Post Tagged with: "Reviews"
The Boy Less Likely To reminds fans why they fell in love with the re-issue of their 2005 album
The Boy Least Likely To is an indie pop duo that have plenty of music making years under their belt. It has been close to a decade since the release of their first album The Best Party Ever in 2005, compiled of many singles that they released throughout the two years prior underneath self created label Too Young To Die. During the anticipation of their new album, the band has re-issued in the well received 2005 album for download. Therefore [...]
Titus Andronicus – Local Business album review
“Here it goes again”, a recurring lyric on the second song of ‘Local Business’, the new album by New Jersey indie-punk stalwarts Titus Andronicus, struck me as being slightly ironic, because that’s the phrase that ran through my head when the album started playing. This is one of those times when typing out 250 words feels like a much larger job than it actually is. This problem stems from the fact that I am suffering from the same difficulty as [...]
Shiny Toy Guns – III album review
Shiny Toy Guns have gone through a number of lineup changes through their five short years as a band, but Carah Charnow (replaced original member Ursula Vari in 2003 only to be replaced by Sisely Treasure in 2008) has returned. The band’s aptly-named third LP, III, starts with the driving intro to club-pop love song Somewhere To Hide, featuring Charnow’s high, curt voice (sounding much like Sharon Costanzo in 90’s hit Steal My Sunshine) over the echoing music. The spacious [...]
He’s my Brother She’s my Sister – Nobody Dances in this Town album review
It’s appropriate that much of the hullabaloo surrounding L.A. outfit He’s my Brother She’s my Sister (HMBSMS) stems from SXSW and ACL appearances. Their busker-styled, retro-freak folk, garage rock, alt-country, Americana, Doo-wop, Rockabilly, psychedelic genre meld is right at home in the motley musical stew that permeates ATX. What’s doubly appropriate is that the 5-piece’s album title is a reaction to their hometown music scene – “Nobody Dances in this Town.” That may be true in LA, but it does [...]
Esthero – Everything is Expensive album review
“Music is my genre” Esthero explains, which answers nothing but tells us everything. This Canadian songstress’ music has been described as hip-hop, jazz, pop, electronic, and indie among many others. And her third studio album ‘Everything is Expensive’ is no exception to her wide range in vocal and musical stylings. Esthero, born Jenny-Bea Englishman, started performing when she was only 15 years old, and joined forces with producer Doc McKinney shortly after turning 18. The two began recording and releasing [...]
Tift Merritt – Travelling Alone album review
It’s nice to know that American music has grown into how it exists today. From the early days of stripped-down gospels, folk standards, and work songs we now have EDM, heavy metal, and indie rock added to the mix. It’s equally as pleasing that despite the growth of new and more complicated instrumentation and electronic alteration, grassroots American tunes are still rehashed—and in the popular realm. Tift Merritt is one of many artists we can tune into who is at [...]
Menomena – Moms album review
Where once stood a trio of rockers, Menomena now stands as a duo of rockers from Portland. Though, from the full sound of their 5th studio album, Mom, you would really never guess it. Their attack is aggressive at times, and their sound is never less than full. I wasn’t sure what to expect from the sound of Menomena at first. Even after having listened to the first couple of tracks, Plumage, and Capsule, I still wasn’t quite sure what [...]
Len – It’s Easy if You Try album review
After over a decade since their last record, pop rock duo Len have released their latest album It’s Easy if You Try. The single “It’s My Neighbourhood” which pays recognition to their home town of Toronto, is a great indication they haven’t abandoned the upbeat, carefree sound that they have honed. Having a strong bond between the two siblings Mark Costanzo (producer/vocalist) and Sharon Costanzo (vocalist/bassist) is what makes their process of creating music easy. From the beginning it’s been [...]
Mean Creek – Youth Companion album review
There is a certain hint of melancholy to Mean Creek’s “Youth Companion”. That they manage to shoehorn it in despite having an album full of reasonably up tempo material is, I guess, a complement. At least it is if you’re into downer music. Musically the band is impeccable, fitting hard rock into a little bit more of a pop format. I hear a rougher edged Franz Ferdinand but I’m not sure that anyone else would make that comparison. Both bands [...]
I LIKE TRAINS – Beacons EP review
I Like Trains is one of those bands that you want to hate because they come off as a typical self-loathing-spoiled-brat type of band. You know, the type of band that actually has talent, but for some reason they choose to waste it by having a bad attitude. However, the only real reason I say any of that, is because their songs are so damn depressing. I don’t actually know the band, or whether or not they are a great [...]
