Cold Cave Love Comes Close By Eileen Tilson Back in the day, before you were even allowed to set foot in unwelcoming club The Chamber in Atlanta, it was crucial to make sure your dark synth pop knowledge was about as up to date as your black platforms and pleather outfit. Descending into the dark […]
Mayer Hawthorne A Strange Arrangement Stones Throw Records By Eric Chavez The legacy of Diana Ross & The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, and other Motown favorites are alive and well in the heart of Mayer Hawthorne. His sound so emulates that of classic Motown, you can almost picture him with a form-fitting sequent gown and a […]
Sade Soldier of Love Sony Music By Eric Chavez Good music is like good sex, when it’s good, it lasts, and when it’s bad, you want it over, yesterday. On that thought, Sade’s new album Soldier of Love delivers the best lovemaking music since, well, her last record, Lover’s Rock. It’s been nearly a decade […]
Alejandro Sanz Paraiso Express WEA Latina By Eric Chavez From “El Alma al Aire” to “Corazon Partio,” his classics aren’t just hits, they are moments in Latin music history. Sanz’s music has always been musical mango, sweet and solid. Even his filler material is listenable because his performance simply demands it. With atmospheric, airy romantic […]
Stevie Monce The Broadcast By Al Kaufman In his press release, it says that Stevie Monce is “compared to artists like Ryan Adams, Snow Patrol and Kings of Leon.” Good company to be in, no doubt. And I’m sure Monce has a lot in common with them. They are all humans, all musicians, they may […]
Ellis Paul The Day After Everything Changed Black Wolf Records By Al Kaufman Boston’s Ellis Paul has been writing contemporary folk for almost 20 years. You don’t do that by just strumming a guitar and acting all sensitive. Paul is a gifted, poetic writer with with a flair for crisp melodies. His voice, which resembles […]
Packway Handle Band What Are We Gonna Do Now? Self-released By Scott Roberts You have to admire the tenacity of Athens’ Packway Handle Band. For nearly 10 years, this hard-working quintet has been one of the only purveyors of traditional (well, mostly traditional) bluegrass music in a town known more for its art- and dance-rock, […]
Charlotte Gainsbourg IRM Electra By Al Kaufman Finally, the often asked question, “What would Beck sound like as a French woman?” has been answered. All right, so maybe the question was never asked, but with release of Charlotte Gainsbourg’s IRM, it has been answered anyway. Gainsbourg is the daughter of French singer-songwriter, actor and director […]
Chris Duarte and Bluestone Co. 396 By Sam Parvin Chris Duarte’s latest album, 396, is funky from the first guitar lick. This guy can really wail, both instrumentally and vocally, and his band, Bluestone Co., rocks so hard you’d think they were a bunch of bayou boys with blues in their blood. There are obvious […]
Rebecca Loebe Mystery Prize Self-released By Scott Roberts If you had to use one word to describe Mystery Prize, the winning new CD and third release from Atlanta singer/songwriter Rebecca Loebe, “genuine” would be a perfect choice. Some performers just have a certain knack for emanating a quality that makes listeners instantly want to be […]
Spoon Transference Merge By Al Kaufman Driven by the horn-fueled single, "The Underdog," Spoon went from twitchy indie kids to mainstream successes with 2007's Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. Transference does not offer anything as remotely radio-friendly as "The Underdog," but it more than makes up for it with its deliciously friction-filled songs. The Austin band […]
Vampire Weekend Contra XL By Al Kaufman With their sunny, eponymous debut CD in January 2008, Vampire Weekend became the darlings of the indie crowd. By the end of that year, however, the band's demise seemed secure. People quickly tired of their quirky beats and African-lite influences. Happy music just doesn't have the depth and longevity […]
Editors In This Light and on This Evening Epic/Fader By Eileen Tilson In the music industry, the third time is definitely is the charm. By a band’s third album, they should have formally gelled creatively, perfected their live show, and understand their own talent enough to expand their music to the next level of fans. […]
The Villains The Villains DCM Records By Al Kaufman Remember the '70s? For those who don't, it was a sort of weird time musically. It was the time when country and rock began to merge. It was led by a band from California of all places, The Eagles. If the Eagles formed today, they would […]
The Head Puckered By Al Kaufman Teen musicians are usually poster ready heartthrobs who sing songs other people wrote and require a lot of vocal tweaking in the studio. The Head are about to change that notion.
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