The Black Keys
Brothers

These days I'm not sure whether or not I have any time for the Black Keys; it all depends on whether the band still possess a sense of humour. Recent reports about their reactions to the Chris Marrs Piliero directed video for lead single "Next Girl" - which suggest that they hated it and made Piliero put disclaimers saying as much along the bottom of the clips of scantily clad girls being seduced by and then fighting over a fluffy dinosaur toy - would certainly show the duo up as a couple of stick-in-the-muds, but then it might all be part of an elaborate joke, so elaborate and confusing that it is not really that funny any more anyway. Or there is the no nonsense cover design; they are either humourless or in possession of a sense of humour which only they get.

Do the Black Keys...

The Fall
Your Future Our Clutter

How does one describe or explain The Fall to a generation who were only born in the mid to late nineties? Well, if we take their latest release, Your Future Our Clutter, as a point of reference and a working example I can reliably inform you that each of the nine tracks here is based around one simple, often infectiously repetitive riff, and this is driven home over the course of five or six minutes whilst a man who you can't really understand shouts and makes noises until it becomes so irritating to people who have given life to young children that they will begin banging on ceilings with broom sticks presumably because entering the room from which the "music" is coming frightens them so much or at least irritates them to the point where they lose coherent use of certain vital organs.

That being the case you might be forgiven for believing that The Fall are just...

The Smashing Pumpkins
Teargarden by Kaleidyscope, Vol. I: Songs for a Sailor

If you would have told the version of Jeremy that existed in 1996 that he would one day doubt Billy Corgan, he would have laughed at you. If you would have told the Jeremy that existed in 2000, post-Machina, that The Smashing Pumpkins were going to make a reunion album with two or more Original Pumpkins, he would have called you a damned liar between shrieking sobs. More importantly, if you would have told the Jeremy that existed at this time last year that a Post-Chamberlain Pumpkins would put out anything worth listening to, I would have run a red-hot poker through your midsection while screaming “THE FIRST RULE OF SMASHING PUMPKINS IS YOU DO NOT TALK ABOUT SMASHING PUMPKINS”. Needless to say, each version of Jeremy was wrong. Yeah, you could make the argument that Corgan’s a raving asshole that’s running a once era-defining band into the ground, but I...

Kings Go Forth
The Outsiders are Back

It is hard to believe that this is a modern day release; the ten members of Kings Go Forth have very few contemporaries who remain alive and kicking today, and those that are still breathing have long ago abandoned making music. On first listen you would be forgiven for mistaking this for a reissue made by a late sixties early seventies funk soul outfit who were criminally overlooked in their day and have only resurfaced now because of the smart actions of a die-hard fan cum record executive. There are snatches of Curtis Mayfield, Marvin Gaye and Otis Redding and Kings Go Forth are trapped in a time warp where the current hit parade is dominated by Motown, delta soul and Detroit sounds. They haven't listened to a new record since 1974.

Listening to The Outsiders are Back at the...

Drake
Thank Me Later

No Thank You.

[NOTE: The rapper Drake, who is the subject of this review, will be heretofore referred to by his real name… Aubrey.]

I have a friend who had a guest spot on “Degrassi: The Next Generation.” She attended open auditions in Los Angeles, took two months off of school, and filmed a three-episode arc, one which she still parades around in her book as her most important work. Aubrey probably would probably refer to this as profoundly sad, even when this is basically a watered down reason that a travesty such as Thank Me Later exists. The notion that everyone should have a band, or be a rapper, or a DJ, is experiencing what can only be described as catastrophic backlash, given the fact that most actors and actresses are really shitty musicians. Zooey Deschanel may be the exception that proves the rule, but the fact remains that Aubrey is the rule’s...

Against Me!

White Crosses

You can please some of the people some of the time, but you can't please all of the people all of the time -- Abraham Lincoln


Truer words have never been applied to Against Me!. The band has seemingly established that for every album that’s released in the wake of Reinventing Axl Rose, there is an immediate backlash. Said backlash is then rescinded in the release of the next album when the most vocal opponents of the album have finally focused their rage on the newest release and allowed the previous album to speak on its own merits. For example: As the Eternal Cowboy caught worlds of shit not only for being released on Fat Wreck Chords, but for not espousing Gabel’s thoughts on anarchy as much as Reinventing Axl Rose. However, the second Searching for a Former Clarity was released, AtEC was considered the modern classic it is. The cycle...

The Morning Benders
Big Echo

I know, I know, this review is a little late in coming. It's been three months since the release of Big Echo and yet I'm only just jumping on it now. The music press outside of this website have already pinpointed that this is a great album whilst I sat on the fence and couldn't bring myself to agree with them as I almost always fell under the waves of sound coming in from that beach scene on the cover and as I span around in the dense richness of the songs, looking for the surface of the water before drowning, I often forgot to listen, least of all enjoy myself.

Much like Grizzly Bear, whose Chris Taylor lent his production know how to this record, the songs (with the exception of the delightfully Beach Boys-y opener "Excuses") rarely jump out and snare your attention the first time you spin the disc. It took three long months before the full spectrum of sounds and...

Robyn
Body Talk, Pt. 1

Once You Go Tech, You Never, Never Comin' Back.

As much as the creators of such music would love to argue the point, the words in dance music are almost always about love. It’s not hard to understand why—love is the great connector. Love causes the most violent of mood swings, the most intense urges, the sharpest pains and the highest elation. Dance music is all about swinging the emotions as much as the hips, despite the surface vapidity of the genre’s artists.

Robyn is not like that.

The Swedish pop star (who is 30, btw) has been releasing music since she was 15, and has competed with Nirvana, Radiohead, The Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, and now Lady Gaga for her rightful place at the top of the charts. But amid the fierce competition that has always easily vanquished her (although this year may change that), Robyn has an air of the confident...

mc chris
mc chris goes to hell

For those not following along over the past few months, what follows is the culmination of the most recent project by mc chris. It’s the end result of three EPs my reviews of which can be found here, here, and here. I’m not going to give yet another recap of the project here, so please feel free to read back if anything isn’t making sense.

If you’ve been following the Part Six, Part…series, scrolling through the track listing of mc chris goes to hell may prove to be troubling. Those keeping track of the songs on this project will quickly be able to tell you that all but...

Caribou
Swim

I confess: I have never been a fan of much electronica. I have listened to many different artists and songs and none have caught my attention. Often times the beats and sonic textures are too cookie cutter, relying more on the accessibility of technology than imagination and creativity. Too many artists have focused on crafting beats and hooks instantly danceable in a club than enjoyed on headphones. Toying with the idea of sound in a world full of Nickelbacks sounds incredibly appealing. So running into Dan Snaith's Caribou was an unexpected surprise, joy and musical privilege.

In Swim, his first release in 3 years, Snaith treats electronic music as electronic music should be treated - with wonder, clarity and experimentality. Much can be said for an artist who can create layers upon layers of texture yet make it flow so smoothly into the ears of the listener. I could...

Sleigh Bells
Treats

As Gareth Campesinos! might say, “Winter’s hangin’ round like Spring is hung over.” And it’s true; Boston has experienced quite possibly the weirdest string of weather in recent vernal equinox memory. One day it will be unseasonably hot (which means 80 degrees, for those Southerners (me) who think ‘unseasonably hot’ can mean 110) and the next snow will be falling. Other than the utterly infuriating clothing choices this represents, Boston’s schizophrenic Spring has caused me to completely reevaluate what it means to be a ‘seasonal’ album. Y’know, how The National’s Boxer is qualified as an ‘Autumn’ album, Bon Iver’s For Emma, Forever Ago as ‘Winter,’ and something by Something Corporate as ‘Summer.’ It’s a curious thing, our seasonal listening habits. Stranger still is the pitch perfect emergence of Brooklyn (c’mon, where else would they be from) duo Sleigh Bells in this...