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Monday, October 03, 2011
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Neutral Milk Hotel Vinyl Box Set
On November 22, Neutral Milk Hotel is self releasing a vinyl box set with 15 previously unreleased tracks. This will include both full length albums - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea and On Avery Island, two 10" records - Everything Is EP and the Ferris Wheel on Fire EP, both with bonus tracks, three 7 inch records - Little Birds, You've Passed/Where You'll Find Me Now, the Holland 1945/Engine picture-disc, and two large posters. Priced at $88 plus S&H, you can pre-order and check out the details of the package here.
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Released 11.22.2011
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Thursday, August 20, 2009
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Nous Non Plus - Ménagerie (Aeronaut) [audio] [upcoming shows]
I typically don't mind listening to bands with non-English lyrics. But when that band is made up of New York musicians, it seems a little more like a gimmick. That colors everything else about Ménagerie, from the tongue-in-cheek disco tracks which sound like Scissor Sisters cast-offs to the bossa/yé-yé moments that pale in comparison to France Gall or Sylvie Vartan. In fact, I'm not sure there's anything about this album that isn't a complete facade. Just some good ideas that are ruined by ham-handed impulses.
- paul
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Released 03.03.2009
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Wednesday, February 25, 2009
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The New Standards - Rock and Roll (Princess) [audio] [upcoming shows]
The New Standards continue their path of reinterpreting classic and recent alternative rock into piano and vibes. Of all the songs they cover, The Replacements' "Androgynous" was a piano based song to begin with and is immediately recognizable. But hearing radical reworkings of Lou Reed, Elvis Costello, Outkast and The Clash is no longer surprising as more punk and new wave songs find themselves as jingles in television commercials. The muzak versions of these and other contemporary indie songs will be waiting for you someday.
- mark
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Released 12.09.2008
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Wednesday, January 21, 2009
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The New Year (Touch & Go) [audio] [video]
Yet another chapter of the glacier-like book the Kadane brothers have been composing since their Bedhead days. The blueprint is familiar; whispered vocals and the trademark minimalism slowly building into gentle cascades of guitar and piano scales. These end up coming at you from all angles, slowly crawling over you like a pack of spiders whacked on Valium. Prepare to reverse engineer your ears and brain, as you are programmed to work at a much faster pace than this delivers. It will get there. Did he just say orgies?
- mark
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Released 09.09.2008
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Friday, January 16, 2009
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A.C. Newman - Get Guilty (Matador) [audio] [upcoming shows]
As the leader of perhaps the most talented and prolific of all the Canadian "it" bands (outside of Bryan Adams), the other redheaded Alfred Cornelius Newman is so overflowing with musical output he needs to release solo records at just about the same rate as both Destroyer and Neko Case. Fans of The New Pornographers will love these songs, as they basically follow the same blueprint—no epic tracks, just charming, reverb-bathed orchestral pop that's just a little mellower than the moneymaker, plus lots of backing vocals of the female persuasion.
- mark
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Released 01.20.2009
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Friday, August 08, 2008
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Nneka - No Longer at Ease (Yo Mama's Recording) [audio] [upcoming shows]
Nigerian-born and Hamburg-based singer Nneka Egbuna caught my ear in 2006 with Victim of Truth, a kitchen sink-type debut album encompassing all things pop, soul and hip-hop with native African influences. No Longer at Ease continues to defy basic categorization, though it's warmer and less guarded in approach. The curtain between artist and listener has been ripped down and what's revealed is probably the most engaging album of its kind in many years; since The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, anyway.
- paul
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Released 04.29.2008
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Monday, April 14, 2008
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Nine Inch Nails - Ghosts I-IV (The Null Corporation) [audio] [upcoming shows]
If you like to work on your music rather than enjoy it, this might be the recording for you. I suppose if I had a month to listen to 1-2 tracks a day, reflect upon them, and fill out a journal decorated in electrical tape about the feelings it inspired, this might be a fun project. I don't. There are moments of beauty here and interesting ideas, but they are sketches without a central theme or anchor. Almost anyone could dig through here and find 30 minutes of great stuff, but I can't imagine you have the time.
- tom d.
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Released 04.08.2008
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Monday, April 07, 2008
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Silje Nes - Ames Room (Fat Cat) [audio] [upcoming shows]
The danger of providing a description of Silje Nes' music is that it will only evoke everything it does not sound like. Nes expertly arranges her multi-tracked home recordings of eclectic instrumentation and shy vocals to maximum effect, resulting in an album which is both inviting and mysterious in equal measure. The dirty weapon which propels the record is the impressive, unavoidable catchiness of the melodies as tempered by the charm of their eccentric presentation. Ames Room is an album of filtered yet inescapable beauty.
- troy
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Released 03.11.2008
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Wednesday, December 12, 2007
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The New Pornographers - The Spirit of Giving (Matador) [audio] [upcoming shows] iTunes Holiday Single
It's a seasonal indie rock single that doesn't completely suck eggnog! The title track is re-purposed from Challengers, but the two others are where the real joy lies. "Arms of Mary/Look at a Baby" is a clever collision of two very different songs (both covers) which somehow become Christmas-y when paired together. Far and away the best thing about this, though, is the original "Joseph, Who Understood", written from the point of view of a guy whose virgin girlfriend just told him she's carrying God's baby. Stuff someone's e-stocking with this, won't you?
- paul
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Released 12.04.2007
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Friday, September 07, 2007
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The New Pornographers - Challengers (Matador) [audio] [upcoming shows]
I'm no schoolteacher, but I'll be damned if Carl Newman wasn't a straight-'B' student in his youth. With The New Pornographers, he has made good music. In fact, the worst thing I can say about Challengers is that it's consistently good. That is to say, at no point does this album have those great 'A+' moments...there is no "The Laws Have Changed", no "These Are the Fables". I'm giving this one a 'B'.
- cormac
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Released 08.21.2007
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Tuesday, August 28, 2007
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New Young Pony Club - Fantastic Playroom (Modular) [audio] [upcoming shows]
These guys are unlucky that there was a major delay in the release of their debut album, and that their single "Ice Cream" was hijacked by Intel, as it means their music—a blend of electro, punk and disco, steeped with sexual innuendo—now sounds a little old and tired. A year ago, pre-CSS, this album would have been on the money, but now it seems dull and unoriginal. It's okay, but Peaches, The Rapture and LCD Soundsystem just do it a bit better. Lick that, New Young Pony Club.
- ellie
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Released 08.28.2007
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Tuesday, August 21, 2007
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Norwalks - This Side Up EP (self released) [audio]
Before I listened to This Side Up, I expected to hate, or at least be seriously bored by, Norwalks—Feist-y gal sings sexy Cat Power folk-pop blah blah blah, whatever—but this release instantly made me prick up my ears. Whimsical, with a Frenchified nod to Edith Piaf, riffs straight out of Is This It, dreamily layered vocals and some subtle guitar strumming, this EP is sophisticated, gorgeous and utterly compelling. Fingers crossed there is a fully fledged album in the works, so I can rush out and buy it immediately. Love it.
- ellie
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Released 08.07.2007
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Wednesday, June 20, 2007
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The National Lights - The Dead Will Walk, Dear (Bloodshake) [audio]
I got my wish! Sonya Cotton appeared to do harmonies for someone else! And she brought along Chris Kiehne, who produced her last album. He produced and arranged this one, too—the Phil Spector of folky Americana songs about killing people and throwing them in the river—as well as played various instruments like banjo and lap-steel under Jacob Thomas Berns' acoustic guitar and vocals. The gentle instrumentation jars with the gothic-horror lyrics, but who said a slasher film needs a loud soundtrack?
- meredith
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Released 02.27.2007
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Monday, June 04, 2007
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Ne-Yo - Because of You (Def Jam) [audio] [upcoming shows]
Two things: 1. This record is the fucking jam from front to back and 2. There's absolutely no involvement production-wise from exceedingly tired names like The Neptunes or Kanye West or Timbaland. It's all Ne-Yo, thank you very much, and he's got the Midas touch with what looks to be everything he does. Yes, Because of You is club-ready, but it becomes considerably more vibrant at home through headphones. If Justin Timberlake was first in line to inherit Michael Jackson's crown, he now has stiff competition.
- paul
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Released 05.01.2007
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Thursday, December 28, 2006
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Willie Nelson - Songbird (Lost Highway) [audio] [upcoming shows]
Like Rick Rubin and Jack White before him, Ryan Adams committed to giving a veteran country artist a contemporary overhaul by stripping everything away and drawing out the purest, most acutely nuanced performance he's given in decades. Ryan chose Willie Nelson, and Willie Nelson makes the most of the opportunity; reinterpreting many of his own songs, a few written by others and adding a couple more entirely new compositions. The sound is warm and lively, the feeling free of pretense and artifice. Willie made it for the whole world, but also just for you.
- paul
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Released 10.31.2006
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Thursday, November 16, 2006
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Neo Nouveau - The Forks & Knives (self released) [audio] [upcoming shows]
There's something great about these rock bands that make you want to
dance, as opposed to bang your head. Providence rockers Neo Nouveau's debut LP does just that, but is perhaps most noteworthy because of its potential. Tracks like "And They Tell Their Friends..." display the foursome's ability to rock you the way you want to be rocked, while "Silver & Orange" shows their ability to write a darn catchy tune. With new material already in the works, there's good reason for anticipation
(... no pressure).
- cormac
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Released 07.31.2006
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Wednesday, November 08, 2006
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The New Sound of Numbers - Liberty Seeds (Cloud Recordings) [audio] [upcoming shows]
Now that we're safely on the other side of the Elephant 6 boom, members of the family who choose to remain active are creating some really provocative stuff. Hannah Jones steps in from the fringe with The New Sound of Numbers and shifts the E6 paradigm away from dime store Brian Wilson-isms and covers more experimental, at times Krautrock-informed, ground. While it's doubtful Athens, GA, will become the new Düsseldorf, Jones and her art-fucked cohorts could be the welcome beginning of something unexpected and positively cool.
- paul
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Released 10.10.2006
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Wednesday, September 06, 2006
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Now It's Overhead - Dark Light Daybreak (Saddle Creek) [audio]
I've been listening to a lot of unfortunate submissions lately. Then I popped Dark Light Daybreak into the player. Oh! Thank you! It's like Radiohead, Ride and Placebo got together to form a supergroup, with a splash of Shed Seven and Bright Eyes. Andy LeMaster writes songs with great hooks, gorgeous harmonies, and fantastic chord changes. The music's character shifts from lonely shuffling guitar to music box chiming to gypsy mysteriousness, complete with handclaps. It's time to let the sirens die.
- meredith
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Released 09.12.2006
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Wednesday, August 02, 2006
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1986 - Nihilism Is Nothing to Worry About (self released) [info] [upcoming shows and audio]
Though sometimes a little too entrenched in mid-90's power pop, (more like 1996, guys) some quite pretty moments shine through the muck. Mostly built upon a formula of rootsy, feedback-heavy guitar rawk, they top it off with some fine vocal harmony and more than enough slippery twang and "hoo-hoo"s to keep it light and breezy. It's what I remember Soul Asylum's Hang Ten sounding like but I'm probably wrong on that point too.
- eric
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Released 07.15.2006
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Monday, March 27, 2006
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Nest - ST EP (self released) [audio] [upcoming shows]
Nest is a new female-fronted band surfacing out of Los Angeles. Lead singer Ayana’s folk-influenced vocals call to mind the airy siren songs of Tara MacLean, Sarah McLachlan, or Dar Williams’ more electric work. Her vocals express vulnerability in falsetto lilts and lazy seduction in low wavering keys. The EP consists of six selections showcasing the band’s expansive range varying from a soft whisper of piano to a full expanse of electro-instrumental resonance. Lyrically uplifting and honest, the album is sensory in its sweet aroma and soothing in its intimate embrace.
- betty
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Released 12.16.2005
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Thursday, February 16, 2006
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New Radiant Storm King - The Steady Hand (Darla) [audio] [upcoming shows]
NRSK blew my mind fourteen years ago, before I'd ever heard of Pavement
or Sonic Youth, the names most often dropped in old NRSK reviews. For a
time, NRSK disappeared, due to horrible label shenanigans. But they
never went away, and they never stopped evolving. The NRSK of 2006 is a
multifaceted beast that we probably never could have dreamed of in
1992. Simultaneously stately, pounding, gliding, grinding, delicate and
rocking, The Steady Hand is the sound of "indie" musicians unafraid to
grow into something magnificent.
- jeremy
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Released 02.14.2006
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Monday, October 31, 2005
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The New Pornographers - Twin Cinema (Matador)
[audio/video]
Just how good is Twin Cinema? Even Dan Bejar's songs, which have historically been a non-factor, demand repeated listening here. Carl Newman's never sounded more authoritative, forging melodies that hook you the first time and annihilate you the tenth. The remaining
Pornographers are tighter and more musically explosive this time, and
Neko Case takes ownership of the more somber, torchy material she's
given. In short, everything every member has been involved in up to
now has simply been a rehearsal for Twin Cinema, one of the best rock records in years.
- paul
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Released 08.23.2005
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Friday, September 30, 2005
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Thao Nguyen - Like the Linen (Trust Me Corporation) [mp3s] [upcoming shows]
If Cat Power and Edie Brickell made a baby, and you woke it up after a nap, and it sleepily sang about jerky boys and bittersweet resignation, then it would sound something like Thao Nguyen. With perky strumming guitar chords and light snare in the background, Nguyen crafts songs ranging from the bluegrass-tinged "What About" (containing the title lyric "Clothesline for all to share/With the holes to my heart like the linen I wear") to the loungey "City Sky" ...well, as loungey as you can be without a piano.
- meredith
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Friday, September 16, 2005
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Nada Surf - The Weight Is a Gift (Barsuk) [audio/video] [upcoming shows]
Nada Surf follow up their 2003 near-masterpiece, Let Go, with The Weight Is A gift. Gift plays out like a sequel to Let Go, but like most sequels it doesn't suck. The whole record is pure pop rock in it's simplest form and almost every song on the album feels like it could be a single for the radio. The band brought in Chris Walla to co-produce along with themselves and his production brings out traces of Death Cab For Cutie and The Shins. A perfect soundtrack for the upcoming fall season.
- kyle j.
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Released 09.13.2005
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Wednesday, April 27, 2005
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A Northern Chorus - Bitter Hands Resign (Sonic Unyon) [upcoming shows]
With years of library experience behind me, I feel entitled to judge books/CDs by their covers. The one looks like a Victorian novel. But it sounds more like a gothic one. Moody. Mysterious. Sometimes chaotic. Always intriguing. You'd always said you'd never let yourself become an accessory to mediocrity. So says track one, and so I agree. This album is the opposite of mediocre. Listen to it all the way through.
- meredith
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Released 04.19.2005
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Tuesday, November 23, 2004
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Nirvana - With the Lights Out (Geffen) [audio]
Let's clear something up: I love Nirvana. I bought In Utero on the day it came out. I still have the fucking receipt. Needless to say, I've been waiting for this set forever. So... is it worth it? You bet your sweet ass it is. It's a cornucopia of ultra-rare, unreleased goodness. "Beans?" Check. "Opinion?" Check. In Utero demos from the "Rio Session," including what sounds like the first time they ever played "Scentless Apprentice?" Fuckin' CHECK! Verdict: If you love Nirvana, buy this or you'll hate yourself and want to die.
- brian
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Friday, October 29, 2004
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Nouvelle Vague
(Peacefrog)
[audio/video]
[upcoming shows]
French musicians Olivier Libaux and Marc Collin obviously harbor a
great love for new wave/punk singles from the late '70s and early
'80s. Why not combine that love with another? Nouvelle Vague takes the work of such bands as Joy Division, PiL, Killing Joke, Sisters of Mercy and the Cure and refashions them as bossa nova standards. The goal was to have relatively unknown female vocalists perform without ever hearing the originals so as not to tarnish the purity of these new arrangements. This method not only works, but exceeds expectations.
- paul
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Wednesday, September 01, 2004
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Northern State - All City (Sony Music)
The group's debut was maligned by a few people, but I truly enjoyed
the old New York Beastie Boys/Def Jam vibe circling every song. One
year later, Northern State have fallen into the realm of complete
self-parody. Where it falters most significantly is in the rhyming
(and the lyrics in general)... and they know it. "You know I used to
be good/I've gone from bad to worse/Now I'm just trying to write
another eight bar verse." Um, try again.
- paul
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Thursday, July 15, 2004
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Neurosis - The Eye of Every Storm (Neurot) [audio] [upcoming shows]
Wow. I've typed this review about 3 times. I mentioned the (great) acoustic albums released by Steve von Till and Scott Kelly. I mentioned the (not so great) collaborative album with Jarboe of Swans. I mentioned my intense curiosity on what those releases would add up to this record sounding like. Fuck it, man. I'm gonna sum it up right here: Mellow. Intense. Beautiful. Goddamn motherfucking MAJESTIC. Buy it. Listen to it in your car while driving through a summer rainstorm. You won't regret it.
- brian
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Tuesday, April 06, 2004
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The Neon Philharmonic - Brilliant Colors: The Complete Warner Bros. Recordings (Rhino Handmade) [audio]
I'll just have to assume 1969 was a very strange year. Perhaps strangest of all is the Neon Philharmonic making a name for themselves by charting two singles from their oddball album The Moth Confesses. 35 years later, Rhino Handmade issues this comprehensive set containing both full-length albums, some non-LP singles, and more. Not for everyone, but fans of Brian Wilson, Van Dyke Parks, and Harry Nilsson will be in lush psych-pop heaven.
- paul
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Tuesday, October 14, 2003
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Neptunes present: The Clones (Star Trak/Arista) [audio/video]
As raging Pharell-mania subsides (a little), it's the perfect time to reevaluate this collection on it’s own merits. "Light Yo Ass On Fire"'s Kraftwerk booty bass and Snoop's boomingly sparse herb relapse are genuine club bangers, and "Frontin" is one of those classics Prince is too clueless to write anymore; yet the rest of the disc is a mixed bag where the less heralded contributors (Fam-Lay, Spymob) far outshining the superstar cameos' dull bling.
- nick
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Tuesday, August 19, 2003
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Northern State - Dying In Stereo (Star Time) [audio] [video] [upcoming shows]
Who would have ever known that three white girls from Long Island could out-rap many of their colleagues? Northern State's debut EP shows that you can have a fun hip hop album and still have smart, clever lyrics. Think of a more literate Beastie Boys before they met the Dalai Lama. This album isn't going to change the world but it may very well make you shake your ass right off your body. And that's a good thing.
- robert
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Wednesday, July 30, 2003
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Nicotine - School of Liberty (Asian Man Records) [mp3] [upcoming shows]
No doubt that Japan's answer to NOFX has some Bad Religion records in it's collection but you'll probably find a few Iron Maiden records mixed in among the hoards of SoCal pop-punk vinyl platters as well. Shredding guitar riffs, spitfire drumming, and gang choruses fill this tight-sounding catchy punk-rock release and the spoken word bits such as "At the Class Room," where singer Howie says, in response to what he wants to be when he grows up, "I want to be a motherfucking punk rock," are classic.
- chip
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Wednesday, June 04, 2003
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The New Pornographers - Electric Version (Matador) [mp3s] [upcoming shows]
From The-Great-White-SARS-Incubator-Up-North comes the sophomore effort of "supergroup" The New Pornographers. Electric Version finds them in the same sunshiny, harmony-laden landscape we were introduced to on Mass Romantic.
Basically: Did you like Mass Romantic? OK. You'll like Electric Version.
And while that rumor about Neko posing for Playboy is true, I am sorry to report that the rumor of a Penthouse pictorial featuring Dan Bejar and Carl Newman, adorned with silvery body paints, cavorting on the hood of Bob Guccione's DeLorean, is, sadly, untrue.
- ryan
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Tuesday, April 22, 2003
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The Notwist - Neon Golden (Domino/City Slang) [audio and video]
You know, Neon Golden is a lot like this former Bavarian hardcore band's live show: eight dollars worth of good electro-rock in an 18-dollar package. Although one of the better records released last year, nothing else on it quite lives up to the addicting indie dance beats of "Pilot," a song that would be a certified platinum single if hits were defined as "songs rock webloggers worldwide love to love". Worth it for that song alone, the newly released domestic version is something to check out.
- cory
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Tuesday, January 28, 2003
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Nas - God's Son (Sony) [audio]
After the one-two punch of Jigga's half-stepping Blueprint 2 debacle, along with one of the most amazing comeback singles ever, the re-coronation of Nasir Jones seemed complete. While a handful of God's Son tracks ("Last Real N***a Alive," "Heaven") live up to expectations and then some, the majority of the album - while less disappointing than some of Nas' previous efforts - still chokes. "They shootin'/Aw, made you look" - well put, Escobar.
- nick
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Thursday, January 16, 2003
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Neurosis - Official Bootleg 1 - Lyon, France - 11.02.99 (Neurot Recordings)
For a live recording junkie like myself, this record is a godsend. I've always considered Neurosis one of my favorite live bands of all time, and this record hits that point home with a giant hammer. The power and sheer massiveness (is that a word?) of their live sound is barely lost in the translation to mass produced compact disc, the only thing you're missing is the intense visual presentation that they have projected behind (sometimes on) them during their shows. Let's hope that the other records planned for this series are half this good.
- brian
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Monday, January 06, 2003
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Narrowcasting - Current Or The Tide (Samogon) [mp3s]
Folky, but not folk, rich, but still raw, Current Or The Tide exudes a real "Americana" feel, which is especially odd, considering this album came out of Russia. It's the sound of rainy day windshields and cozy gatherings of friends in half-darkened rooms; it's the sound of what real life feels like. This self-produced effort is proof that you don't need a huge studio, a record contract, a big-name producer, or even indie-cred to make a great record, all you really need is the talent.
- ryan
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Wednesday, September 04, 2002
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The Narcoleptics - Monkey Steals The Peach (A Circles) [mp3s]
This is fucking balls-out screaming rock from New Jersey, although they sound more San Diego to me. Some songs work well, like early-Nirvana, while others straddle the line between good aggressive rock (think Quicksand) and the angry suburban boy rap metal so prominent the past couple of years. I could do without the potty artwork (a diagram of female reproductive parts, so funny!) and the serious "professional" attitude (a drum technician listed as a band member?), but I think with a Valium or two, good things could happen.
- cory
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Tuesday, July 23, 2002
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The Nels Cline Singers - Instrumentals (Cryptogramophone) [mp3, mp3, mp3]
The Nels Cline Singers sing with their instruments instead of their voices - hence the title of the record. A combination of guitar, bass (often bowed), and drums, the Singers are a power trio that lashes out with punk abandon while soaring in the collective improvisation of free jazz. "Instrumentals" is the soundtrack to a late night teevee drama that most networks wouldn't have the balls to air. Except maybe HBO, of course.
- armando
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Monday, April 01, 2002
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The New Year - Newness Ends (Touch & Go) [mp3 1] [mp3 2]
The biggest difference between The New Year and its previous incarnation is the addition of bass. Where slow-core kings Bedhead depended on an array of shiny Fenders to produce intricate, strum-happy tunes, Matt & Bubba Kadane's new group grows up and fills out. Recorded in Chicago with beef jerky connoisseur Steve Albini, Newness Ends sounds best on songs like "Gasoline" when it's going all out. Best off all, the vocal and guitar lines that made records like What Fun Life Was classic are still intact.
- cory
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Thursday, March 21, 2002
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N.E.R.D. In Search Of... (Virgin) [audio]
N.E.R.D. debates whether to a) respect the laydeez or b) fall asleep during oral sex, an epic internal struggle set to the tune of Nirvana riffs and acoustic soul (no shit!) instead of their signature 808 thump—guess pimpin really ain't easy. It's a hit-or-miss affair whose failures are made all the more glaring by Chad and Pharell's untouchable streak of dope production for other artists. However, the album's bookend tracks ("Lapdance" and "Stay Together") are keepers.
- nick
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Thursday, December 06, 2001
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Now It's Overhead - Now It's Overhead (Saddle Creek)
Saddle Creek is the front runner at updating proven formulas, knowing that if enough time passes, all things old can sound new again. The Faint updates Flock of Seagulls and Bright Eyes could be a prepubescent Anastasia Screamed. Now It's Overhead suddenly appear with their version of Bright Eyes by way of the Oak Ridge Boys on the week the baritone was away in a court-ordered rehab. Now It's Overhead craft great pop songs with layered vocals, adding more guns to one of music's most stocked musical rosters.
- mark
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Monday, November 26, 2001
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New End Original - Thriller (Jade Tree)
A while back, I downloaded a couple of tracks by this band New End Original. It's got Jonah from Far, Norm and Scott from Texas is the Reason and the drummer from Chamberlain. These songs were really good. Really, really good. Once I realized the album was out, I spent two weeks scouring the record stores for it. I'd even check under all the ex-bands these guys were in, trying to find this fucking record. Well... I found it. And now that I have it, I kinda wish I hadn't gone through all the trouble.
- brian
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Friday, November 16, 2001
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New Order - Get Ready (Warner)
New Order's first album in eight years was supposed to be the grand return of one of the most important bands of all time. Although the group, formed from the ashes of Joy Division in the early 1980s may be a much-cited influence, Get Ready sure is a sleeper. Even with the hit single Crystal, heavy-handed production and clumsy, predictable rhyme schemes hamper the songs. Merits are simply overshadowed by the excellence of previous albums. Record number nine in their repertoire comes off not so much as "bad" but pointless.
- cory
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Monday, October 29, 2001
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Neurosis - A Sun That Never Sets (Relapse)
It finally happened. Neurosis went pop. It was only a matter of time I guess. They started working with Steve Albini a couple of years ago on their follow-up to Through Silver in Blood, Times of Grace. It seems like they've added more and more pop sheen to their already complex foundation. Is that an acoustic guitar I hear? Is that Britney Spears doing soulful backing vocals? Okay... I lied about Britney. Let's face it...this album kicks your ass up and down the street.
- brian
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Saturday, October 27, 2001
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Nineteen Forty Five - Together We'll Burn Like Autumn Leaves (Daemon Records)
This is a collection of mostly loud, concise midtempo pop songs, a hybrid of boy/girl vocals and slightly noisy guitar driven mystery rock. Whereas John Doe & Exene would complete each others sentences, instead this band's vocalists sing/share their lines. Nothing disasterous here, certain songs would have made a perfect seven inch single and some good potential for future releases. To break it down, four really good songs, five so-so songs, and one song that could trigger a potential Elastica-type copyright infringement lawsuit brought on by Black Francis.
- mark
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