Dinosaur Pile-Up - My Rock 'N Roll 7"
Dinosaur Pile-Up - My Rock 'N Roll 7" (Friends vs. Records) [audio] [upcoming shows]
Remember that all-too-brief period in the '90s when grunge had died down, before anything else really stepped in to take its place, and these bands like Weezer and Nerf Herder had free reign to make poppy, crunchy quasi-rock music with no agenda? Dinosaur Pile-Up does, and this debut single is dripping with nostalgia. "My Rock 'N Roll" is all fuzz pedals and crash cymbals, while b-side "Love is a Boat" is a little more introverted but no less fun. Eight minutes of win.
- paul
Various Artists - Sub Pop 300
Various Artists - Sub Pop 300 (Mojo)
Twenty years after Sub Pop 200, Mojo continues the series with a reflection of all things Sub Pop. It begins with classics from Green River and Mudhoney, then shifts to oft-overlooked '90s bands like Tad and The Afghan Whigs. Then it goes crazy, making a bee-line for today's hit-makers Iron & Wine, The Postal Service (you'll NEVER guess which song!) and The Shins. With twenty-five minutes of unused disc space, it seems loopy to leave out Beat Happening, Soundgarden, Hazel, Nirvana, Dwarves...etc...etc...etc...
- cormac
Thieves Like Us - Play Music
Thieves Like Us - Play Music (Sea You) [audio] [upcoming shows]
Comprised of material that's been floating about since 2006, Play Music is the first official LP by the well-traveled Thieves Like Us. So adept at songwriting are Thieves Like Us that they create an impressionistic brand of electronic pop, where what's presented is minimal enough to allow the listener to layer imagined elements as the songs play. "Your Heart Feels" and "Drugs in My Body" are the most fully realized, but all nine others will pull you in when least expected.
- paul
The Vince Noir Project - S/T
The Vince Noir Project (12 Stone) [audio]
With their name nicked from The Mighty Boosh, I knew ahead of time The Vince Noir Project was going to be a little bit camp and a lot of fun. This Filipino quintet has an ever-present lounge quality, but isn't timid about incorporating guitars and electronic elements into every song they've got. Bouncing between straightforward pop and dark Euro grooves with spoken vocals, the album is more like a multi-artist compilation than the work of a single band—but it works.
- paul
High Places - S/T
High Places (Thrill Jockey) [audio] [upcoming shows]
I just don't get this cd. I've given it three months to reveal its charms, but each time it plays I only hear "we're making art, aren't we cute" coming back at me. No, High Places, you aren't cute. Your music blows. If I didn't know you were a couple of art fucks from Brooklyn, I'd swear these were field recordings from a neo-hippie commune sing-a-long in rural Saskatchewan. At least if that were true, there'd be an interesting backstory for this crap.
- paul
Dir En Grey - Uroboros
Dir En Grey - Uroboros (The End) [audio] [upcoming shows]
Dir En Grey's band members opted to write songs independently before beginning the recording process for Uroboros. The result is a creatively diverse collection of songs which sounds unlike their previous releases. The music is grounded in metal, but incorporates very different textures that range from funk to oriental and from raging to serene. These songs are combined to form a surprisingly cohesive album, which I think is one of best metal offerings of the year.
- j.p.
Cat Power - Dark End of the Street EP
Cat Power - Dark End of the Street EP (Matador) [audio] [upcoming shows]
Chan Marshall's marriage to an idealized Memphis sound has been a rocky one, wherein she steals the best of it and it, in return, steals the best of her. Neither partner comes out a winner. The fact that the songs on Dark End of the Street were scratched from Jukebox speaks to their supreme dullness; a shame, considering the singer and the source material. This is nothing but a missed opportunity.
- paul
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