Brill Bruisers, the sixth outing by all-star pop collective the New Pornographers, veritably explodes to life with the album-opening title track. The instruments burst forward with the sort of harmonized nonsense syllables that have been the hallmark of rock ‘n’ … Continue reading The New Releases Shelf: Brill Bruisers
I have a feeling I would have really disliked The Voyager had it arrived ten years earlier. My basis for this is my dwindling appreciation of the music of Rilo Kiley as they got more polished and poppy on More … Continue reading The New Releases Shelf: The Voyager
This is one of those rare instances where the album cover says it all. There’s the kid. Bushy hair. Eyes cast down. Cigarette in place and drawn heavily upon. He looks like he’s moving forward, pressing against the world but … Continue reading The New Releases Shelf: Beauty & Ruin
(Picture) The backlash, it seems, is officially underway. While plenty of the more venerable publications have predictably lined up with dutiful raves, befitting the Akron duo’s new status as the last great hope of rock ‘n’ roll in a Miley Cyrus pop flare universe, there have also been equally expected kneejerk naysaying, led by a scalding from Pitchfork severe enough to prompt drummer Patrick Carney to sarcastically reference it during an appearance on The Colbert Report. The truth between these markedly different reactions, as it so often does, lies somewhere in between. Turn Blue is unmistakably a Black Keys record. … Continue reading The New Releases Shelf: Turn Blue
(Picture credit.) Pop music is always at its truest when it’s speaking about heartbreak. When tougher guitars and a racing, drum-driven backbeat start infringing and the music tips over more clearly into rock ‘n’ roll there are other aspects of … Continue reading The New Releases Shelf: I Never Learn
(Picture credit.) I was nervous about the new Wye Oak album. I have significant admiration for the duo’s previous record, 2011’s Civilian, but it was clear that Jenn Wasner and Andy Stack were moving in a new direction, one seemingly … Continue reading The New Releases Shelf: Shriek
I keep hunting my brain for the proper hyperbole to affix to the new, self-titled release from St. Vincent. The album, a release that seems at once playful and revolutionary, almost demands such breathless praise. There’s an implicit invitation to … Continue reading The New Releases Shelf: St. Vincent
I’m prepared to admit that I can’t always readily identify what makes a great album great. Sometimes, sure, there’s a clear vision, a great leap forward for an artists, or some wholly evident backstory that adds depth to the melding … Continue reading The New Releases Shelf: Burn Your Fire for No Witness
Sometime during the making of Too True, the third full-length from Dum Dum Girls, frontwoman Dee Dee (also known as Kristin Welchez) literally lost her voice. According to her, that caused a slow-down in the creative process, giving extra scrutiny … Continue reading The New Releases Shelf: Too True
My strong impression of Bruce Springsteen’s general approach to crafting albums is that he agonizes over every bit of every song, and then he agonizes some more about the way those songs fit together. This leads to the perception (and … Continue reading The New Releases Shelf: High Hopes
