Month: June 2013
Review: Depeche Mode – Delta Machine
After 35-plus years of making sly and danceable new wave electronica, a band might be forgiven for letting it get a bit stale. … read more
Review: Deerhunter – Monomania
This album is a bit of a change for Deerhunter—a bit less shoegazy and experimental, and a lot more fun. … read more
Review: Decades – Self-Titled
On their self-titled debut full length, Toronto four-piece Decades deliver bursts of ‘80s Brit-pop through echoey shards of shoegaze. … read more
Review: Daughter – If You Leave
If You Leave starts off with a grand and bold introduction with the song, “Winter,” and that intensity remains pretty consistently throughout the 10-track LP. Lead singer Elena Tonra has a voice as haunting as Fiona Apple as her voice croons with a load of depth to her despair. … read more
Review: David Bowie – The Next Day
I still remember pulling Ziggy Stardust from the vinyl sleeve, the phrase “TO BE PLAYED AT MAXIMUM VOLUME” challenging me from the lower corner of the back cover. Every second of “Starman” forevermore altered my musical outlook. That said, I was skeptical as hell when I heard Bowie was releasing another album. Mainly because it’s been a decade since his last release, but also because his last album, Reality, fell a little short (in my opinion). Fortunately for us all, The Next Day meets the high expectations that Bowie sets by being, well, Bowie. … read more
Review: Corduroi – Jangala
Listening to this album, I felt like I was high on some sort of Shangri-La vacation, with peach trees in blossom, waterfalls glistening and magical gardens to explore. … read more
Review: Corespondents – Land of the Low People
Now I don’t want to come across as turning my nose up at this record, but Land of the Low People just goes too far. It seems to be experimental for experiment’s sake—make this Utah boy just don’t get it, but each of these 15 instrumentals has very little to latch on to. Jazz and country elements sound great when they’re played, but then they are bent into something unrecognizable (or, in most cases, enjoyable). The strange fact is that I can tell it took a lot of talent create this record, I just can’t imagine anybody electing to let this thing play for longer than 10 minutes or so. … read more
Review: Cobalt Cranes – Head in the Clouds
The Cobalt Cranes have got something good going on. They’re a solid lo-fi/shoegaze band and should be recognized for the amazing music they produced in their most recent album. … read more
Review: COMA – In Technicolor
It seems to me that the new trend among electronic artists is to include classical instruments in their production. In the opening song “Hoooooray,” COMA uses an accordion as well as other traditional instruments to create a slow and funky sound that gives electronic music a refreshing twist. … read more
Review: City Society – Self-Titled
Richard Cupolo, the man behind City Society, really reaches some alternative landscapes with his at-times Seal-esque vocals and fusion of rock, pop and dance. … read more