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The Sword Heads Into Orbit on 'Warp Riders'
Wednesday, Aug. 25, 2010
After lumbering through Dungeons & Dragons-style sword-and-sorcery kingdoms for two albums, Texas quartet the Sword shoots off into outer space on Warp Riders. Full story »
Charming Vocals Shine Through the Clutter on Cotton Jones' 'Tall Hours in the Glowstream'
Wednesday, Aug. 25, 2010
If the Cumberland, Md., duo Cotton Jones is anything, it’s definitely cozy. And there’s something to be said for a cozy band. Full story »
The Party Isn't Over for Los Lobos
Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2010
Los Lobos’ latest was recorded in a cramped studio in East L.A., and it betrays the band’s origins as purveyors of neighborhood party music. But the party here feels like it’s almost over. Full story »
!!! Don't Give Themselves Enough Room on 'Strange Weather'
Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2010
If !!! were trying to make another pop record the solution would be better editing, but they’re not, and so the question becomes why they didn’t give everything in the song enough room to work. Full story »
Best Coast Commits to Bare-Bones Love Songs on 'Crazy for You'
Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2010
There's no denying Best Coast's single-minded devotion to love songs on its full-length debut, but there's also no denying the disc's intense appeal. Full story »
Boris/Astbury Collaboration Adds Up to Pleasant But Inessential 20 Minutes
Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2010
You probably never wondered what Japanese heavyweights Boris and the Cult's Ian Astbury would sound like together, but now that you know it’s happened, you kind of have to hear it, right? Full story »
Loss, Longing, and 'Learning' With Perfume Genius
Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2010
The album is called Learning for a reason; whatever he’s been through (in interviews, he talks about years of drug addiction and sexual misadventure), Mike Hadreas (aka Perfume Genius) seems to have arrived at some kind of personal peace. Full story »
Arcade Fire Turn Sour on '80s-Inspired 'Suburbs'
Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2010
The Suburbs is some of the best indie rock of the past few years, but it’s too familiar to be an event. Full story »
Danzig Returns to Old Form on 'Deth Red Sabaoth'
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
This is some of Danzig’s best music—haunting occult hard rock delivered with primal urgency, all black heart and swivelling hips—but it never quite rises out of the fever dream of a 12-year-old boy’s imagination. Full story »
Dull Consistency Drags Down Blitzen Trappers 'Destroyer of the Void'
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Blitzen Trapper sticks too close to their tried and true formula without stretching out whatsoever. Full story »
M.I.A. Captures the Noisy, Paranoid Spirit of 2010 on 'Maya'
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
In a year when angry old white Americans full of conspiracy theories and vague threats of armed insurrection are treated like serious political voices, M.I.A. (née Maya Arulpragasam) fires a fusillade from the other side: She’s young, brown, Third World, female, and not afraid to flirt with taboos. Full story »
Liz Phair's Guerrilla Album 'Funstyle' Is Interesting, If Not Exactly Good
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Available as a download on her website for $5.99, it is an odd mash of “real” Liz Phair songs and loopy, self-referential novelty tunes. The first track she posted online was “Bollywood,” which was greeted by the kind horrified word-of-mouth that money just can’t buy. Full story »
Dirty Projectors Ingenues Steal the Good/Weird 'Mount Wittenberg Orca'
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
The most striking thing about Dave Longstreth’s Mount Wittenberg Orca is that it’s anything more than an art-pop pipe dream. Full story »
No Context Needed for Konono No. 1's Congolese Grooves
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
The second U.S. studio album from this Congolese street-music ensemble is evidence that world music—a woefully inadequate tag in the first place—doesn’t have to be the polite sonic wallpaper promulgated by Ry Cooder. Full story »
Goatsnake Reissues 'Flower of Disease,' a Minor Stoner-Rock Classic
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
While the band has the requisite familiarity with the Black Sabbath catalog, the Sabbath moves are well-tempered by other frames of reference—early Sub Pop, propulsive mid-’90s desert rock, other ’70s outfits. Full story »