When it was announced that John Frusciante, guitarist for the Red Hot Chili Peppers was leaving, concern arose about the new direction of the ongoing Peppers. The perpetually boy-faced, angel-voice guitar savant was the driving force behind the roman-candle hooks that had propelled the last couple of Peppers albums. Frusciante Read More…
When Beirut, the solo project of New Mexico native Zach Condon, debuted in 2006, it was a welcome blast from some accordion-filled past. With its resounding chorus of brass orchestration and romantic images of Ye Olde Europe, the band’s debut album, Gulag Orkestar, was a refreshingly cheery introduction for the Read More…
Hot off the release of his last EP Union Town, Tom Morello has now given us World Wide Rebel Songs, the third LP as his political-folk alter ego, the Nightwatchman. Although the folk aspect is still dominant, Morello fuses it with his frequency-shifting electric guitar style. Backed by his Freedom Read More…
Stephen Malkmus, the legendary leader of Pavement, has returned with a new solo outing, Mirror Traffic. Opening with the jaunty “Tigers,” Mirror Traffic is chock-full of the indie hooks that made Pavement the end-all-be-all of the genre. “No One (Is As I Are Be)” has a quiet, majestic quality about Read More…
Although the reigning kings of hip hop have everything money can buy and some that it can’t — Grammys aren’t for sale, right? ― Kanye West and Jay-Z display their adamant abstinence from complacency in their collaborative effort Watch the Throne. The twelve-track LP was born from two artists who Read More…
Don’t be fooled by the nose ring on the cover of Joss Stone’s fifth studio release, LP1. There’s nothing remotely rebellious about the soulful singer’s new album. All the rebellion of the British neo-soul niche seems to have passed along with Amy Winehouse. That’s not to say there’s no life Read More…
Sky Full of Holes is Fountains of Wayne’s fifth studio album. Yeah, I couldn’t believe it either. It seems that this New York-based alt. rock group was destined to be a one-hit wonder, fading into childhood nostalgia as the only song we can remember is “Stacy’s Mom” — you know, Read More…
There’s nothing extraordinary about Vanessa Carlton. She plays the piano all right. She sings just okay, and she’s pretty enough not to scare off CD buyers with her face on an album cover. However, being just suitable isn’t enough. Since her 2002 hit and Zales commercial go-to song, “A Thousand Read More…
Electro-pop can’t stop and won’t stop, as is proved by the release of Little Dragon’s third album, Ritual Union. The Swedish quartet, led by the sultry, nymph-like vocals of Yukimi Nagano, flaunt their refined self-assurance with this latest installment of work. In the past, Little Dragon stood above the rest Read More…
Duet records are generally a mix of cheap love songs and tired ballads. Thankfully, Release the Sunbird have come to give the genre a fresh overhaul with their debut record, Come Back to Us. Led by the Bay Area’s Zach Rogue of Rogue Wave fame, his latest project brims with Read More…
