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"The Cure" by The Cure

"The Cure" by The Cure

After countless threats to break up The Cure for years, Robert Smith has finally decided to shut the hell up, and with the release of this eponymous album, put all rumors to rest about The Cure's demise and start anew. Trying to shake things up a bit for this, their 13th album, Smith went out and hi... [More]

Written By: Kyle England
"Life of the Party" by Longwave

"Life of the Party" by Longwave

Longwave, which released the excellent Strangest Things LP last year (it ended up being #26 on my list last year, so it unfortunately did not make the top 25) have surprisingly released Life of the Party, and EP of five completely new tracks. What's an even bigger surprise is that only one of the tr... [More]

Written By: Kyle England
"One Soul Now" by Cowboy Junkies

"One Soul Now" by Cowboy Junkies

Margo Timmins and her brothers Michael and Peter have been bringing their alternative country music to the masses for 18 years now, and One Soul Now marks their ninth album in that stretch. It's astounding that these Canadians, in my humble opinion, have never released a mediocre album, unfortunatel... [More]

Written By: Kyle England
"All Ears, All Eyes, All The Time" by Piebald

"All Ears, All Eyes, All The Time" by Piebald

Frankly I've always considered Piebald to be one of the best up and coming bands out there. I've been listening to these guys for four years now. I was really into there first album, If It Weren't for Venetian Blinds It Would Be Curtains for Us All. From this title alone, it's obvious that these gu... [More]

Written By: Tyson Cantrell
"Keep Your Wig On" by Fastball

"Keep Your Wig On" by Fastball

Fastball scored a hit single In 1998 with "The Way," (a Spanish-tinged ode to the plight of a senior-set version of Thelma and Louise) which propelled their album All the Pain Money Can Buy to platinum sales. The resulting pressure to match the success of that album proved a bit daunting for the Aus... [More]

Written By: Kevin Jones
"III: Ghost Tigers Rise" by Tiger Army

"III: Ghost Tigers Rise" by Tiger Army

Once again I'm guilty of judging a book by it's cover. Though I'd certainly heard of this band, up until now I'd never actually listened to any of Tiger Army's previous releases. I just figured that since they were signed to Hellcat (Tim Armstrong of Rancid's label) that they would be nothing more t... [More]

Written By: Tyson Cantrell
"The Human Equation" by Ayreon

"The Human Equation" by Ayreon

Q: What do Britney Spears, Ludacris and Clay Akin all have in common? A: They take up shelf-space with their disposable records, which serves to keep most Red-blooded Americans from discovering truly innovative music. Ayreon is the brainchild of composer/guitar virtuoso Arjen A. Lucassen. The Hu... [More]

Written By: Ken Peterson
"In Exile Deo" by Juliana Hatfield

"In Exile Deo" by Juliana Hatfield

Juliana Hatfield's solo career has pretty much followed the same course as Tanya Donelly's (with and beyond Belly). Both were touted as the next big thing at the height of the alt-rock revolution of the early '90s, and as the genre fell from favor in the latter half of the '90s, so did both Hatfield... [More]

Written By: Kevin Jones
"A Ghost is Born" by Wilco

"A Ghost is Born" by Wilco

Colleagues of mine know that I don't blink or flinch for a second when I tell them that Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot album is the best album of this decade - so far. NOTHING has come close to equaling the artistic integrity that was displayed on that record in the four years this decade has produced... [More]

Written By: Kyle England
"We

"We

One would guess by the cover art for Give up the Ghost's that this Bostonian five piece was a whining band, crying about girls, broken hearts and relationships, (the picture on the cover is a bunch of candy hearts arranged in the shape of a big heart) but then I saw the name of the album, We're Down... [More]

Written By: Tyson Cantrell
"OnoffOn" by Mission of Burma

"OnoffOn" by Mission of Burma

After 22 long years who'd have thought that the long defunct Mission of Burma would grace the public with a brand new studio album' Not me, especially when you consider that the reason they broke up in the first place was because of Roger Miller's rapid hearing loss. But here it is, OnoffOn, the fir... [More]

Written By: Kyle England
"Together We're Heavy" by Polyphonic Spree

"Together We're Heavy" by Polyphonic Spree

Polyphonic Spree in a literal sense has arisen from the ashes of Tripping Daisy, following the drug overdose of guitarist Wes Berggren, singer Tim Delaughter has assembled not so much a band as a congregation. With 23 full-time members many of which take to the stage wearing flowing white robes, DeL... [More]

Written By: The Boneman
"MTV2's 2 Dollar Bill Series" by Beastie Boys Live in V...

"MTV2's 2 Dollar Bill Series" by Beastie Boys Live in Vegas

Boy oh boy--where to start. First of all, I should begin by saying that maybe I'm not the best man to write this piece. Why? Well, for starters, I wouldn't call myself an avid Beastie Boys listener. I like them quite a bit, but I don't follow them religiously which is the case with many of their... [More]

Written By:
"Escondida" by Jolie Holland

"Escondida" by Jolie Holland

Jolie Holland is a singular voice - like something rare and invaluable perhaps recovered from an attic under a civil war uniform in a cedar chest somewhere in a border town in Louisiana. Ever since I turned my father onto satellite radio I get reports of all sorts of special talent such as Miss Holl... [More]

Written By: Kevin Jones
"I'm Good Now" by Bob Schneider

"I'm Good Now" by Bob Schneider

When Bob Schneider's first album Lonelyland slipped into my hand, I'll have to admit that I never really gave it a fair listen. I got ahold of it about the same time Pete Yorn's first album dropped and since I preferred Pete to Bob I didn't give Lonelyland much of a chance. Bob's second release I'm... [More]

Written By: Kevin Jones