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"Slideling" by Ian McCulloch

"Slideling" by Ian McCulloch

It really is a great thing to see such a resurgence of love for 80s rock bands recently. Hot Hot Heat, Interpol and Blink 182 have almost single handedly brought back a public interest for The Cure; and Coldplay and The Stills have really brought that same kind of rebirth to Echo & the Bunnymen. It'... [More]

"Fly Below the Radar" by Minibar

"Fly Below the Radar" by Minibar

A few years ago, a little unknown British band made one of my favorite albums of the year. That band was Minibar, and the album was Road Movies. Not even having famous producer T Bone Burnett on board producing their debut, or being featured on the Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back soundtrack could get... [More]

"Silence Is Easy" by Starsailor

"Silence Is Easy" by Starsailor

James Walsh possesses one of the richest most distinctively strong voices in modern music. With just a bit of the whiskey and ashtray rasp of Kelly Jones of the Stereophonics, and the range and breadth of Richard Ashcroft, he could sing passages from Madonna's children's books and it would be enough... [More]

"Give Up" by The Postal Service

"Give Up" by The Postal Service

Postal Service is an aptly titled band that represents the collaboration of Death Cab for Cutie's Ben Gibbard and Jimmy Tamborello of Dntel. The tunes on this album we're created by these two via the U.S. Mail. Tamborello and Gibbard first worked together on the title track of Dntel's This is the Dr... [More]

"Extinguished: Outtakes" by Prefuse 73

"Extinguished: Outtakes" by Prefuse 73

It's amazing to think that Scott Harren a.k.a. Prefuse 73 had any outtakes at all after the 23-track behemoth that was One Word Extinguisher. But here we are, and only months after that fantastic release comes Extinguished: Outtakes, 23! more tracks from this brilliant mind in music. Some of these... [More]

"One Word Extinguisher" by Prefuse 73

"One Word Extinguisher" by Prefuse 73

Scott Harren is a very busy man. When he's not recording fantastic music under other aliases such as Savath + Savalas and Delarosa and Asora, he records under probably his most well known alias, Prefuse 73. It's amazing that with the volume of work that Harren puts out every year, he still has not... [More]

"Coachella 2004 - Best of Report!" by Coachella 2004

"Coachella 2004 - Best of Report!" by Coachella 2004

If there's one thing I have to say to all you concert junkies out there, it's that you must attend the Coachella Music and Arts Festival at least once in your life. 75 BANDS OVER THE COURSE OF TWO DAYS IN 110 DEGREE HEAT! It's absolute insanity! It's like running a marathon. But it's all for a great... [More]

"Scorpio Rising" by Death in Vegas

"Scorpio Rising" by Death in Vegas

Death in Vegas know a good thing when hear it and on their third release, they don't stray to far from their interesting concoction of gritty rock, techno repetition, and spacy psychedelia, though this time out it's not quiet as musically dark. On Scorpio Rising (taken perhaps from the Kenneth Anger... [More]

"With the Tides" by South

"With the Tides" by South

In a period of less than 4 years South has quietly snuck up on the world and become one of the most outstanding bands of it's ilk, or any other ilk for that matter. As long as we're talking about ilk, I'd say Travis is their primary touchstone, (when I say Travis, I mean the band that delivered The... [More]

"Kill the Moonlight" by Spoon

"Kill the Moonlight" by Spoon

Kill the Moonlight is Spoon's second release for Merge Records, after being dropped by Electra Records after 2 efforts in the late 90's. Following their triumphant return with Girls Can Tell, Kill the Moonlight manages to be just as effective even though a good bit more spare and streamlined. They... [More]

"Electric Version" by New Pornographers

"Electric Version" by New Pornographers

For those of you not familiar with this powerhouse jangle pop group, the New Pornographers are a Canadian supergroup of sorts consisting of Carl Newman of Zumpano on most of the vocals throughout with indie rock goddess Neko Case chiming in on occasion with her Kirsty MacColl influenced vocals. Dan... [More]

"1972" by Josh Rouse

"1972" by Josh Rouse

Josh Rouse has always been the kind of singer songwriter that has been consistently overlooked, even though every album he's ever released has been damn near perfect. His last album, Under Cold Blue Stars was a great piece of alt country chamber pop that belongs next to other great artists such as... [More]

"The Decline of British Sea Power" by British Sea Power

"The Decline of British Sea Power" by British Sea Power

If nothing else this record shows that these wet-behind-the-ears Brits have in their hands a world of potential. And although I very much recommend that you check this record out, it's pretty hard to suss out what to expect from song to song. In fact, the album sort of comes at you in 3 pretty disti... [More]

"The Soul Sessions" by Joss Stone

"The Soul Sessions" by Joss Stone

The first time I heard anything about Joss Stone, I believe it was David Letterman introducing her as an amazing 16 year old British phenomenon. Before long I noticed that she was hot beyond her 16 years and then I noticed that she was gifted well beyond her 16 years and then when the chorus came a... [More]

"Cast of Thousands" by Elbow

"Cast of Thousands" by Elbow

It's rare that a band comes along whom upon their debut release get the credibility of Elbow. When Asleep In The Back dropped it was spoken of as if the band had been around for years and was finally getting their props. Not knowing any better at the time, that's what I figured. Asleep in the Back m... [More]