CD Review: The Booze — At Maximum Volume; Playing Star Bar, March 12

The Booze
At Maximum Volume
Underrated Records

By Eric Chavez

Good music not only requires amazing influences, it demands it. With such influences as The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, The Faces and The Jam, it is only destined that The Booze become a noteworthy rock band in their own right. And so they do. With their LP At Maximum Volume, the band has seemed to have groomed their sound to not only let their influences come through, but let a little of their own unique brand of music shine as well. … Continue Reading

CD Review: Iron and Wine — Kiss Each Other Clean

Iron and Wine
Kiss Each Other Clean
Warner Brothers

By Al Kaufman

With Kiss Each Other Clean, Sam Beam, the person behind Iron and Wine, should finally rid himself of the neo-folkie tag. While 2007′s The Shepherd’s Dog hinted at a fuller sound, Beam goes in full force on Kiss Each Other Clean.

The CD opens with “Walking Far From Home,” a surreal laundry list of what feels like post-apocalyptic observations while walking in a faraway land that feels very close.  It is there that he meets sinners, people in need, and people attempting to take some sort of stand. The hissings and back-up chorus enhance the ominous mood. … Continue Reading

CD Review: The Mermaids — Tropsicle; Playing The EARL with Thee Oh Sees and Ty Segall, March 4

The Mermaids
Tropsicle
Pretty Ambitious Records

By Eileen Tilson

It only takes about 30 seconds listening to The Mermaids’ debut LP, Tropsicle, to instantly transport you to a Frankie Valentine/Annette Funicello movie, albeit the hipster version. Atlanta’s own Mermaids opens the album with the sunny “Holiday,” pouring with that same ’60s “doo-wop-ness” that made everyone want to go surfing. However, according to singer, guitarist and founding Mermaid Matt McCalvin (formerly of Gringo Star), “there’s a lot of depressing, personal shit going on in some of these songs.” … Continue Reading

CD Review: Kylie Minogue — Better Than Today EP; Playing The Fox Theatre, May 6

Kylie Minogue
Better Than Today EP
Parlophone

By Eric Chavez

In the past 20 years, no other female pop star, aside from Madonna, has had such an impact on the world of music. From “I Should Be So Lucky” to “Word is Out” to “Spinning Around,” Minogue has had hit after hit worldwide. In the U.S., though, aside from her Fever-era singles such as “Can’t Get You Out of My Head” and “Love at First Sight,” Kylie hasn’t had much commercial success. She has, however, managed to attract quite a following here in the States. … Continue Reading

CD Review: Campfire OK — Strange Like We Are

Campfire OK
Strange Like We Are
Ana-Them

By Ellen Eldridge

A warm feeling, like that of sitting at a campfire surrounded by chilling winds (and, possibly, wolves) comes across when the syncopated drums and vocals close in on the peaceful piano intro for Campfire OK’s debut Strange Like We Are. The imagery in the titles of the first three tracks alone cries out to a sense of eccentricity, like a hike in the woods on a broken leg. “We Lay In Caves” ends with a chaotic mesh of horns which give way to the drums starting “Hard Times,” the album’s second track which is punctuated with the twangy pull of a banjo’s strings. The third and title-track of the debut rises from a far-off call, like something one strains to make out across a forest. The gliding vocals recall Ten Story Relapse and a similar emotive of The Very Foundation, but not as frantic. … Continue Reading

CD Review: Apex Manor — The Year of Magical Drinking

Apex Manor
The Year of Magical Drinking
Merge

By Al Kaufman

In 2009, Ross Flournoy’s power-pop Southern California band, The Broken West, parted ways. Flournoy moved to Pasadena and developed a strong case of writer’s block. An NPR Monitor Mix competition, in which he was forced to write and record a song in a weekend, led to “Under the Gun,” which, on The Year of Magical Drinking, is a pop gem that sounds like one of the best things Jeff Tweedy and Wilco never recorded. Great drums, cool guitar riffs, and either about songwriting or chastising a friend or girlfriend for giving up on him when he was down. Or maybe both. … Continue Reading

CD Review: The Moondoggies — Tidelands; Playing The EARL, January 26

The Moondoggies
Tidelands
Hardly Art

By Al Kaufman

Seattle’s Moondoggies have captured their town’s old grunge mentality while softening the sound. There is no fuzz and feedback on Tidelands. It is simply a gentle and melodic album of soul searching. … Continue Reading

CD Review: Wanda Jackson — The Party Ain’t Over

Wanda Jackson
The Party Ain’t Over
Third Man/Nonesuch

By Al Kaufman

Jack White (The White Stripes, The Raconteurs and whatever new band he happens to be in this week)  seems to have a thing for older rebel women. First he resurrected the career of country maverick Loretta Lynn with Van Lear Rose. Now he takes on the lesser known — but more renegade — rockabilly queen, Wanda Jackson. … Continue Reading

CD Review: The Memorials — The Memorials; Playing The Five Spot, January 28

The Memorials
The Memorials
Bungalo

By Ellen Eldridge

The Memorials released its self-titled debut much to the excitement of The Mars Volta fans and those who have been following the prestigious career of Thomas Pridgen, the band’s drummer who founded this project. A fine line between soul music and music to break up a thick pot-fog in a college dorm, The Memorials take a calculated approach to pop melody by structuring sprawling guitars across a foundation of dense drumming. Pridgen, a former Grammy Award winner, decided to forge ahead with Berklee College of Music friends, Viveca Hawkins on vocals and Nick Brewer on guitar, to create a more personal sound which reflects truer creative intentions. … Continue Reading

CD Review: The Decemberists — The King Is Dead

The Decemberists
The King Is Dead
Capitol Records

By Scott Roberts

The term “folk-rock” has been used to describe electric-based music with acoustic leanings (or vice-versa) for nearly 50 years and has always felt a bit unsatisfying or vague, and may now even be bordering on archaic. However, there may not be a more suitable descriptor for the music of Portland-based The Decemberists in general, and, more specifically, for the music on their latest release, The King Is Dead. After forays into near-prog rock territory on their more epic and conceptual last two releases, The Hazards Of Love (2009) and The Crain Wife (2006), the band’s sixth full-length release opts for a simpler, more pastoral sound with quietly beautiful results. … Continue Reading

CD Review: Amanda Palmer — Amanda Palmer Goes Down Under

Amanda Palmer
Amanda Palmer Goes Down Under
Liberator

By Al Kaufman

There are two basic tenets of a rock concert if you want to get the crowd riled up: 1. Say the city/state/country’s name 2. Say “fuck.”  And if anyone knows how to pander to a crowd, it is punk performance artist Amanda Palmer. On her latest solo CD, which consists mostly of live cuts from Australia shows, she deals almost exclusively with the country down under, and throws in her usually salty language to get the point across. Take the second song, aptly called “Australia.” From behind her gorgeous sounding piano, she contemplates, “I could decide to do these dishes/Time to decide.” The music and her voice swells when she declares: “Fuck it I’m gonna go to Australia.” The crowd dutifully erupts. … Continue Reading

CD Review: Animal & the Evolvers — Heads Up Portugal

Animal & the Evolvers
Heads Up Portugal

By Al Kaufman

First things first, Atlanta’s own Animal & the Evolvers are to be loved if only for the message on the bottom of their CD: “Pass the wine. Please feel free to rip this CD and share it with a friend.” No FBI warnings here. These boys do not think you a felon for sharing their songs with a friend. … Continue Reading

CD Review: Young the Giant — Young the Giant; Playing Vinyl, March 12

Young the Giant
Young the Giant
Roadrunner

By Al Kaufman

Young the Giant conjures up the melodic grandeur of The Killers in their prime. Although Sameer Gadhia’s vocals do not resonate with quite the same authority as those of Brandon Flowers’, there is no denying the band’s music is captivating and, at times, downright thrilling. … Continue Reading

CD Review: Sahara Smith — Myth of the Heart; Playing Eddie’s Attic, January 22

Sahara Smith
Myth of the Heart
Playing in Traffic Records

By Al Kaufman

At the tender age of 22, Sahara Smith sings like an old soul. If her voice is as beautiful and fragile and butterfly wings, they are also the toughest wings ever a butterfly possessed. They may flutter with the breeze, but they will not tear. … Continue Reading

CD Review: nerdkween — Profitandloss; Playing Karvana, January 7

nerdkween
Profitandloss
Stickfigure Records

By Eric Chavez

Like the cover itself, everything about nerkween’s music, from the structure to the lyrics, is somewhat of a black swan. Never conforming to, well, any sort of convention, Atlanta-based singer-songwriter Monica Arrington, also known as nerdkween, is back on the scene with her sophomore album. With a semi-strong local cult following from the success of her debut, Synergy, nerdkween has made quite a name for herself in Atlanta as both an artist and a live act. But the question remains, can the artist avoid the sophomore slump? … Continue Reading