Tag: reviews
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Of Montreal mastermind Kevin Barnes is not one to make the same album twice. Roughly a decade ago he shifted from doing indie rock/trippy twee to electro-centric albums that often felt like twisted — but always fascinating — experiments. The first three albums from this second period of his career were especially experimental; Satanic Panic…
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The award for the most highly-anticipated debut album this year probably goes to Lorde for her album Pure Heroine. But second place easily goes to HAIM, the group made up of sisters Este (born March 14, 1986), Danielle (born February 16, 1989) and Alana Haim (born December 15, 1991), along with drummer Dash Hutton. As…
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I know some of my readers will scoff at me for even reviewing this one, but the fact of the matter is that it’s one of the most highly-anticipated albums of the year, pop or otherwise, which is what prompted me to listen to the stream, not the starlet’s controversial and certainly disgusting behavior of…
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The Browning is a metal/metalcore group that meshes a wide array of electronic elements with pummeling drums, crushing guitars and screaming vocals. They were formed by singer/programmer Jonny McBee in 2005 and he’s the only original member of the group who’s still in it. Which makes sense, in a way, because the vocals and the…
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Back in July I reviewed Lorde’s mesmerizing and mind-blowingly good single “Tennis Court” and its glorious B-side “Swingin Party.” And I felt like I was late to the party, having only just heard the 16 year old New Zealand native — real name Ella Yelich-O’Connor — for the first time then, this even though her…
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As someone who’s seen every episode of Degrassi: The Next Generation, it was hard for me to take Drake seriously as a rapper at first. I did like his mixtapes, but it was difficult to listen to them and not think of poor Jimmy from Degrassi, who was shot and wound up in a wheelchair…
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Glasgow, Scotland’s synthy, electro-pop trio CHVRCHES have received more than their fair share of hype during the past year. But it’s all very well-deserved, and even well-earned, as the band has been keeping super busy, working the press and, more importantly, bringing their music to audiences everywhere between playing festivals like SXSW and touring as…
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Takatsuna Mukai is a multi-instrumentalist who plays electric violin, electric guitar, synthesizer and bass guitar, in addition to being a wizard with programming. Takatsuna first arrived in London in 1991 and has been busy making music, and doing other music-related projects, ever since. During his first decade in the UK, he collaborated with Timothy Turnbull…
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“Can you imagine a love that is so proud / It never has to question why or how?” asks Placebo vocalist Brian Molko over glittery guitars during “Loud Like Love,” the upbeat opening and title track from the band’s new and seventh album. “We are loud like love / We are loud like love,” he…
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Keane’s first album, Hopes And Fears, is such a classic — arguably the magnum opus of one of the UK’s greatest bands ever — that the idea of someone doing a new remix of one of those songs worried me. Especially when I heard that the song in question was going to be “Bend And…
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David Lynch’s 2011 debut, Crazy Clown Time, was a vocoder-hater’s worst nightmare. And it wasn’t for people who weren’t into meditation either. But for any fans of Lynch’s films who’ve ever wondered what the melodies and monologues inside of his head actually sounded like, it was a fascinating listen, even if it was something they probably listened…
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Given that this release is on Prosthetic Records, I was naturally expecting some loud and blazing — if not downright brutal — metal when I first listened to it. Surprisingly, much of the instrumental album by this guitar prodigy isn’t metal at all. Songs like “Viroliano Tries Metal” and “Triangle Tune” are definitely in that…
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Magic is a rapper hailing from “the DMV” (Washington D.C.) and he’s quite the talented guy. His beats remind me of old House of Pain and Cypress Hill. There was a connection between those two groups and a few others. They called their collective group Soul Assassins. Magic’s music is very much in that vein. …
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If you love synthy, ’80’s-inspired pop with sleek beats and beautiful electro-touches then you’re sure to immediately fall in love with Diana Vickers’ new album, Music To Make Boys Cry, her sophomore effort and first for the label So Recordings. Honestly, it doesn’t get much better than this. These 10 songs are sure to fire…
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Once in a while an album drops into your life unexpectedly, blows your mind and immediately becomes a favorite because it’s so damn good. Such is the case with myself and the new Bombus album, The Poet and the Parrot. I’d never even heard of these guys before I checked this out. I literally knew…
