Charles Mingus Sextet With Eric Dolphy – Cornell 1964 / 2007 Blue Note / 9 Tracks / http://www.bluenote.com / I am not the most well versed individual when it comes to blues and jazz music. As one can glean from the artists present in the title of this disc (Charles Mingus and Eric Dolphy), this is a jazz album. The fifties and sixties were an interesting time for jazz music,…
We are Northern State. We are pleased to announce that our new album “Can I Keep This Pen?” will be released on Ipecac Recordings this August ’07. We’ve been friends for a very long time. Our names are Spero, Hesta Prynn and Sprout. We grew up together in deep suburban Long Island and found ourselves living in NYC after college. We have always shared a love of music, and we…
Young Stunna – The Best of Me / 2007 RJM / 19 Tracks / http://www.rjmrecords.com / There are a number of independent rappers that are trying to ply their trade in the current perio.d So many of them suck that it means finding a halfway decent rapper is a shore in and of itself. Many times, there are a few strong tracks on a disc and about ten times the…
“Four Beatles-headed psych-nerds with a taste for razor-sharp snake rock. ‘I’m 20 years old and… I may not live to see 21’, screams maniac John on ‘Tomahawk’, the deadly soundtrack to a fit of square-scalping.” – NME
Fast Computers – Heart Geometry / 2007 Self / 11 Tracks / http://www.thefastcomputers.com / The synth lines that start out “Sweden Hasn’t Changed, You Have†will undoubtedly remind individuals of The Psychedelic Furs. The fact that the book has pictures from a library further gives individuals an eighties type of feel. The band shifts things up enough that it does not last; a song like “How Many Times†brings Fast…
Summer Music Festivals! Gotta love them! Especially when windy city avant-pop combo Chin Up Chin Up are performing. That is right, Chin Up Chin Up will be performing at this years Lollapalooza on Friday Aug 3, 2007 @ 1PM CT on the Citistage. The tracks off the bands 2006 critically acclaimed release “This Harness CanÂ’t Ride Anything” are a joyful mix of shifting dynamics, stuttering riffs, and buoyant arrangements all…
Chris Letcher – Frieze / 2007 2Feet / 15 Tracks / http://www.sheergroup.com / http://www.2feetmusic.com / The opening to “Frieze†starts off slowly with what sounds like a movie quote opening up “Deep Friezeâ€. However, it is the poppy style of indie rock that Letcher plays that immediately saves this album. There are more than passing comparisons to individuals like Matthew Sweet on “Deep Friezeâ€, and while the Avalanches meets Kid…
Mondo Generator has announced the dates for the upcoming “What Is Rock†tour with Turbonegro. The tour will kick off in September and go through the middle of October.
Buildings Breeding – S/T / 2007 Mushpot / 12 Tracks / http://www.myspace.com/buildingsbredding / http://www.mushpotrecords.com / Buildings Breeding play a dreamy type of indie cum pop rock music that will bring individuals back to the shoegazer genre present in the early to middle nineties. The use of clapping during the opening track “Stacking Up Reasons†further closes the sound in on the band, to make it seem as if the band…
Renton, WA. – July 31, 2007 – Wizards of the Coast, Inc. (NYSE: HAS) today announced a partnership with Nexon America Inc. to launch the MapleStory iTrading Card Game (iTCG) in the US and Canada in November. The iTCG is a real-world Trading Card Game with codes redeemable for exclusive virtual-world game content – an interactive extension to MapleStory, Nexon’s massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), which is enormously popular…
AJ Rosales – Ultramarine / 2007 Novelty / 13 Tracks / http://www.ajrosales.com / AJ Rosales has a little bit of a Chris Cornell sound to eir voice during the opening of “Ultramarineâ€, the track “Alone Againâ€. The instrumentation may be bouncy and jangly, but there is nothing too terribly new provided by Rosales here. The California Dreams-like guitar line that shifts in and out of solos during “Alone Again†is…
Mississippi hip hop icon David Banner is putting the finishing touches on his much anticipated new SRC/Universal Motown album, Greatest Story Ever Told, preparing it for a fall release. The first single from the charismatic star’s fifth studio album, “Speaker,†features a select trinity of superstar talent – Akon, Lil Wayne and Snoop Dogg. Other stars joining the compelling producer/artist Banner on this album (either as guest artists or behind…
Mando Diao – Ode To Ochrasy / 2007 Mute / 14 Tracks / http://www.mandodiao.com / http://www.mute.com / I guess there are bands that are still trying to do the retro rock thing. Mando Diao does just that with their “Ode To Ochrasyâ€. This is the band’s third alum, and it shows that the act has had considerable time to go and polish their sound. While “Welcome Home, Luc Roitaille†is…
Kristie Nalley – The Pagan Romantics / 2005 Self / 12 Tracks / http://www.kristienalley.com / Despite the fact that all the documentation that I received with the disc said that the album was sanitized, I still felt as if unseen mold and mildew was messing with my breathing. Besides that, “The Pagan Romantics†is an okay album. “Barely Legal†starts out with Nalley’s vocals, and while different elements (drums, and…
“Imagine the backroom of a dive bar in a bad neighbourhood where the All American Rejects and Foo Fighters are chain-smoking, throwing back shots and playing cards. Sound good? Check this Scottish trio out on Warped this year and secure future bragging rights to your friends for later.” ALTERNATIVE PRESS
Adrianne Lenker – Live At The Southern / 2007 Lucid / 17 Tracks / 72 Minutes / http://www.adrianne.com / Adrianne Lenker is an individual that has not reached eir 17th birthday yet. This album was released when ey was still 14 years old, and features eir in the focal point of each and every track in this CD and DVD set. Whether it is providing the vocals or stringing together…
Thundering power-doom trio ZOROASTER has completed work on its debut full-length, entitled “Dog Magic”. The album is set for a September 11, 2007 release date via Terminal Doom / Battle Kommand Records (by way of Southern Lord).Â
Ellen Degenerate – Modern Girl / 2007 Self / 5 Tracks / http://www.ellendegenerate.net / http://www.glassmanaclerecords.com / Ellen Degenerate play punk rock. There is little that distinguishes them from the rest of the quicker, Los Angeles-punk acts of the late nineties when they play their “Who Made Rock & Roll Just For Girlsâ€. Of course, the vocals are catchy and seem to press a little bit on the style of the…
Boston, MA—Known for bringing favored acts like The Juggaknots and Smiley Da Ghetto Child out of obscurity and back into the public eye, Amalgam Digital strikes once again, this time signing Kurious Jorge to the label. On Sept 18th 2007 Amalgam will be re-releasing “A Constipated Monkey†as a prelude to his sophomore album which features Mf Doom on production due early 2008. In anticipation of the re-release and his…
Billy Brush – Love Sublime / 2007 Self / http://www.myspace.com/billybrush / Billy Brush last released an album in 2005; despite the break, the act has not lost a single step. Tracks like “My Couch†show Billy Brush and the rest of the band as a culmination of mid-nineties alternative with an earlier emo sound and more than a passing hint of Ben Folds and They Might Be Giants. The style…