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Infernal Overdrive – Last Rays of the Dying Sun (Small Stone)
Somewhere in the middle of Thin Lizzy and Iron Maiden, if you will.
17 January 2012The Devil’s Blood – The Thousandfold Epicentre (Metal Blade)
Who knew Black Widow‘s 1970 occult rock LP Sacrifice would become such a sacred text?
15 January 2012The Compulsions – Beat the Devil (self-released)
Leader Rob Carlyle‘s long-simmering brainchild boasts all the sex, sin and sleaze we’d expect from the purveyors of the song “Big Fat Sexy Mama.”
13 January 2012Gene Clark – reissues (Sundazed)
We finally get domestic versions of Clark’s early albums, and they provide a clear argument that Clark should be as venerated as any better-known name of his generation.
11 January 2012Dixie Witch – Let It Roll (Small Stone)
It’s always nice when a band goes the extra mile and decides to compose songs instead of stringing together riffs.
9 January 2012Mike Viola – Electro De Perfecto (Good Morning Monkey/Hornblow)
Like a lot of artists who put a ton of hard work into making it look easy, Viola is a master of subterfuge.
19 December 2011Soriah with Ashkelon Sain – Eztica (Projekt)
On Eztica, Soriah (Enrique Ugalde to his folks) seems to emerge from some other dimension, one in which sunlight, sand and smoke intermingle, reflecting at odd angles off the droning soundwaves that flow from his throat.
17 December 2011The Bevis Frond – The Leaving of London (Woronzow)
Seven long years have passed since we last had a LP from the Bevis Frond. The Leaving of London makes clear what empty, empty years those were.
15 December 2011Human Switchboard – Who’s Landing in My Hangar? Anthology 1977-1984 (Bar/None)
Basing itself around Human Switchboard’s lone 1981 album, the collection adds various studio, demo and live sessions for a fairly comprehensive portrait.
7 December 2011Edward Rogers – Porcelain (Zip)
For Porcelain, Rogers moves forward from the 60s and into the early 70s, especially the Rolling Stones-style glam rock balladry of Mott the Hoople.
14 October 2011Golden Bear – Alive (C-Side)
Austin’s Golden Bear has been quietly releasing sterling guitar pop records for several years now, with nary a ripple on the radar of the hipster faithful.
14 September 2011The Mekons – Ancient & Modern (Sin/Bloodshot)
It’s been so long since the uncompromising, indefatigable Mekons have released a record that many had suspected a quiet retirement.
4 September 2011Jack Oblivian – Rat City (Big Legal Mess/Fat Possum)
Though he doesn’t get the attention of his Oblivians bandmate Greg Cartwright, Jack Yarber, AKA Jack Oblivian, has a growing catalog of strong recordings as well, of which Rat City is the latest.
1 September 2011Trance To the Sun – The Blue Obscurities (Below Sea Level/Projekt)
The Blue Obscurities may contain work that the band considers ephemera, but it makes as strong a case for Trance To the Sun’s existence as any best-of ever could.
29 August 2011The Dawn Band – Agents of Sentimentality (Elektrohasch)
Germany’s Dawn Band is one of those groups who love so many iterations of music that the members couldn’t decide on a single direction, and thus head off in several at once.
26 August 2011Patti Smith – Outside Society (Arista/Columbia/Legacy)
One could easily, and justifiably, make the argument that it’s impossible to condense Patti Smith‘s visionary 35+ year career onto one disk.
24 August 2011Atrium Animae – Dies Irae (Projekt)
It’s strangely refreshing to hear the apocalypse transmitted with such haunting beauty.
13 August 2011The Breakers – self-titled (Wicked Cool)
Singer Toke Nisted makes the most of his resemblance to Rod the Mod, as the rest of the band channels the 60s European obsession with Motown and Stax through its rock & roll wringer.
2 August 2011Archers of Loaf – Icky Mettle (reissue) (Merge)
It’s hard to believe that Icky Mettle, the debut LP from indie rock heroes Archers of Loaf, is nearly 20 years old.
20 July 2011Jaksyzk, Fripp and Collins – A Scarcity of Miracles (Inner Knot/DGM)
Like the work of David Sylvian, No-Man or Mark Hollis, A Scarcity of Miracles requires patience and multiple exposures to truly appreciate.
15 July 2011Sam Phillips – Solid State: Songs From the Long Play (Littlebox)
For what’s essentially a compilation, there’s an amazing consistency here, as if all the songs were recorded in one burst of creative urgency.
7 July 2011The Latebirds – Last of the Good Ol’ Days (Second Motion)
Last of the Good Ol’ Days, the third record from the Latebirds, is further proof that a term like “Americana” refers more to genre than country of origin.
25 June 2011Old Californio – Sundrunk Angels (Californio)
Equally comfortable with rocking roll, folk ramble and country snap, the quintet has its style down well enough that it can concentrate on songs.
23 June 2011Wobbler – Rites at Dawn (Termo)
Wobbler pledges allegiance to the classic era of progressive rock – i.e. the 70s.
21 June 2011Centro-matic – Candidate Waltz (Undertow)
Described by Johnson as the band’s “meat and potatoes pop record,” Candidate Waltz contains the most focused, melodic tunes of Centro-matic’s career.
19 June 2011Base3 – Darkmatter/Live From Earth (1K)
On Darkmatter cuts like “De:Vision” and “No Time For Silence,” the trio plays as straightforwardly as possible, placing their feet firmly in the jazz fusion sandbox and letting the melodies and propulsion carry the tunes forward as much as the improvisation.
17 June 2011Gentle Ben & His Sensitive Side – Magnetic Island
Coming up through the Australian underground is a process that doesn’t usually allow for a softer side to survive, but Corbett does it by being sensitive but unsentimental.
15 June 2011The Icons – Appointment With Destiny!(Green Monkey)
Green Monkey mastermind Tom Dyer promised to revive the Icons after releasing the band’s 80s recordings as Masters of Disaster, and sure enough, the Seattle troop is back with its sophomore effort Appointment With Destiny!
13 June 2011The Phoenix Foundation – Buffalo (Memphis Industries)
The sextet doesn’t break any new ground, but that’s doubtless not its intention.
11 June 2011Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud – s/t (Projekt)
Sounds like Sigur Ros, doesn’t it? Or maybe Explosions in the Sky? Or maybe both at once.
9 June 2011Pendragon – Passion (Madfish)
Passion is pretty much state-of-the-art 21st century prog rock, with heavy guitars powering melodies that move back and forth between minor key darkness and major chord uplift.
7 June 2011Ari Shine – Ghost Town Directory (Beverly Martel)
Regardless of stylistic permutation, though, Shine’s strong songcraft drives the tunes home with ease.
5 June 2011The Bakelite Age – Flytrap (Spooky)
Is the Australian quartet a garage band? A psychedelic act? A noisy indie band? The answer is, of course, all of the above.
3 June 2011MoTel Aviv – Post Modern Nation (self-released)
On Post Modern Nation, MoTel Aviv evokes a specific era of postpunk pop music, when guitars soared over nimble, danceable rhythm sections and the vocalist sang unabashedly to the furthest seat in the hall.
1 June 2011Sungrazer – s/t (Elektrohasch)
The Netherlands’ Sungrazer hands out sweet slabs of psychedelic heavy rock like pieces of warm chocolate – thick, almost sensual, but with enough air between the molecules to keep the sound from becoming oppressive.
30 May 2011The Church – Starfish (Second Motion)
It’s not unusual for an artist’s most popular record to contain a couple of classic singles and little else, but that’s not the case here.
28 May 2011Antietam – Tenth Life (Carrot Top)
Tenth Life, its ninth LP, offers ten tracks of good old-fashioned guitar rock – crunchy, loud and tuneful.
26 May 2011The Sea and Cake – The Moonlight Butterfly (Thrill Jockey)
While most folks were praising the pop genius of leader Sam Prekop I always thought him inconsistent, with dangerous leanings toward the worst 70s soft rock pap.
24 May 2011Robert Johnson – The Centennial Collection (Columbia/Legacy)
Released to celebrate the blues pioneer’s 100th birthday, The Centennial Collection serves as one-stop shopping for newcomers to singer/guitarist Robert Johnson‘s brief but extremely important oeuvre.
22 May 2011Mia Doi Todd – Cosmic Ocean Ship (City Zen)
Funny how one generation’s soft-rock is another’s indie rock.
20 May 2011Should – Like a Fire Without Sound (Words On Music)
The sound of Should has always tended toward the delicate, but on Like a Fire Without a Sound, the popgaze duo has crafted a record so gossamer and sedate as to be almost fragile.
17 May 2011Amor de Dias – Street of the Love of Days (Merge)
Almost impossibly lovely, Street of the Love of Days speaks loudly at low volume.
14 May 2011Mira – The Echo Lingers On (Projekt)
Tallahassee dreampop combo Mira hasn’t existed in several years, but in, celebration of the eleventh anniversary of its debut LP, guitarist Tom Parker assembled The Echo Lingers On, a compilation of non-album cuts.
11 May 2011Sloan – The Double Cross (Yep Roc)
With not a melody, harmony or note wasted, Sloan is at its memorable, well-crafted best on _The Double Cross.
8 May 2011Peter Case – The Case Files (Alive)
In case you’re wondering what could possibly justify such a cheeseball album title, The Case Files is a compilation of Peter Case‘s “demos, outtakes, one live shot & other rarities” from as recent as 2009 and as far back as the mid-80s.
5 May 2011Gary Lucas & Gods and Monsters – The Ordeal of Civility (Knitting Factory)
Lucas has flirted with pop on most of the Gods and Monsters disks, of course, but this is the first album on which he’s carried a vision of succinct, catchy songs all the way through.
2 May 2011Rasputina – Great American Gingerbread (Filthy Bonnet Co.)
Now that Rasputina has been in existence for nearly two decades, it’s obviously time to clean out the closet.
29 April 2011Alexander Tucker – Dorwytch (Thrill Jockey)
British musician Alexander Tucker made his rep as an electronic experimentalist, but apparently the lure of the song was too strong.
26 April 2011Ted Russell Kamp – Get Back To the Land (Poetry of the Moment/Dualtone)
One of the best bits about this music critic gig is watching gifted artists get better and better.
23 April 2011Tracksuit – Where Have All the Good Times Gone? (self-released)
“She’s Damaged,” “Mr Mower” and “Little Man” balance jangle and oomph with an aplomb spawned of expert craft and giddy enthusiasm.
20 April 2011David Kilgour and the Heavy 8s – Left By Soft (Merge)
Recording quickly and simply, Kilgour and his band don’t mess about trying to be innovative or genre-bending – they simply get on with the business of making great guitar pop.
17 April 2011Gazpacho – Missa Atropos (K Scope)
Clearly influenced by Radiohead and Porcupine Tree and sharing space with peers Engineers, Anathema and Nosound, Gazpacho is far more interested in melody and texture than in virtuosity or complexity.
14 April 2011Tia Carrera – Cosmic Priestess (Small Stone)
Power trio Tia Carrera has been serving giant fistfuls of improvised psychedelic heavy rock for long enough now to become grizzled veterans of the Austin music scene.
11 April 2011Bruce Cockburn – Small Source of Comfort (True North)
Small Source of Comfort, his 25th studio album, hearkens back to his roots, with a variety of easy melodies set in acoustic arrangements that highlight his nimble guitar work as much as his carefully wrought lyrics.
8 April 2011Thomas Giles - Pulse
Apparently leading rising progressive metal band Between the Buried and Me isn’t quite enough for Tommy Rogers, AKA Thomas Giles, so he lets his muse out to play on Pulse.
5 April 2011Beady Eye – Different Gear Still Speeding (Dangerbird)
This is the sound of a band worried less about having to prove themselves as Oasis Mk. II and more about simply making a good record with cracking tunes.
2 April 2011Robbie Robertson – How to Become Clairvoyant (429)
Robertson keeps his sonic ambitions in check, eschewing gimmicks and letting the songs speak for themselves.
30 March 2011Richard X. Heyman – Tiers and Other Stories (Turn-Up)
Tiers and Other Stories, the latest opus from pop auteur Richard X. Heyman, is at once both ambitious and modest.
27 March 2011Willie Nile – The Innocent Ones (River House)
Let’s hear it for the rock & roll true believers, the ones who pick up that guitar and step up to that microphone with the confidence that rock & roll will save your soul.
24 March 2011Autumn’s Grey Solace – Eifelian (Projekt)
Those who find ghostly wisps of shoegazing faerie dust appealing will likely find Eifelian similarly appealing.
21 March 2011If By Yes – Salt On Sea Glass (Chimera)
If By Yes is, in the main, a collaboration of singer Petra Haden and keyboardist/producer Yuka Honda, a project born out of nearly a decade of casual songwriting and friendship.
20 March 2011South By Southwest 2011: Saturday 3/19/11
Tonight began with one of those wake-up calls that made me realize how disconnected I am from whatever’s making a buzzing noise in the music world.
19 March 2011South By Southwest 2011: Friday 3/18/11
A bicycle shop isn’t the first place one might think to find a great rock & roll performance, but in a town like Austin, every building is a potential music club.
18 March 2011South By Southwest 2011: Thursday 3/17/11
Local café the Spider House has become particularly busy with SXSW every year, hosting a ton of free shows with some great acts, including this afternoon’s Australian-heavy lineup.
18 March 2011Edwyn Collins – Losing Sleep (Heavenly/Cooperation Music/Downtown)
Co-authoring and performing with his friends and disciples in the Scottish pop scene, Collins knocks out gem after pop rock gem in a manner that would seem casual if you didn’t know his recent history.
17 March 2011South By Southwest 2011: Wednesday 3/16/11
Attendance seems to be up this year, which will make show attendance more challenging, but, as usual, there’s too many good gigs happening not to try.
15 March 2011Nick Lowe – Labour of Lust (Yep Roc)
A couple of years ago, Yep Roc did the universe a service and rescued Jesus of Cool, the trailblazing solo debut of the irrepressible Nick Lowe, from oblivion. Now the label does the same for his 1979 follow-up, the equally delightful Labour of Lust.
12 March 2011Phil Spector/Crystals/Ronettes/Darlene Love – Very Best of (Phil Spector/Legacy)
No matter Spector’s faults as a human being (and let’s face it – there are plenty), his work as a producer and songwriter has held up extremely well, even half a century on.
9 March 2011Jakko M. Jakszyk – The Bruised Romantic Glee Club (Inner Knot)
A double-CD set, the record spotlights Jakszyk’s compositions on one disk and a set of covers on the other.
6 March 2011Lifeguards – Waving at the Astronauts (Serious Business/Ernest Jenning)
Tight and tuneful, Waving at the Astronauts is one of Pollard’s best efforts in a while.
3 March 2011Wino – Adrift (Exile On Mainstream/E1)
Armed with just his guitars, Wino lays himself and his vision out as nakedly as possible – no thundering rhythm section, no co-vocalist, just the man, his fingers, six strings and his exposed heart.
28 February 2011Inna Zhelannaya feat. Trey Gunn – Cocoon (7d Media)
Working with touch guitarist/co-producer Trey Gunn, Zhelannaya takes a batch of elderly songs – some over 1000 years old – and lays them in atmospheric, almost ambient electronic beds that often twist worldbeat clichés and rock dynamics into new shapes.
25 February 2011The Hitmen – Smashface (Green Monkey)
Smashface mixes an eclectic batch of influences into an infectious set of songs that will alternatively have you shaking your head and singing along.
22 February 2011The Witches – A Haunted Person’s Guide to the Witches (Alive)
Like contemporaries The Brian Jonestown Massacre, the Witches see psych rock as contemporary art, rather than nostalgic exercise, and if Gregory is less enamored of shoegazing and the Paisley Underground than Anton Newcombe, he sees eye-to-eye on the idea that psych doesn’t have to be about peace, love and pretty flowers.
19 February 2011Earth – Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light 1 (Southern Lord)
The Southwestern atmospheres the band has been exploring have been shifted to a sound that evokes a wide, cloudy sky at dusk rather than the desert at night.
16 February 2011Destroyer – Kaputt (Merge)
Not that prior records didn’t feature plenty of hooks, but on Kaputt Bejar’s really indulging himself in instantly appealing melodies and lyrics a shade less dense and enigmatic.
13 February 2011Rick Rizzo & Tara Key – Double Star (Thrill Jockey)
Double Star is the sound of two old buddies expressing a different, equally valid side of their extraordinary talents.
10 February 2011King Crimson – 40th anniversary reissues (Inner Knot)
These albums tend to be dismissed offhand by a lot of fans, but some diehards cite them as their favorites.
7 February 2011The Shadow Theory – Behind the Black Veil (InsideOut)
As with most concept albums, the tale is less important than the telling, and it’s far easier to simply enjoy the band’s dynamic arrangements and dramatic melodies than to follow the plot.
4 February 2011Nova Mob – The Last Days of Pompeii (Special Edition) (Cond’or/MVD)
The storyline gets lost in the singalong choruses and headlong rush of melody that has always been Hart’s forte, but that’s hardly a flaw here
1 February 2011CloverSeeds – The Opening (The Laser’s Edge)
CloverSeeds use the dramatic sweep of metal anthemry to provide character for their widescreen tunes.
29 January 2011The Jayhawks – reissues (American/Legacy)
It’s hard for me to wrap my head around it, but the *Jayhawks*’ Hollywood Town Hall is almost 20 years old.
26 January 2011Garfields Birthday – More Sense Than Money (Pink Hedgehog)
More Sense Than Money is once again the kind of excellent record that leaves one wondering why Garfields Birthday aren’t legends in the power pop underground.
23 January 2011Lunatic Soul – 2 (K Scope)
Still rather blatantly under the sway of Porcupine Tree and Talk Talk, Duda uses keyboards, acoustic guitars and swaying grooves to create lush prog/pop tunes, with an even finer edge than on the first record.
20 January 2011Gang of Four – Content (Yep Roc)
It’s been nearly 30 years since GoF’s illustrious original catalog was released, and to think or desire that the band would simply ape its old self is unfair.
17 January 2011Drive-By Truckers – Go-Go Boots (ATO)
Go-Go Boots has been described by Drive-By Truckers leader Patterson Hood as the band’s “country/soul/murder ballad” record.
14 January 2011Giant Sand – reissues (Fire)
Thus will one of indie rock’s pioneering talents be introduced (hopefully) to a new generation.
11 January 2011Social Distortion – Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes (Epitaph)
Ness is zooming down a well-traveled road, but he’s doing it full throttle, and his band is right there with him.
8 January 2011The Medicine Bow – Songs From the Floor (Wood Shampoo)
Like an unholy cross between the Pogues at their most shambolic and the Dogs D’amour at their most out of control, the Medicine Bow kicks out the crusty cowpunk jams.
5 January 2011Ghost – Opus Eponymous (Rise Above/Metal Blade)
For cosmic reasons unknown, there’s been resurgence in Satanic-themed hard rock bands, especially with Scandinavian origin.
2 January 2011Ion – Immaculada (Restricted Release)
With a sound driven by various mandolins and bouzoukis and a small posse of lead singers on hand, Patterson eschews pretty much everything from his past to delve into string-based world music, particularly the Celtic/Middle Eastern fusion pioneered by obvious inspiration Dead Can Dance.
30 December 2010Kimberley Rew - The Best of (Kyboside)
The Best of Kimberley Rew collects 14 cuts from those LPs, covering a nearly 30-year time span, and makes a strong case for Rew’s strengths as a power pop auteur.
27 December 2010Trey Gunn – I’ll Tell What I Saw (7d Media)
The breadth of that career is the subject of I’ll Tell You What I Saw, a compilation of Gunn’s work over the past couple of decades that showcases not only his acclaimed solo material, but also his work with musicians from Russia, Finland, Italy and Mexico.
22 December 2010The Yardbirds – Little Games (Sundazed)
Some tunes work better than others, naturally, but regardless of quality the cuts sound like they were recorded by a dozen different bands, instead of one band with diverse interests.
19 December 2010Tim Lee 3 – Raucous Americanus (Cool Dog Sound)
The TL3 channels its breadth of talent into 21 tracks of warm, melodic and vibrant rock & roll.
16 December 2010Demians – Mute (InsideOut)
Nicholas Chapel, the songwriter/multi-instrumentalist who trades under the name Demians, need never seek therapy, if his band’s second album Mute is any indication.
13 December 2010Tangents – One Little Light Year (Angel Side Side/Restricted Release)
Tangents unleash one of the better post- Radiohead rock albums in recent memory with its debut One Little Light Year.
10 December 2010Pure Reason Revolution – Hammer and Anvil (Superball)
This isn’t a dance or ambient album – the electronica forms more of a pulse behind the otherwise rocking music, giving the songs a driving groove.
7 December 2010Exit Calm – s/t (Sonic Unyon)
The self-titled debut overfloweth with mountain-scaled melodies, pealing guitars, lung-filled vocals and song titles like “Forgiveness” and “Atone.”
4 December 2010Antibalas – Who is This America? (Ropeadope)
With the profile of Antibalas higher than ever thanks to the band providing the score for the award-winning musical Fela!, its former label takes the opportunity to reissue one of its seminal works.
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