Brandon Soderberg’s recent SPIN.com article, “Stop Saying Nice Things About Macklemore’s ‘Thrift Shop,’” is a catching read. He describes the (currently) #1 track as, “…a rap from a white guy celebrating common sense and sustainability — spending money at the local Goodwill or Salvation Army instead of at the mall or some streetwear boutique —(…)
I planned on running some errands after writing a review for Dropkick Murphys’ Signed and Sealed in Blood. (Un)Fortunately, the whiskey breath oozing out of the record put me past 0.08%. A raucous collection of Irish-punk drinking songs for every occasion, the record celebrates the beauty that lies at the bottom of every bottle. Musically,(…)
Ra Ra Riot’s debut album, “The Rhumb Line,” showcased an uncanny ability to transform frenetic, new-wave, baroque-funk grooves into an endlessly hormonal evening on the 3rd night of college, inexhaustibly expounding on fashionable existentialism in an effort to make out with the near-sighted brunette in Ray-Bans. On their third studio album, “Beta Love,” they graduate to(…)
When listening to Macklemore and Ryan Lewis‘, “The Heist,” one is struck by the string infusion and orchestral nuance across the record, a lingering, melancholic subtlety provided by Seattle-based composer/violinist Andrew Joslyn. His mark has been made on the Seattle music scene, imprinting his yearning sound upon the likes of Kris Orlowski, the Seattle Rock Orchestra, and David Bazan. He encapsulates a(…)
When the pizzicato arpeggios of the cello are accentuated by neoclassical piano and a lilting, reedy accordian melody on Track 4 (“Gare Du Nord”) of Franka De Mille’s album, “Bridge the Roads,” it’s pleasantly hard to breathe. The two opening tracks, “Come On” and “Fallen” lead the listener to believe that another conservatory musician is(…)
A senior quote in my high school yearbook read, “Sometimes you just gotta take a look at that wave and be like ‘Let’s party.’ ” Bear in mind, I went to a high school over a thousand miles away from the nearest beach. This particular senior was the epitome of effortless cool, a painful reminder(…)
Wintersleep‘s LP, Hello Hum, demands a glass of Canadian Club and a massive window, covered in frost, overlooking the Cape Breton Highlands. Unfortunately, I had to resort to a humid St. Louis roof and a bottle of Jack Daniels. Simply a disclaimer; nothing more. The record begins with an oscillating overtone filter on a simple(…)
To comment on Six-Gun Rhythms’ self-titled EP, one could easily rail against the over-produced, sterility of modern music, hailing Six-Gun Rhythm as a glorious return to gutsy, trashy, power pop/folk rock. There are easy comparisons to The Strokes and The Fratellis, or any other band beginning with “The.” What is most telling, however, about this(…)
