, an odd psychedelic mixture of pop music straight from 1960’s France with Au Contraire.
Posted by Joseph Bridges on Monday, February 9, 2009,
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Artist: Jeb Loy Nichols
Title: Days Are Mighty
Label: Compass Records
Genre: Rock/Pop
Rating: 6.9/10
Born in Wyoming and being raised in Missouri is an odd way to end up in Wales. Most people have no idea where to find the country of Wales on a globe (HINT: It’s next to England). Maybe the rolling hills of Wales remind Nichols of his home in the Midwestern United States or maybe he is trying to get away from an American ideal. Either way his trips throughout the world have provid...
Posted by Joseph Bridges on Monday, February 9, 2009,
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Artist: Ford and Fitzroy
Title: Canyon
Label: The Cougar Label
Genre: Rock/Pop
Rating: 4/10
Brooklyn has an abundance of bands doing their best to break out with the next big album. Most bands toil for years and years without ever even getting an EP to a record company. Ford and Fitzroy finally found a company willing to put out their full length debut Canyon in The Cougar Label. The Cougar Label discovered them in a practice room at a recording studio and immediately wanted them t...
Posted by Joseph Bridges on Monday, February 9, 2009,
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Artist: The Fray
Title: The Fray
Label: Sony
Genre: Rock/Pop
Rating: 6.4/10
It is very hard for a band to follow up an album that was twice platinum and had singles hit number one all over the world. You can hear songs by The Fray embedded in movies and television. You can hear them while shopping for groceries or while you are sipping your latte at your favorite coffee shop. In short, you cannot escape The Fray four years after their debut How to Save a Life. To follow their debut...
Posted by Joseph Bridges on Monday, February 9, 2009,
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Artist: Vetiver
Title: Tight Knit
Label: Sub Pop
Genre: Folk
Rating: 5.4/10
The state of California has been well known since the early 60’s as a hotbed of the light folk sounds emanating through troubadour bands and experimental songwriters. Working with California’s best such as Devendra Banhart and Vashti Bunyan, Andy Cabic has honed his brand and now is set to release his fourth album for his band Vetiver, titled Tight Knit, under the revered Sub Pop label.
Posted by Joseph Bridges on Thursday, February 5, 2009,
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Artist: Creaky Boards
Title: Brooklyn Is Love
Label: Self-Released
Genre: Rock/Pop
Rating: 9/10
There is no better way to get publicity for an obscure band than to whip up a fury of accusations against one of the biggest touring acts in the world. Andrew Hoepfner, the lead singer of Creaky Boards, accused Coldplay of stealing the basic tune of his song, ironically titled, “The Songs I Didn’t Write” for their new album Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends. Since all of Co...
Posted by Joseph Bridges on Thursday, February 5, 2009,
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Artist: Bon Iver
Title: Blood Bank EP
Label: Jagjaguwar
Genre: Folk Rock/Pop
Rating: 8/10
There are only so many songs an artist can squeeze onto an album.Justin Vernon juiced every note and chord out of For Emma, Forever Ago for one of the best crafted album of this decade. This is no small feat since it was also his debut. To follow such a work of art, Vernon has now issued a small four song EP titled Blood Bank to compliment his first work. It is kind of like discovering the s...
Posted by Joseph Bridges on Thursday, February 5, 2009,
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Artist: Cornerstone
Title: Head Over Heels
Label: Atom Records
Genre: Rock/Pop
Rating: 7.7/10
It is not an uncommon thing for a musician or a band to fly over the Atlantic and try to make it big traversing Europe. Even Jimmie Hendrix had to fly from Seattle to England doing backup studio work just to get noticed. This time around, it’s a reversal role for the Austrian band Cornerstone as they are now garnering more and more attention from around the globe after a few good works he...
Posted by Joseph Bridges on Thursday, February 5, 2009,
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Artist: The Individuals
Title: Fields/Aquamarine
Label: Bar None Records
Genre: Rock/ Pop
Rating: 8.9/10
In the 1980’s there were tons of bands trying to make new and exciting music they could call their own. Hoboken, New Jersey produced several strange and wonderful bands including The Bongos, the db’s, and probably one of the most influential The Individuals. Their entire career spanned only two years, but many bands of late 80’s college indie rock era time and time again c...
Posted by Joseph Bridges on Thursday, February 5, 2009,
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Artist: A.C. Newman
Title: Get Guilty
Label: Matador
Genre: Rock/Pop
Rating: 6.3/10
In the realm of indie rock, there is no other band so revered over the last ten years as The New Pornographers. Every album they craft is a piece of art and their constant touring is something not to be missed. When a member comes out with something on his own, they are sometimes hit or miss, not having the influence and editing of bandmates. A.C. Newman gives us a dose of his power pop with his sec...
Posted by Joseph Bridges on Thursday, February 5, 2009,
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Artist: Seabird
Title: ‘Til We See the Shore
Label: Credential Recordings
Genre: Rock/Pop
Rating: 9.2/10
I went to a bar with some friends on a random Sunday night a few months ago to see someone they knew put on a show with a few bands. He was good; but I was bored and hungry. I left to find food and when I came back the following act was in the middle of “Apparitions.” I was blown away and I unfortunately had to wait a few months to add to my music collection when I obtained...
Posted by Joseph Bridges on Thursday, February 5, 2009,
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Title: Rush
Label: Red Bull Records
Genre: Rock/Pop
Rating: 8.9/10
Why do good things always seem to come in duos? Batman and Robin, Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid, peanut butter and jelly all have the perfect combo that leads to greatness. Eric Ronick and Than Luu are doing their best to add their names to the heroes of duoness among the music crowd with their debut album Rush. Ronick and Ruu plied their trade among many great touring bands like Panic at the Disco and with M....
