Album Reviews

Life Beyond Mars: Bowie Covered

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 10:08:10

At first glance, you'd expect an album full of cover versions of David Bowie to flop unsuccessfully—unable to capture the idiosyncracies of one of ...more

Amy MacDonald

This Is the Life

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 07:57:27

It's boom time for solo female performers, particularly those out of the UK, and Amy MacDonald's entering the field at an increasingly crowded time. ...more

Black Light Burns

Cover Your Heart/The Anvil Pants Odyssey

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 07:43:18

Let's propose a little scenario. If we were the betting type and it was a decade ago, we'd have wagered a decent sum of chump change that Limp Bizkit ...more

Staind

The Illusion of Progress

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 11:10:07

"I'm not very good at pursuing redemption," sings STAIND frontman Aaron Lewis on "The Way I Am," the second track from his band's sixth album The ...more

ism

Urgency

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 08:35:25

The dudes who comprise the ISM collective were probably picked on when they were in high school. That's not a bad thing, because from great adolescent ...more

Misery Signals

Controller

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 06:49:41

Metalcore bands nowadays! They're all angry for the sake of being angry, leaving listeners with an astounding curiosity about what they're so pinched ...more

Daedelus

Love to Make Music To

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 08:16:31

Part Aphex Twin, part DJ Shadow (circa Entroducing…), and part Coldcut, prolific IDM/electronica/hip-hop producer Daedelus ultimately has a sound all ...more

Yung Berg

Look What You Made Me

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 14:17:43

Yung Berg can be summed up as a "hip-pop" artist. The young wordsmith from Chicago—he's all of 22-years-old—smartly winds verbal braggadocio around a ...more

O.A.R.

All Sides

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 07:25:05

Philosophically, O.A.R. belongs in a rare category with the likes of the Grateful Dead, Phish and Dave Matthews Band. They reached mainstream level ...more

Lloyd

Lessons in Love

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 08:21:05

If you're actually seeking love advice from Lloyd, well, you might want to look elsewhere. After all, on his latest album, he does declare that he's ...more

Lewis Black

Anticipation

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 10:55:53

Effectively transferring the gesticulations, gestures, mannerisms and stretchy facial expressions of lovably sour-pussed comedian Lewis Black from ...more

Randy Travis

Around the Bend

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 08:07:30

Country music has changed plenty in the past nine years, embracing songs of feminism and ass-kicking once again and continuing its current swing ...more

Wednesday 13

Skeletons

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 07:20:27

Fans of Wednesday 13 have come to love and appreciate a combination of campiness and glam that embodies his music, creating the yin and yang staple ...more

Passenger

Wicked Man's Rest

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 06:57:04

"I see you nearly every night/I see you when you’re down in your house/With my night vision binoculars I creep quiet as a mouse," sings ...more

Conor Oberst

Conor Oberst

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 16:05:54

When Conor Oberst emerged on the music scene under the pseudonym "Bright Eyes," his tortured bedroom/grandiose baroque folk incited many to hail the ...more

Miley Cyrus

Breakout

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 08:29:54

Miley Cyrus was on a course to be forever known in the annals of pop culture history as her wildly popular alter ego, Hannah Montana, a favorite among ...more

Ron Sexsmith

Exit Strategy of the Soul

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 08:19:57

There's no question that Ron Sexsmith can crank out a pretty, wistful melody and pair it with some clever lyrics like nobody's business, but his ...more

Dr. Dog

Fate

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 00:26:30

If there's anything to criticize in Dr. Dog's fifth album, Fate, it may be that the band sounds too much like themselves. But isn't it mean-spirited ...more

Trapt

Only Through the Pain

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 09:22:40

So Cal's Trapt enjoyed the massive success of one humongous single, the played-ad-nauseum-on-commercial-radio-airwaves "Headstrong," from their ...more

Norma Jean

The Anti Mother

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 08:47:40

Neck-snapping guitar riffs signal false metal's day of reckoning on Norma Jean's latest offering, The Anti Mother. Norma Jean have transcended the ...more