Liars – Sisterworld

March 10th, 2010  |  by jason grishkoff  |  published in rock  |  1 comment

Sisterworld, the band’s fifth album, continues the tradition of radical reinvention that has dictated the band’s narrative for a decade now. The album isn’t as exhilarating as They Threw Us, nor as abrasive as Drum’s Not Dead. Sisterworld sheds a lot of the biker rock posturing that dominated their eponymous forth album in favor of a creepier, more expansive aesthetic. The record requires a fair amount of a patience to get through the first couple of times.

The Strange Boys – Be Brave

March 3rd, 2010  |  by b aiken  |  published in garage, rock  |  1 comment

Have you ever wondered what The White Stripes would sound like if Jack had been born in 1945, started the band in 1963, and sang with the voice of a young Bob Dylan? Well, me neither, but if you were, this album from The Strange Boys would give you a pretty damn good idea. The decidedly lo-fi, bluesy, folk inspired and just plain awesome sound harks back to a homespun time of synthless choruses and voices unspoiled by autotunes.

April Smith and The Great Picture Show – Songs for a Sinking Ship

February 27th, 2010  |  by b aiken  |  published in female vocalists, indie pop, rock  |  2 comments

“Wow”. That’s all I could say after taking a listen to this album, “Songs for a Sinking Ship”. It is a downright enjoyable music experience that uses the time-tested formula of great vocals, catchy hooks, and well orchestrated instrumentals to give the listener a true gem of an album.

Broken Bells – Broken Bells

January 23rd, 2010  |  by el gringo rico  |  published in indie rock, rock  |  4 comments

I’m going to keep this one short and sweet: the new collabo between the Almighty Danger Mouse and James Mercer of the Shins is absolutely unreal. Yes, I did refer to Danger Mouse (or Brian Burton as his mother would say) as Almighty. As you might know from previous posts, I have all but devoted my life to everything Danger Mouse dives into. Whether it be Gnarls Barkley, Beck’s Modern Guilt, MF Doom’s Mouse and the Mask, Jemini’s Ghetto Pop Life, or The Black Key’s Attack & Release, everything the man touches turns into pure gold.

Ethan Kennedy – Raucous

January 15th, 2010  |  by jason grishkoff  |  published in blues, psychedelic, rock  |  3 comments

Ethan Kennedy is the new Black Keys. He is better than the Black Keys. The Black Keys ruined themselves by following up a mediocre Attach+Release with an even worse BlakRoc. Ethan Kennedy is o fresh that he can’t possibly ruin himself yet. He is the Black keys to the power of Led Zeppelin, The Beatles and Frank Jordan. He is intricately more interesting and far more exciting. The world needs to hear this stuff.

Real Estate – Real Estate

January 2nd, 2010  |  by jason grishkoff  |  published in dreamwave/chillwave, garage, psychedelic, rock

In the same vein as all my blog favourites such as Surfer Blood, Girls and Best Coast – Real Estate make snippets of 60s pop psychedelia coated in fuzzy reverb and drenched in sunny harmonies. The difference between this band and the others is the total chillout mentality they show across their entire self-titled debut album, leading to a whole load of comparisons to the other chillwave bands of late.

Huron – Huron

December 30th, 2009  |  by b aiken  |  published in blues, psychedelic, rock  |  1 comment

Hailing from Hamilton, Ontario, Huron is a self-described rock and roll band, but I would say they are a bit more dynamic than being pigeon-holed into the massive genre of ‘rock and roll.,’ I’d define them as ‘real, good, music.’ It’s certainly clear that Huron stays close to their rock roots; with influences ranging from the Beatles to Neil Young and Pink Floyd, Huron spans both the psychedelic and southern rock musical spectrum.

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!).