August 27th, 2010 | by sweeneykovar | published in jazz, progressive rock, soul | 4 comments
After a nearly 10-year hiatus since his last officially released album, Bilal Oliver returns with Airtight’s Revenge. A collage of genre’s make this album hard to pin down but that much more compelling.
August 21st, 2010 | by kmanning | published in acoustic, experimental, progressive rock, psychedelic | 3 comments
Psychedelic rockers Yeasayer have not always brainstormed through the power of LSD to produce trippy yet poppy bass-driven tunes. The Brookyln band’s first studio effort, All Hour Cymbals, thrives with an unproduced sound, gritty even, with near whispy vocals from Chris Keating.
August 12th, 2010 | by Tony Smith | published in indie rock, post-rock, progressive rock | 1 comment
Brilliant debut album from the Madison, Wisconsin instrumental indie rockers known as Cougar. And no, Courtney Cox is not a member of the band.
May 31st, 2010 | by Jason Grishkoff | published in post-rock, progressive rock, psychedelic | no comments
Tame Impala were at first listen anything but tame. Their EP came out more than a year ago, featuring five tracks of in-your-face psychedelic rock-and-roll. You could easily have convinced me they were out of the sixties, but how wrong that’d be! While their sound is old, this Perth trio is anything but (as evidenced by the picture at right). I won’t say I’ve been looking forward to this album since that initial EP, but I probably should have been.
May 5th, 2010 | by camden andrews | published in alternative, indie rock, progressive rock | 8 comments
It’s true, bands do need to develop and grow to prevent stagnation and avoid the risk of becoming a novelty band. But “Omni” does this with weak, cheesy smoothness while abandoning all of the things that made Minus the Bear loveable to begin with. It’s as if the adorable neighbor kid from next door who used to like climbing trees and selling lemonade decided to put on a suit one day and call himself a CEO. This is an album that undeservedly takes itself way too seriously.
March 24th, 2010 | by Jason Grishkoff | published in electro pop, experimental, progressive rock | 2 comments
I conclude that Jónsi hasn’t really managed to surprise Sigur Ros fans on this one. Unless, of course they were hoping to hear more of “Gobbledigook” from the band. Oh, you were waiting for that? Me too! Honestly, if Sigur Ros had slapped their name on this work, I would have tipped my hat to them. As such, I have to tip my hat to Jónsi. I only hope that the full band’s future endeavors are able to one-up Jónsi’s solo work.
Portugal. The Man – American Ghetto
March 21st, 2010 | by Jason Grishkoff | published in folk-rock, indie rock, progressive rock | 2 comments
Portugal. The Man has no problem composing complex licks that switch this way, that way and then back again. That was the beauty of their last album. Unfortunately, with “American Ghetto”, it’s as if they’ve taken black noise and covered all of their former songs with it. Maybe it’s the reverb; maybe it’s the 300 layers. It would almost start to get annoying if it weren’t for a few gems, including “All My People” and “1000 Years”.
March 7th, 2010 | by Jason Grishkoff | published in indie pop, progressive rock | 1 comment
While the album cover for Home Acres may be a bit gloomy, Aloha’s four members (now scattered throughout the East Coast) have no problem creating a quick-tempo, reverb-filled and smiley album. One key to this happy formula (beside the heavy presence of drum-line style percussion) is the use of marimbas and vibrant synthesizer, elements that have abounded throughout their former releases.
December 10th, 2009 | by Jason Grishkoff | published in alternative, post-rock, progressive rock, psychedelic | 1 comment
If Mr. Gnome had a male singer, they’d sound like Apse. And if you like Mr. Gnome, then the psychedelic, post-rock, experimental grooviness of Apse is sure to garner your attention. This music isn’t pop. It isn’t meant to sit in the background while you work hard on homework. Rather, it commands your full focus.
Mr. Gnome – Heave Yer Skeleton
November 5th, 2009 | by Jason Grishkoff | published in female vocalists, post-rock, progressive rock, rock | 1 comment
The amount of sound produced by just two band members can be mind-blowing. When Mr. Gnome released their debut album Deliver This Creature in early 2008, I found myself oddly enraptured by their dark sound. I didn’t realize at the time that there were only two members, guitarist Nicole Barille and drummer Sam Meister. All I could think about was how much their album cover made me associate the album with the rabbit in Donnie Darko (scary shit, I’m telling you!).
