That show was just last Friday. Both bands were on form and very friendly to chat with, despite slightly less than ideal attendance. But I digress. On to “In Heaven,” Twin Sister’s debut LP for Domino Records. It’s a delightful, gentle indie record with wide ranges in sound, but not mood (set at “wispy”), save […]
CD reviews
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Mutemath — Odd Soul
Having now heard their third album, “Odd Soul,” it’s pretty easy to understand what King meant when he said, “A lot of the songs we have on this new record are fun to play, and will be fun to play for a long time, no matter what.” The LP’s first four tracks were the songs […]
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Queen — News of the World / Jazz / The Game / Flash Gordon / Hot Space
For the band’s 40th anniversary, Hollywood Records has reissued deluxe remasters of Queen’s second round of studio albums with bonus EP discs fortifying each release. This batch of five begins with 1977’s “News of the World,” which proceeds regally with the double A-side single “We Will Rock You” and “We Are the Champions.” Besides these […]
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Laura Marling – A Creature I Don’t Know
So much of the 21-year-old’s third LP, “A Creature I Don’t Know,” comes in styles more nuanced and technically difficult to perform than pure, simple folk, while it simultaneously avoids lazily dipping into other stylistic offshoots for guidance or song structure. Stories are told here in country, British folk, American folk and plenty of other […]
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The Jimi Hendrix Experience — Hendrix in the West / Winterland
I have no doubts that the news of Merge Records’ forthcoming reissue of Superchunk’s 1994 classic, “Foolish,” has my friend George Lang at The Oklahoman nervously checking his inbox every four or five minutes, anxious to download that remastered 50 minutes of 90s indie-guitar glory. The re-done edition is accompanied by never-before-heard bonus material and […]
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Small Sur — Tones
Small Sur sounds nothing like any of these bands. Literally, nothing. They’ll probably never achieve the same level of notoriety, which is very sad. They’ve recorded the most beautiful, lovely slowcore folk music these ears have ever heard, but unfortunately, that particular sub-genre isn’t in high demand among audiences much larger than what could fill […]
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Jackie-O Motherf***er — Earth Sound System
They’re kindred spirits to Waka Flocka Flame in that sense. And that sense only. But enough teasing about Jackie-O’s name. Let’s tease them for recording a patience-trying album. “Earth Sound System” contains a pair of tracks — one exactly seven minutes and eight seconds in length, and one sitting right at nine and a half […]
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Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks — Mirror Traffic
If you answered with “an improvement on Malkmus’ last effort flashing some of his funniest, snarkiest songwriting to date,” then you’re correct. Beck effectively tossed out the Jicks’ 2008 LP, “Real Emotional Trash,” replacing an album constituted of skilled, but too-far-extended guitar jams with one that paces more like Pavement’s “Wowee Zowee,” and draws influence […]
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Patti Smith — Outside Society
But you can easily imagine Smith swaying back and forth for three and a half minutes, plinking on a grand piano Elton John-style, her voice trembling for the punishment she’s soon to inflict with the song’s grand finale. In the liner notes of her forthcoming greatest hits compilation, the songwriter reflects that the track is […]
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Shabazz Palaces — Black Up
That was all true for their first two projects, the “Shabazz Palaces” and “Of Light” EPs, and nothing has changed with the new full-length, “Black Up.” The same adjectives might fit the man behind the mic, Digable Planets alum Ishmael “Butterfly” Butler, at least in his approach to rapping. His moderately paced, raspy and recognizable […]