Tag: reviews
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In spite of the fact that they co-produced it with the brilliant Stuart Price, I was not expecting much from this album. The duo’s previous album, Elysium, which was released just 10 months ago, just wasn’t very impressive. It was more than a little ambient, lacking the sort of catchy beats we’ve come to expect…
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Although they’re Berlin-based today, Aniaetleprogrammeur (pronounced: Ania et le programmeur) were formed in Paris in 2005. The trio consists of Hanrigabriel (direction/guitars/vox/synths), Tata Christiane (synths/machines) and Valquire Veljkovic (lights/synths/bass). (I recently reviewed Valquire Veljkovic’s fascinating side project Deer Howling.) They are a “multidisciplinary art collective” involved in music, fashion design (with the brand Tata Christiane),…
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Usually I’m in the know when it comes to up and coming pop stars, but I have to admit that Lorde totally flew under my radar until today. She released an EP called The Love Club during December 2012 — I just bought it from iTunes — but I don’t recall seeing any reviews or…
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Tony Harnell was the lead singer of the hard rock/heavy metal band TNT for 22 years until he left in 2006. If you’re a fan of the genre then chances are that you’re already familiar with him and are a fan of his music. Like Freddie Mercury or Robert Plant, Tony has one of those…
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Fires of Life is the fist full-length album by the Chicago-based band Starkill, who previously self-released an E.P. in 2010 under the name Massakren. The band was formed in 2008 by Parker Jameson (lead guitar, vocals, keyboards, orchestral programming), Spencer Weidner (drums) and Charlie Federici (guitars). Bassist Mike Buetsch was added later, completing the line…
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It’s hard to believe that Sara Bareilles is already on album number three. Alas, her major label debut, Little Voice, was released in 2007. And I’m pretty sure there’s still a radio station somewhere playing its huge hit single, “Love Song,” at any given moment. Of course, her second album, Kaleidoscope Heart, also yielded a…
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Hailing from Sweden, Darkane blend melodic death metal and technical thrash metal, yielding a highly energetic and wholly captivating sound that reminds me of early, Kill ‘Em All era Metallica at times, while calling to mind later day Slayer and newer bands like Mastodon and Opeth at others. The Sinister Supremacy sees the return of…
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Stars Dance is Selena Gomez’s highly anticipated fourth album. It’s also her solo debut, following three albums with her band The Scene. The album’s first single, “Come & Get It,” was released on April 8, 2013 and made it all the way to the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming her most successful…
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Deer Howling is the “little secretive” side-project of Valquire Veljkovic of the obscure electro-pop band ANIAETLEPROGRAMMEUR. (You may have heard their remixes of songs by Velvet Condom and Noblesse Oblige. If not, check them out on their site: http://www.aniaetleprogrammeur.com/) Val tells us: “The roots of this project are in mid 90s acid techno scene, wandering…
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“It breaks my heart to love you, it breaks my heart to love you,” croons Editors vocalist Tom Smith matter-of-factly during “Sugar,” the second track on the band’s splendid new album The Weight Of Your Love. Previously, the band have often reminded me of The Killers and Franz Ferdinand, but not so much on this…
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Skylar Grey is the alias of American singer/songwriter Holly Brook Hafermann. Her first full-length album, 2006’s Like Blood Like Honey, was released under the name Holly Brook, but during recent years she underwent a transformation and decided to start going by Skylar Grey. According to Wiki, she chose her new name because “it represents the…
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Nehedar is what NYC-based singer/songwriter Emilia Cataldo goes by, much the way Natasha Khan calls herself Bat For Lashes or Sarah Assbring calls herself El Perro Del Mar. Let’s face it — it’s trendy for female solo artists to give themselves a cool name these days. But Emilia didn’t just start calling herself Nehedar because…
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Every time a new Megadeth album comes out, I listen to it and find myself thinking, damn, this is the best Megadeth in years. Perhaps, then, they’ve been getting progressively better. It’s also possible — if not probable — that I’ve forgotten how good the previous album was by the time a new album comes…
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Initially, I was disappointed that this new Black Sabbath album, the first in something like 20 years to feature Geezer Butler (bass), Tony Iommi (guitar) and Ozzy Osbourne (vocals), didn’t have any catchy songs like “Iron Man” and “Paranoid.” I felt like, didn’t they want to hook people? I’ve been frustrated with Iron Maiden for…
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If I understand correctly, this is the chorus of “The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here,” the title track of Alice In Chain’s new album: “The devil put dinosaurs here / Jesus don’t like a queer / The devil put dinosaurs here / No problem with faith just fear.” Now analyze that. Seriously. Because I don’t get…
