Theophilus London’s new EP, Lover’s Holiday, is a piece of pop rap I can really get down with. Not only are some strong new wave influences tastefully shown on off this thing, but the songwriting is crafted for maximum enjoyability. With strong melodies, beats, and guest singers, Theo
MP3 Hailing from Arizona, TOAD–which stands for Take Over and Destroy–is a six-piece metal band that sounds kinda like the genre’s scrapyard. While scrapyards are full of junk, there’s also hidden treasure in them for anybody who is willing to to dig through the rusty pipes
My Morning Jacket’s latest album was a two-part surprise for me. First, I was happy to hear how alive and ambitious the first half of this album was. Not only are the hooks and instrumentation strong, but the band seems equally comfortable saying something beautiful or funny with their
When it comes to choosing a direction, Seattle’s Master Musicians of Bukkake have a little bit of musical ADD. That’s fine, though. Most of the time–no matter what style these seven guys happen to be embracing–they always put a ton of heart and creativity into what
On Coma Cinema’s third album lo-fi production backs up some real-life sadness on about 15 songs. It’s a little spotty, but nothing really sticks around long enough to disappoint. Some songs here really did hit me as memorable on my first listen, though. If you’re down with
On Boris’ latest albums, the band seeks to simplify their sound a bit. While they have made their style a little more accessible–especially on Attention Please–I don’t think it’s translated into something that’s exactly catchy or memorable. Still, there are some pretty heavy moments on
On Elmatic, Detroit’s Elzhi rewrite’s Nas’ seminal Illmatic to fit his personal story. Thanks to his flow, lyricism, and some production help from the Will Sessions band, the project goes off without a hitch. I’m sure it’ll be debated whether or not this album is better
On “the Rose With the Broken Neck,” Danger Mouse & Daniele Luppi pull together some Italian-style soundtrack music with Jack White on vocals. Though the textures and sounds are vintage and pretty authentic, the drama of this track–the drama I imagine should be here–doesn’t really hit me.
Every time Cass McCombs drops an album, I feel myself swinging back and forth violently on a spectrum of enjoyment. The songs that win me over do so with little to no effort, and the songs I hate gather an immediate response from me as well. Thankfully, “County Line” is
