Heavenly Sword / 2007 Ninja Theory / Playstation 3 / http://www.heavenlysword.com It just seems as if Sony is getting their stuff together and putting forth some of the best games out for any of the three terrestrial game platforms (now if Bioshock was on a platform, I don’t know how comfortable I would be with that statement).  Heavenly Sword, created by Ninja Theory, is yet another of these games. The…
Canada’s ambassador de troubadour, Bob Wiseman, is now on a European adventure opening shows for Feist. The name Bob Wiseman might strike a familiar chord as he’s a former member of both Blue Rodeo and the Hidden Cameras and has recently been touring in the US and Canada with bands like Final Fantasy and Jason Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players.
Punk Core Records Presents: Pure Punk Rock / 2006 Punk Core / http://www.punkcore.com / http://www.myspace.com/punkcore / The shortness of the segments that are on “Pure Punk Rock†are great for those individuals that do not have a long attention span. Even the interview segments of this DVD are short enough that individuals will not be bored out of their minds with the facts being spouted out by individuals like Mike…
Judee Sill – Live In London / 2007 Water / 18 Tracks / http://www.runtdistribution.com/water.html / While it is true that some individuals in the current period know who Judee Sill was (Water Records released the demos for Sill’s unreleased third album as “Dreams Come True†back in 2005), chances are still strong that if you were not a fan of eir music when ey released eir self-titled (1971) and “Heart…
During a career that has spanned three decades, Michael Brook has collaborated with some of the most influential icons from the worlds of music, art, film and politics. He has forged a career as producer, sound innovator, inventor, guitarist, composer and solo artist: Brook is a modern day renaissance man. On his fourth solo release, he teams with producer/remixer James Hood (Pretenders, Moodswings) for BellCurve – a radical reinterpretation of…
Lollipop Is Burning Festival / 2006 Lollipop / 25 Tracks / http://lollipoprecords.free.fr /Â Although many individuals will not be familiar with about 40% of the music on this disc due to the fact that Jerry Spider Gang and Petit Vodo have not made it big on American shores yet, the production of this show and the talent of the bands present should be enough to merit picking up an album…
In their 27th year, Einstürzende Neubauten again prove the potency of their philo-acoustic long-term therapy. After their successful 2007 tour of the U.K. the mature avant-garde All-Stars present their new album Alles wieder offen, showing their intimacy and fragility in a completely new light. Blixa Bargeld, Alexander Hacke, N.U. Unruh, Rudolf Moser and Jochen Arbeit have triumphed over the old Berliner Mauerkrankheit, the fever has sunk to a normal temperature…
Psychic TV – Hell Is Invisible / Heaven is Her/E / 2007 Sweet Nothing / 10 Tracks / http://www.genesisp-orridge.com / In regards to actual full-length albums, and not singles (2002’s Snowflake/Illusive) and live albums (2003’s Live…series, 2006’s Live in Russia), it’s been a few years since Psychic TV has released anything. Genesis P-Orridge’s band’s last foray into studio albums were the triplet of albums that were Breathe, Cold Blue Torch,…
It has been a busy year for Owen (aka Mike Kinsella). He has already toured the US, Japan and Europe and will now head out again stateside this fall. This time around he will play dates around the Midwest and East Coast with Kevin Devine.
The Vandals – Live At the House of Blues (The Show Must Go Off Volume 9) / 2004 Kung Fu Records / 22 Tracks / http://www.vandals.com / http://www.kungfurecords.com / I only have been able to review The Vandals’ last album and see a few of their videos on the Kung Fu compilation before throwing myself into an hour of Vandals music, so I had a vague idea of what I…
Spinner.com – “Live Indietronica production outfit the Glass has been keeping electronic music interesting in NYC†http://www.spinner.com/2007/02/08/the-glass-dj-set-mp3/ The Tripwire – â€Club bangers that will undoubtedly have the kids’ asses shaking like they were on fire. If you’re into LCD Soundsystem, Justice, !!!, The Rapture, etc. etc. you’ll love these guys too†http://www.thetripwire.com/news/2007/2/2/download-the-glass-come-alive
Canvas Solaris – Cortical Tectonics / 2007 Sensory / 6 Tracks / http://www.canvassolaris.com / http://www.lasersedgegroup.com / Despite the fact that “Berserker Hypothesis†is a mere four minutes long, the harder progressive metal played by Canvas Solaris here bends and breaks an individual’s sense of time, with the band’s detailed arrangements being what stretches the perceived runtime of the track to a time much longer than reality. “Sinusoid Mirage†follows up…
HELLYEAH’s headline BALLS VOLUME STRENGTH tour will kick off Thursday, October 24 at the Sunrise Theater in Albuquerque before traveling on Saturday, October 27, 2007 to Tampa, Florida at that city’s annual “Guavaween†concert. The tour will forge on to Fayetville, NC on October 28, Detroit on “Hell Night,†(October 30), Indianapolis on Halloween night, Grand Rapids on November 2, Minneapolis on November 3 and House of Blues, Chicago, on…
Tupac Vs. Biggie : The Legacy Continues / 2006 MVD / 120 Minutes / http://www.mvdb2b.com / The DVDs that Chrome Dreams come out with are typically solid, and this re-interpretation of the Tupac Vs. Biggie tragedy is no different. They have gathered so much in the way of information that this requires two full hours of storytelling. Not happy with just providing the documentary, a number of extra bits and…
Like a sweet breath of fresh air, Brittney Elizabeth arrives on the pop rock music scene with her debut release, Breathe In, slated for national release on Desert Sunrise Records November 27th, and distributed nationally by CBUJ. These tender tales of heartache and bittersweet reminiscence sung with a vocal maturity well beyond her 20 years make for an impressive debut from a promising young talent. Brittney’s melodious voice and graceful…
Delft – The Brain Is Wider Than The Sky / 2007 Self / 5 Tracks / http://www.purevolume.com/delft / “Declare Your Love To The Person On the Right†is the first track on “The Brain Iss Wider Than The Skyâ€, and it immediately defies categorization. The band is able to go forth and create a rock style that draws influences from Coldplay, Queens of the Stone Age, Muse, and even Interpol…
Tim Williams will usher in the arrival of his Americana-laced indie pop gem, WHEN WORK IS DONE (Dovecote Records), with a show day of release, October 2, at New York City’s Cake Shop. The Brooklynite’s folky tunes are currently striking a chord with audiences up and down the East Coast while an intimate tour with Geert Van Der Velde of The Black Atlantic [formerly of Shai Hulud] is in the…
TV Party: Premier Episode, December 18, 1978 / 2006 MVD / 91 Minutes / http://www.mvdb2b.com / This DVD should really be packaged with the TV Party documentary. I mean, it makes sense since both are dealing with the same topic. The first-hand footage on the documentary would be bolstered by the full episode contained here, while the documentary would give this premier episode a context that it does not have…
Chin Up Chin Up is a touring machine! After spending the last month and a half rocking a little place we like to call Europe, the band will hit the road once again touring this crazy nation with fellow Chicagoans The Ponys. Upon return from their US dates the band will take a well-deserved siesta from travel to work on new material with plans to release a new record sometime…
St. Louis’ So They Say is anxiously awaiting the release of its sophomore effort, Life In Surveillance on October 9. The follow-up to the critically acclaimed Antidote For Irony (which was described as “flat out impressive†by AbsolutePunk.net) shows a definite maturity to the band’s sound.