Latest Posts

Mac DeMarco – Salad Days

April 1, 2014

NOTE: This review was written immediately after returning from a Mac DeMarco concert in Cleveland, in which he and his touring bassist licked me in the face (I gave Mac a Valentine and asked for a kiss in return. He obliged me.) and then I talked to him and essentially stared at him as he smoked outside the venue. So what I’m trying to get at is that this may not be the most objective review. But does objectivity have any place in rock criticism anyway? Mac DeMarco has had a busy year. The Montreal-born, Brooklyn-inhabiting indie rock prankster (who has described his sound as “jizz jazz,” a mix of surf rock textures, jangle pop guitar tones, and soft-spoken crooning) found himself an indie sensation after releasing debut album 2, working with Tyler, the Creator, and developing a beloved live act, known to feature spontaneous nudity and bizarre, profane covers of[...]

S Carey – Range of Light

April 1, 2014

S. Carey – better known as Sean Carey, the drummer for Bon Iver – knows how to stay on the top of his solo game. After surprisingly captivating us with single after single of ethereal beauty from his debut effort All We Grow, the soft voiced drummer has returned in 2014 with the transcendent Range of Light. The instrumentalist turned solo singer-songwriter has only continued to perfect his craft with each new song release, supplying us with even sleeker orchestral compilations and fresh environmentally inspired jams. And, yes – he’s done it again. Building across a sparse, spacey experimental apparatus, album opener “Glass/Film” provides the record’s whole ambience within its confines, which is to say, it shows a certain intentional complexity in its orchestration that Carey always strives to add. This follows straight into “Creaking,” another track piggybacking on Carey’s attention to detail, especially in the way it creates a complex soundscape revolving around water droplets,[...]

Johnny Cash – Out Amoung The Stars

March 28, 2014

It’s hard to believe that over a decade after his death, Johnny Cash is still giving us new, baritone-riddled insights to chew on. Or maybe it’s not, given the many stories that seem necessary to accompany a life held by such a prolific personality. In his fourth posthumous release, Out Among The Stars endows listeners with just a few more narratives, realizations, and introspective absurdities from a man who rambled along the volatile path of addiction, god, flailing integrity, and poetic emotion that so characteristically dubbed him country’s humble outlaw—the Man in Black.  Recorded in the early ‘80s and shelved by his then-label Columbia Records, the twelve-tracked compilation features two originals (“Call Your Mother” and “I Came To Believe”) nestled comfortably among—though slightly overshadowed by—a series of covers and duets that only seem to bolster Cash’s steady knack for reinventing and transforming the songs of others into refined works of his own.[...]

Waka Flocka Flame – Re-up Mixtape

March 27, 2014

Waka Flocka goes hard in the motherfuckin tape on his new mix, Re-Up, an 11 track compilation with solid production and clever collaborations. His much-anticipated album, Flockaveli 2, doesn’t drop til later this year, and this mix will carry you through til it’s release. Fellow Atlanta rapper Young Scooter is featured on the 808 Mafia produced second track, “Cook Jug,” and has one of the catchier hooks on the mix. Both “Lottery” and “Ain’t No Problems” have that signature Waka sound, and the latter has verses from oddly charismatic ATL rapper Young Thug and Judo. “Word to the Wise,” an impeccably produced track by up and coming rapper-turned-producer Metro Boomin, is one of the strongest on the tape, and it’s worth mentioning that Metro is only 19 years old. He can’t get into the clubs that play his music, but that’s what house parties, like the one in “Real N!gga Love,” are for. Featuring the OG of[...]

The Hold Steady – Teeth Dreams

March 27, 2014

The Hold Steady, as their name suggests, have always been consistent. Each record contains the same classic rock bravado, the same gritty tales of skaters and punks, druggies and barflies, “kids at shows” and their “scene leaders.” Jesus is found and lost, beverages consumed and vomited, girls hooked up with then abandoned. And yet, through all the recycled imagery, frontman Craig Finn keeps his storytelling gripping and sympathetic, caring deeply for the life-hungry characters he creates as they binge-and-purge their way through the city’s slimy little sins. Teeth Dreams, a more straightforward affair than some of their records, is no deviation from the Hold Steady’s concentrated vision. Although Finn has stated that the album’s title was inspired by a David Foster Wallace passage, Jack Kerouac still serves as his main literary muse. Soaked in booze and blood, the songs lift themselves up from the barroom floor to reach toward the flickering[...]

Liars – Mess

March 26, 2014

The Brooklyn-based threesome Liars is hard to peg when it comes to classifying, or relaying their catalogue of music. After moving between New Jersey, Los Angeles, and Berlin, finally settling down in New York City, it is apparent their music morphs alongside them like a nomadic passenger. Liars’ seventh studio album, Mess, is glam-electronic at its finest, boasting erotic, dark synths, and deadpan vocals that make me wonder whether these guys are night walkers (see: Game Of Thrones). If the title of the album doesn’t already give off a strong hint of the chaotic, musical swirl that follows, the album art might, looking like something out of artist Jim Drain’s anthropomorphic, woven sculpture collection.  “Mask Maker” begins with lyrics sung through a vocal changer that say “smell my socks/ eat my face off/ take my face off/ I like your face” that remind me of what a crazed man or woman on bath[...]

Future Islands – Singles

March 25, 2014

If you’ve never heard of the synth-rock trio Future Islands, then take a moment to watch their unorthodox yet strangely entertaining performance on the Late Show with David Letterman a couple of weeks ago. That should give you a good idea of the group’s emotional attachment to each performance, particularly the passion lead singer Samuel T. Herring seems to have. Following the success of 2011’s On the Water, the trio went back to the drawing board and came up with the concept of making another album that was rhythmically cohesive while focusing on their fiery beats and catchy hooks. Luckily for them, all of those preconceived thoughts fully embody their fourth studio album, Singles.  Right away, the track listing foreshadows a theme of optimism throughout its collection with songs such as “Spirit,” “Sun in the Morning,” and “Doves” to name a few. The opening track to Singles, “Seasons (Waiting on You),” is a combination of everything Future Islands is sonically: breezy[...]