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Wednesday, May 05, 2010
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Kaki King - Junior (Rounder) [upcoming shows] [audio]
Anytime she wishes, Kaki King could melt your face off with a scorching mastery of the fretboard. She's done just that in the past, but these days she's concentrating more on writing layered jangly pop tunes and intimate ballads that both soccer moms and Guitar Center employees can get behind. Junior is King's most accessible album in many ways. If this isn't the one that will win her more fans, she may as well throw down Crossroads-style with Glenn Branca next time.
- sam
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Released 04.13.2010
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Monday, May 03, 2010
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Krokus - Hoodoo (Sony) [upcoming shows] [audio]
Switzerland's Krokus has returned with their first album in twenty years and, on first impression, there are a lot of similarities with AC/DC's Brian Johnson's vocal style. The mid-80's hair metal formula (cliche?) is played to perfection—cheesy guitar solos, cliched lyrics, and huge singalong choruses. If you are still bitter about Kurt Cobain ruining everything, this is what you have been waiting twenty years for. While some may consider a note-for-note cover of "Born to Be Wild" to be a bad thing, I consider it a feather in their caps.
- mark
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Released 02.26.2010
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Monday, July 06, 2009
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Lindsay Katt - Picking Out Boxes (self released) [audio] [upcoming shows]
After a listen, my coworker became stressed out by Lindsay Katt's lack of exposure. "She's just as good as anybody else on the Grey's Anatomy soundtrack [his wife makes him watch it]! And she did the whole thing herself!" Indeed, if you like Sara (Bareilles or Melson) or Emiliana Torrini, you will like Katt. But I like her best when she sounds like Erin McKeown. Backed by strings and percussion and armed with keyboards and smart, staccato lyrics, it's only a matter of time before Katt's songs appear on a TV show.
- meredith
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Released 01.27.2009
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Thursday, June 25, 2009
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Kissy Sell Out - Youth (Marrakesh) [audio] [upcoming shows]
With countless remixes to his credit in the last three years, electropop wunderkind Kissy Sell Out has finally delivered a full-length collection of his own material. Youth is, in no uncertain terms, an exhilarating joyride. Kissy treats his synthesizer like a lead guitar, guiding the melody of nearly every song along through arpeggiated workouts that are bent and squelched to their limits. His friend Danimal Kingdom lends charmingly bratty vocals throughout, making songs like "This Kiss" and "Pop Bottle" essential summertime fare.
- paul
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Released 06.16.2009
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Tuesday, April 21, 2009
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Ben Kweller - Changing Horses (ATO Records) [audio] [upcoming shows]
The idea of Ben Kweller making a country-twanged album is sorta like if Ryan Adams made a Rock N Roll album: it feels a bit forced and the reviews are understandably mixed. Listening to these sugary tunes, one easily imagines a young Kweller by the campfire with an oversized cowboy hat on his sweet little head, serenading the stars as a coyote howls to the moonlight. Do yourself a favor and look for the How Ya Lookin' Southbound? ep. You'll avoid the filler and still get the album's three best tracks.
- cormac
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Released 02.03.2009
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Monday, November 17, 2008
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Kasms - Taxidermy 7" (Trouble) [audio] [upcoming shows]
If this were any hotter, the vinyl it's pressed on would liquify. "Taxidermy" pulls in equal measure from the uninhibited, paint-peeling wail of Bikini Kill and the menace of early Siouxsie & The Banshees—doom and gloom at its essence. "Elevator" and "Siren Sister" are likewise dark in nature, but dispense with the punk and aim at the "post" in post-punk. What Kasms would do with an entire LP remains to be seen, but this single indicates very good things are to come.
- paul
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Released 08.05.2008
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Monday, July 14, 2008
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The Kills - Midnight Boom (Domino) [audio] [upcoming shows]
The difference in approach between Midnight Boom and The Kills' first two albums is like night and day. Once they were a trashy blues-rock band, and they did that well. Now they're a pop band with lo-fi trappings, and they might be doing that even better. "Last Day of Magic" and "Goodnight Bad Morning" betray the fact they've actually been working on composition instead of just riding riffs for three minutes. Midnight Boom works if you already liked The Kills, but it works equally well if you couldn't stand them before.
- paul
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Released 03.18.2008
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Tuesday, March 11, 2008
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Kaki King - Dreaming of Revenge (Velour) [audio] [upcoming shows]
In a post-Youtube world, it was inevitable that Kaki King would need to move beyond fascinating guitar-centric circus tricks. Dreaming of Revenge finds her approach to song writing far more eclectic than usual, with a surprising number of vocal tracks that do the best with her limited range. Are there coffeehouse-ready soul-searchers? Check. Is there post-rock Paul Newman-aping? Check. Are there inconsequential instrumental tracks weighing the whole thing down? Gang, it is still a Kaki King album.
- troy
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Released 03.11.2008
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Wednesday, January 30, 2008
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Josh Kelley - Special Company (DNK Records) [audio] [upcoming shows]
Josh Kelley's Special Company is an interesting mix of blues, soul, funk and neo-southern rock inspired compositions. Kelley's impressive versatility as a vocalist is highlighted by this album's stylistic transitions. Though shifts like jumping from the pop-rock "My Kind" to the soulful "Tidal Wave" is a bit jarring at first—and you may find yourself checking to see if your mp3 player is on shuffle—the ride is rewarding. There's not a bad song on this album.
- j.p.
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Released 02.05.2008
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Wednesday, December 05, 2007
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The Killers - Sawdust (Island) [audio] [upcoming shows]
I tried to think of any B-side and cut-track album that ever wowed me and came up with nothing. True to the form, this disc has two or three oasis tracks floating in a sea of hot garbage. I congratulate The Killers for apparently not caring so much anymore about selling a bunch of records, and making and experimenting with whatever music they want. Sometimes though, I wish that music was better.
- bob d.
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Released 11.13.2007
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Thursday, November 29, 2007
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Kenna - Make Sure They See My Face (Interscope) [audio] [upcoming shows]
This album actually makes me angry, it's so bad. It's just a jumbled mess. It sounds like The Neptunes recorded the B-sides from the second N.E.R.D. album with a lead singer who wears white bloused shirts with frilly cuffs and tight pants. It's shit deconstructed post-disco crap, with just enough clever noise to ruin the few moments of actual listenable melody they achieve. Kenna, make sure you see my nuts. Your album blows hog.
- tom d.
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Released 10.16.2007
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Wednesday, October 03, 2007
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Kinski - Down Below it's Chaos (Sub Pop) [audio] [upcoming shows]
Kinski keep up the krauty jams with more vocals than on past releases—not unlike the unholy union of Deep Purple and Pell Mell. "Boy Was I Mad!", which features over four minutes of build up before finally kicking out the jams, becomes a runaway musical train. In the end, guitars win! As much as I love them, on this album I realized it's a fine line between a really great, drawn-out Kinski intro and a really bad, drawn out Pink Floyd or Metallica intro.
- mark
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Released 08.21.2007
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Monday, March 05, 2007
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Kultur Shock - We Came to Take Your Jobs Away (Koolarrow) [audio]
This album is insane. Sometimes it's gypsy violins, sometimes it's an Eastern European version of the Dropkick Murphys, sometimes it's straight out of Headbangers Ball. Whether they're singing about immigration, princesses, class struggle, or other things I'm not sure of, because I don't speak any Balkan languages, Kultur Shock manage to combine "world music" with punk in a way that totally works.
- meredith
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Released 10.10.2006
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Monday, December 11, 2006
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Todd Carter Koeppen - Catch Me (self released) [audio]
Singer/songwriter Todd Carter Koeppen offers a more eclectic vision for Christian music than his contemporaries. Blessed with a pleasing, laidback '70s MOR voice, Koeppen flirts with country, blues, world music, and acoustic folk—whatever sound the song is calling for. For example, "The Halo Halo Song," named after a fruit-filled Philippine dessert, is given a jangly beat that captures its tropical inspirations. However, the album doesn't just taste good; it's good for you, too.
- michael s.
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Released 09.05.2006
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Tuesday, October 17, 2006
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Kill Your Idols - DVD (Palm Pictures) [trailer]
Hey you, don't watch this! The music from NYC in the 1970s and early '80s did a fantastic job of speaking for itself, and the present-day NYC bands at least seem smart on record. Rather than recount the history and postulate on the future, though, Kill Your Idols is really just a showcase for Lydia Lunch, Glenn Branca and Arto Lindsay to congratulate themselves while metaphorically castrating the bands of today. The problem? All the current bands who are interviewed (Black Dice and A.R.E. Weapons in particular) actually come across as complete knobs. Nobody wins.
- paul
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Released 08.29.2006
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Monday, November 14, 2005
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Ian Knapp - Into These Oceans [mp3s] [upcoming shows]
The best of the recent crop of male singer-songwriters to grace the 75orless mailbox, Ian Knapp reminds me of John Wesley Harding. Not his voice, but the sarcastic social commentary laid over a damned catchy acoustic guitar. You can practically hear the curled lip as he sneers at Mr. Mickey Mouse for being "junk food for the soul," or predicts that "If the aliens came... they'd turn 'round their spaceships" because humankind is so retarded. The album ends sweetly, though, with the exquisite "Spaceman," a lovely welcome to a wee baby.
- meredith
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Friday, October 07, 2005
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Khanate - Capture & Release (Hydra Head) [audio]
Like a slow gas leak and the sudden explosion that follows, Capture & Release - a two song, 43-minute long EP - sees Khanate deepening the depths of depravity by another few miles. With the mind of a poetic serial killer, Alan Dubin's affected, psychotic shrieks pierce the desolate chords that Steven O'Malley bangs out every few seconds. Meanwhile, Tim Wyskida (hissing symbols) and James Plotkin (ton-dropping bass) are slapped from slumber when needed. Capture & Release is more than music; it's some unspeakably disturbing thing.
- jason m.
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Released 08.23.2005
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Monday, May 02, 2005
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Kings of Leon - Aha Shake Heartbreak (RCA)
Round Two, Paul vs. Tom D. Ding ding! Fight! This record is
spectacular. It sounds like they took a lot less time putting their
sophomore album together, and it paid off. Overproduction made Youth and Young Manhood sound muddy and its Southern roots seemed forced. This album, recorded live in studio, is too clean and careless to be dissected. Their sound is, admittedly, a contrived concoction of musical styles; they just happen to be good enough at it to make me not care. Fun summer music that makes me long for Whitt's Barbeque.
- tom d.
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Released 02.22.2005
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Wednesday, March 02, 2005
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Kasbian (RCA) [audio/video] [upcoming shows]
Make a list of all the things which would make a fuzzy guitar pop
record fantastic, then erase "creativity" and "inspiration" and you've got Kasabian. Watching paint dry or licking an ashtray might be more fun, but take heed - this is the first horseman of major label's cultivation of faux indie acts. At least they have their looks to fall back on. Oh, wait,
they don't.
- leslie
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Released 03.08.2005
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Tuesday, November 09, 2004
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Kylie - Ultimate Kylie
(Parlophone)
[audio]
[upcoming shows]
I guess you just don't realize how broadly transcendent Kylie
Minogue's career has been until you can put 1987's "Locomotion" and
her new collaboration with the Scissor Sisters' Jake Shears "I Believe
in You" side by side. Add to that duets with such unlikely partners
as Robbie Williams and Nick Cave, her late reinvention as Giorgio
Moroder's wet electronic dream, and the most honey sweet vocal cords
in the public consciousness, and it's clear that Britney, Christina
and Jessica are just shitting where they eat.
- paul
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Tuesday, July 06, 2004
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Kings of Convenience - Riot on an Empty Street (Astralwerks)
[audio] [upcoming shows]
"Homesick," the album's opening track, stands out from what follows it by sounding not similar, but exactly like Simon & Garfunkel. While it alone makes the album a must-own, there's another 11 songs which bounce between polite folk and chamber pop; each dripping with the kind of poignancy that makes teenage girls pull the covers over their heads to cry and thirtysomething men to gaze backwards into their younger years and lament their questionable decisions. An eye opener.
- paul
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Wednesday, June 23, 2004
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Kerrier District (Rephlex/Warp) [audio]
[upcoming shows]
Luke Vibert has the propensity to ruin a lot of his own creations because he just can't leave them alone. The welcome thing about Kerrier District is the restraint he's shown, opting to let the material dictate its own course. Comparisons to Morgan Geist's tighter, more melody driven Metro Area project aren't entirely off base (even the name is a tongue-in-cheek nod), but Vibert's brand of nu-disco, left to its own devices, sometimes gets lost with no hope of finding a way back.
- paul
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Monday, March 01, 2004
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cEvin Key - The Dragon Experience (Metropolis) [audio]
While Skinny Puppy's career was just getting under way in 1985, cEvin Key was already creating music on the side. The Dragon Experience collects various tracks recorded in 1984/85 (previously unreleased in any form), polishes them up, and makes them sound highly contemporary. If, God forbid, some arrogant Hollywood director were to remake Blade Runner for the new millennium, The Dragon Experience might serve as the perfect film score. A great gift for that special cyborg in your life.
- paul
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Monday, January 12, 2004
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Kelis - Tasty (Arista/Star Trak) [audio] [video]
I feel like an old guy when I listen to this album. "Wha? Are you allowed to say that on a hip-pop album? What if my little cousin walks into a store and buys this?!?" The album is hovering somewhere in the orange to red zone in terms of raunchiness. And, while it lacked that little something needed to push it onto the Best Of lists, there are still some standout tracks. "Trick Me" sports one of the catchiest beats of the year. The Andre 3000 appearance on "Millionaire" is Grade-A material. And then there's that "Milkshake" video...
- jon
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Monday, November 24, 2003
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Kid Rock (Atlantic) [upcoming shows]
A great reminder old school rock and roll isn't such a bad thing, after all, this earnest effort reflects the simpler pleasures of the midwest. Grab a domestic beer, your favorite squeeze, and take a long ride in the truck to best experience the record, then come back and try to tell me you didn't put his cover of "Feel Like Makin' Love" on repeat while you were on the highway. However, if you must overthink everything, maybe this isn't for you.
- leslie
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Tuesday, August 26, 2003
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Kings of Leon - Youth and Young Manhood (RCA)
This debut full-length from Nashville's Kings of Leon is not the balls-to-the-wall Southern rock that I was expecting - there's a lot more charm and diversity in the 11 tracks of Youth and Young Manhood. The band, consisting of three brothers and a first cousin, is talented enough to change things up from bluesy, backwoods rockers ("Molly's Chambers") to sixties-inspired singalongs ("Holy Roller Novocaine") and on into the high-quality slow jams ("Dusty", "Trani"). Check the Blondie riff of "California Waiting" as well. Recommended late summer tunes.
- ryan p.
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Tuesday, July 15, 2003
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Kill Me Tomorrow - Skin's Getting Weird (Gold Standard Laboratories) [mp3] [upcoming shows]
The new EP from Kill Me Tomorrow punches with six tracks of distorted and driving arthouse underground rock. Chock full of droning vocals, drum loops and chunky basslines, Skin's Getting Weird inspires both random, limb-flailing dancing and comparisons to some of the eerier post-punk/pro-noise acts of today. KMT does an excellent cover of Suicide's "Ghost Rider", while the "Put the Time Machine in Your Mouth" songs play like a "Woke Up This Morning" for the scruffy generation. 2003 tourmates of The Liars and The Locust.
- ryan p.
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Wednesday, May 21, 2003
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Kupek - Vanilla Dome [mp3s]
The band's website describes their latest EP as "Nintendo flavoured country raunch rock," which isn't that far from the truth. I'm still wondering how a 20 second intro of 8-bit music and the rock ballad that followed it managed to draw out nostalgia for a girl that I was always too shy to talk to in the cafeteria, while at the same time, Johnny sitting across from me tries to make me spew chocolate milk out of my nose. Nah, if I had to describe it, I'd say it's more like sad rock music for geeks. And I absolutely love it.
- kean
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Thursday, May 08, 2003
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The Ed Kemper Trio - How to Win a Sword Fight (Yawn Records) [mp3, mp3] [upcoming shows]
Noisy, basement rock that sounds like something Steve Albini would have produced, and AmRep or Touch & Go would have released, back in '91. It's bottled-up nervous energy, low-end skronk rock with bludgeoning guitars, a mildly jazzy rhythm section and very little sign of melody. It's the musical equivalent of a late night back alley rumble where somebody most definitely is going to get hurt. Duck or you might end up with a shiner.
- chip
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Friday, April 11, 2003
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Kennedy (Sea Level) [mp3s] [upcoming shows]
Possibly in reaction to his day job, Kennedy's sophomore release struts all over the garage floor as an uncomplicated, and often vile, collection of revivalist rock. After all, who wouldn't scream the f-word after a long day of working on Carson Daly's radio show? Lord knows I would - and I'd also give this album the quality playing time that it's worth. Or at least try to forget things with a bottle of tequila and the want ads.
- ryan p.
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Monday, September 16, 2002
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Mark Kleiner Power Trio - Love Tonight (Mint) [video]
Mark Kleiner just entered AA and joined the seminary. Not your typical rockstar dichotomy. Released on West Coast indie stawart Mint Records, whose catalog ranges from dirty garage to crystal clear country, Kleiner fits in his own place. The band's name claims power tendencies, but not with strictly dance guitar or synth. It's mostly Kleiner's maple syrupy-sweet vocals and New Pornographer Kurt Dahle percussion that makes this work.
- matthew r.
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Monday, July 22, 2002
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David Kilgour - A Feather In The Engine (Merge) [mp3, mp3]
Equal parts looped guitar tracks (think Papa M), tweaked drones (think The Velvet Underground's "Venus In Furs"), and sixties-era pschedelic pop, the latest from this New Zealand legend is a surprisingly impressive album, suitable for listening on all occasions. Drive through the mountains? Sure! Drinking cheap wine on the beach at night? Perfect! The pop songs in particular seem to find the target that bands like Beulah and Apples In Stereo miss, and the instrumentals act as glue to hold the whole project together in a swirl of feedback.
- cory
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Wednesday, July 10, 2002
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Kepler - Missionless Days (Resonant/Troubleman Unlimited)
Hailing from Canada’s capital, Kepler reach near perfection with their latest slow rock release, Missionless Days. The simple beauty of Gara's minimal guitar, Khan and Kish-Watt's soft-spoken lyrics and the textural blend of Sheridan's brushed drumming cohere into subtle slowcore layers. Contemplative melodies subdue most tracks as crescendos build and ebb, yet Kepler add flavour with up-tempo songs like 'The Steel and the Stone' and 'Dogs and Madmen'. For perfection, see the band live, it will give you goosebumps.
- jules
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Friday, June 07, 2002
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Kilowatthours - The Bright Side (Temporary Residence Limited) [audio, mp3]
Melodic, intense and winding songs which have a way of creeping up on you - catching you off guard. Songs build and crash. Lyrics make bitter accusations. Synthesizers climb inside you. Kind of like that ivy growing through the windows in your grandparents' garage - the album has it's beautiful side and it's destructive side. Slow at times. Fast at times. Well written, intelligent love/hate songs. "A How-To Book" amazes me every time.
- jon
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Tuesday, April 09, 2002
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Ben Kweller - Sha Sha (Big Hassle) [mp3s]
It's spring and Ben Kweller is on the radio! Well, no. But he should be! This 20-year-old Beckish prodigy plays definitively good power pop, joyful and silly and soaring. Irresistibly catchy Weezer-style anthems ("Wasted and Ready") alternate with quirky piano ditties that ought to make Ben Folds nervous. Early adopters, beware: Most of these songs have appeared before, on the self-released Freak Out, it's Ben Kweller and last year's EP Phone Home. Happily, sweet little Ben changed 'em up some.
- catherine
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Thursday, February 07, 2002
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Kent - Hagnesta Hill (BMG) [audio]
On the follow up to their stellar English language debut, "Isola", Sweden's finest sons returned with "Hagnesta Hill." But where "Isola" seemed fresh, and actually didn't sound like Radiohead at all, "Hagnesta Hill" goes through The Bends like a guitar-rock bred robot. This isn't necessarily bad, since songs like "Kevlar Soul" and "Revolt III" have pleasantly soaring choruses and respectable guitar work. Although far too long and sometimes a chore to get through, the album rocks me like Jonny Greenwood used to.
- cory
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Friday, February 01, 2002
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Knievel - The Name Rings a Bell That Drowns Out Your Voice (In Music We Trust) [mp3 1 2 3]
Keyboards play an important part in Knievel’s sound. The Australian band uses the instrument to add a faint and gentle texture to the cathartic indie-pop guitar sound. Dramatic and warm melodies are important as well, especially on tracks like "Don't Explain," "Thoughts in a Pattern," and the rollicking "Chance Meeting." This is a good one to listen to on a Sunday afternoon while sipping tea and writing in your journal.
- chip
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Friday, November 30, 2001
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Kid Rock - Cocky (Wea/Atlantic)
Remember liking music because it inspired your most primal urges, and you felt you were into something illicit? Before you decided your path to cool to was knowing all the outre indie rockers? When rockstars actually tried to make one record sound different from the last, caring if the whole album was listenable? Kid Rock clearly does. Unapologetically play this at full volume and fucking rock out like the old days, and for once, don't over-think everything.
- leslie
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Saturday, October 27, 2001
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King Brothers- self titled (In The Red Records)
Blues Explosion-type garage rock with Japanese speaking reverb-drenched vocals, similar to David Yow & Jackie Chan making sweet love while using the microphone as a contraceptive. This release proves the best drummers only need three piece sets and the best guitar players need only one string, regardless of the country they are from. Loud organs and sloppy guitars, it is very rare that anything with handclaps and screaming doesn't cut the mustard and this is no exception.
- mark
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