END 2014
Bill Cosby accused of molesting women | Kim Kardashian’s butt is a thing |
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Jane Weaver
Jane Weaver casts off the woodsy, forest folk, folksy vibe of her last album and dons a silver jet-age suit for some space rock ... and she succeeds brilliantly. The only small complaint we might have is that some of the songs drone on a little too long. Considering you're more likely to be playing this disc on a lenthy car ride rather than during a listening party, that's probably just fine. We also love that even on a space-age album like this, Weaver can still close with some otherworldly beautiful singing on Your Time In This Life Is Just Temporary. While we're throwing out accolades of the under appreaciated Jane Weaver, let us also acknowledge The Quietus for the nice job they've done on recognizing the brillance of this artist and giving her some good press. (Nov '14)
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Cult of Youth
We noticed a trend around here recently. A lot of the bands we like came from the Sacred Bones label. We decided to start looking at their catalog in more detail and came across Cult of Youth. A singer that you'd expect in death metal band, tribal drum banging like you'd see in a hippy drum circle, and a sort of classic indie rock jangly + acoustic guitars backing. What the hell are we listening to? Do we like it? Another unique, only on Sacred Bones band and yeah, damn straight, we do like it. (Nov '14)
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Maggie Bjorklund
Danish chica rocking out some outstanding Americana ... perhaps some of that playing in the background band for Jack White has helped. (Oct '14)
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Submotion Orchestra
Our first exposure to Submotion Orchestra and we're impressed. We're looking forward to the moment when we hear Awakening and/or Chrome Units playing the action scenes of a spy thriller feature film. (Nov '14)
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Lily & Madeleine
We've often been accused of liking the "slit your wrists" type of music. Well we may have just found the pinnacle of that style song, in the midst of a pop girl sister act no less. Blue Blades, the close of Lily & Madeleine's second full length is a slow, moody, atmospheric song full of contemplation and as enveloping as the underwater scenes in which the music video was shot in. You just may slit your wrists as you fire up the music video, except you can't take your eyes off the two teenage girls singing the song. Bonus - the rest of the album contains some solid girl-girl harmony pop songs. Consider them pick me ups after you're done with Blue Blades. (Oct '14)
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NjS
Some solid hip hop and jazz blend inspired by San Francisco and Tokyo from young Shimo. (Oct '14)
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Robyn Hitchcock
Solid Robyn Hitchcock disc. (Sept '14)
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Purfume Genius
We like Purfume Genius' first couple of discs, we love that he's getting his wings under him now and branching out into more accessable songs - e.g., Queen is a standout. (Sept '14)
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MID 2014
Jimmy Fallon takes over the Late Show from Jay Leno | Letterman retires | Miley Cyrus becomes a thing | Guardians of the Galaxy is a box office hit | Ice Bucket Challenge (for ALS) goes viral |
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Jack White
Another solid album from Jack White. Boy, there's a shock. (June '14)
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Jenny Hval & Susanna
We're giving this a great rating not because the whole album is a great listen. We're rating it high because if you are an adventurous listener that likes intense, moving music, you need to buy I Have Walked This Body. This song travels from the mellowness of a soprano singing a church solo to an agressive rager that would make Fugazi look like an AM Pop band ... in the course of one song. One of the most beautiful, powerful songs we've ever heard. Your friends will hate it! p.s. download A Sudden Swing too. (Aug '14)
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The Lake Poets
Nice moody, Antony and the Johnsonsesqe (but without the dreery voice) music from this little-known English act. We caught wind of them because they were playing in a London club when we happened to be in town. (June '14)
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Lana Del Rey
Sometimes even we will buy music from popular artists that have sold millions of albums ... but only when it's a really good release. This one is. Which leaves us perplexed. What are those millions of people who have bought this disc listening to when they aren't listening to this? It's not like there are a lot of other top 10 artists making, dreary, reverb drenched slit your wrist songs. (June '14)
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Owen Pallett
Not your everyday indie rock. The Passions is the highlight for a end of the evening nightcap. (May '14)
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The Landing
We like well done electro pop. This is well done electro pop. (May '14)
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The Brian Jonestown Massacre
Our favorite band at the turn of the century comes out with (or, at least Anton comes out with) a new release so we have to pick it up and spin it. We love that Anton is still creating music. We love that that he is still growing and experimenting with this music while keeping an some of the jangly psychedelic guitars around to be called for from time to time. We just can't though, however much we wish we could, go back to who we were in the late 90s and early 00s when BJM was the best band on the planet in our eyes. (May '14)
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The Black Keys
We'll let other folks right the reviews on this one - there will be enough of them. Suffice it to say, this is a good release and will no doubt be adorning your favorite playlist soon if not already. (May '14)
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Start 2014
Ellen DeGeneres' orchestrated Academy Awards selfie goes viral | Philip Seymour Hoffman dies | Sochi, Russia host the Winter Olympics |
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The Apache Relay
What a great discovery. We heard about them when they were announced for the 2014 Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival. We were pleasantly surprised. Solid album of well-crafted americana pop songs. Valley of Fevers is a big highlight on this disc. Just imagine yourself barefoot on the grasses of speedway meadow, spinning around and 'round and 'round, arms and hair flung out sideways from the centrifugal force, smile on your face as it's tilted backwards to face the warm yellow afternoon sun. That gives you a pretty good idea of what this song is all about. (Apr '14)
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Damon Albarn
Finally! Don't get us wrong, we enjoyed Gorillaz, The Good, The Bad and the Queen and Albarn's other side projects. But we knew the dude who turned out the pure genius of "13", Blur's moody, introspective 1999 release, had more in him. We weren't wrong. This album was worth the wait. The fact that it is probably best suited for playing start to finish at a low volume during a lazy afternoon nap... implying that Albarn's musical growth is in lock step with our own ... is a minor miracle. Especially when you consider the regurgitated garbage that other, more commercially successful old rockers are putting out. (Apr '14)
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Courtney Barnett
We love the deadpan, slightly off beat musings of Barnett as she barks her lyrics over her jangly guitars and tap tap drumming. Especially on the song ... "the paramedic thinks I'm clever because I play guitar, I think she's clever because she stops people dying". We're not sticklers about lyrics around here. They don't make or break our experience. Give us a good mood and we don't care what your lyrics are or what language you're singing in (see: Sigur Ros). But we find ourselves trying to squeeze a little extra entertainment value out of following along with the lyrics on this one. (Feb '14)
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Dean Wareham
In a year that has us digging the musical growth in new releases from old musicians (BJM, Albarn), we are also loving the same-old, same-old from others. The tracks on Dean Wareham's new album sound like they can be pulled right off of 1992's Lunapark album ... and that's a good thing. Don't believe us, go back and spin some early Luna again. What a timeless band. (Mar '14)
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Broken Bells
We loved Broken Bells' debut release in 2010. We loved it back then and still now. Outside of a couple of tunes on this one (Lazy Wonderland, The Angel and the Fool), we are not so crazy about this release though. The formula seems to be the same, as is the personnel. Perhaps expectations were too high the second time around or similar sorts, but better, releases came out around the same time (e.g., The Black Keys, Damien Jurado)? (Feb '14)
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Bombay Bicycle Club
The song is a treat and is on our high rotation. A unique song that can combine chill and dance/drums and bass grooves all in one song. We were looking at initial listen. The rest of the album? We weren't quite as hooked at initial listen ... not necessarily because there weren't good songs, just not different songs. (Feb '14)
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Bohren & Der Club Of Gore
Lonely late nights at creepy, poorly light, underground jazz club. Too depresssed to sleep, you re-light the candle on your table-for-one and order another a burbon to numb yourself until daylight. (Jan '14)
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Damien Jurado
Solid release all around. (Jan '14)
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