Category Archives: Reviews

Benjy Ferree – Come Back to the Five and Dime, Bobby Dee Bobby Dee

My friend Hope L. in Washington, DeeCee, emailed me last week about Benjy Ferree just as I started listening to his great, sophomore album, Come Back to the Five and Dime, Bobby Dee Bobby Dee. She saw Ferree perform an acoustic set at the legendary Crooked Beat Records in the Adams Morgan neighborhood (where, according [...]
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Millions of Brazilians Half Horse/Half Horse CD Release, Saturday, February 21, Crofoot

I can’t look at the DTE building The Michigan Council of Carpenters and Millwrights Building in Detroit the same way ever again. If you live in Detroit or visit sometime, you’ll notice at night the light display at the very top of the building as you drive Woodward Avenue near Symphony Hall. There are three [...]
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Friday Fix: Of Montreal, Max Tundra, Pomegranates

It’s Friday. Here’s some new-ish tunage to get you ready for the weekend. Of Montreal – “First Time High” (Of Chicago Acoustic Version) (from Jon Brion Remix EP) If you only listen to Skeletal Lamping once it sounds hopelessly jarring, like a desperate cut-and-paste job filled with illogical stops and starts that were never properly [...]
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Merriweather Post Pavilion: Conceptual Review for a Conceptual Band

(image via) Animal Collective’s Merriweather Post Pavilion has leapfrogged reviews and landed headfirst in feature-length think-piece territory. What happens when something patently “not mainstream” hits mainstream acclaim? We don’t talk about the band, we only talk about the idea of the band: Mark Richardson: With their constantly evolving sonic identity, in-your-face vocal mannerisms, and open-ended [...]
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The Sound of Arrows – M.A.G.I.C. and Danger!

The Sound of Arrows – “M.A.G.I.C” Rewind to 1999. Back when the luminaries of early ’90s rock started to see their stars dim and aging Brit-poppers and shoegazers hustled for remixes and kept the Chemical Brothers on speed dial, hoping that an electronic beat might keep their old work fresh and vital. The culmination of [...]
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My Five Favorite Swedish Albums of 2008

This hasn’t been the best year for Sweden. Throughout 2006-2007, it seemed like any band with a Jens or Johan or Annika or Bjorn in it was a serious contender to win over my heart. In comparison, 2008 has been a little lackluster. First, Peter Bjorn & John released Seaside Rock, a bland palette cleanser [...]
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Lightning Love – November Birthday

So, I was watching “Top 100 Songs of the ’80s” with my roommate and, lo, Poison’s “Every Rose has its Thorn” is ridiculously high on the list. Jesus of fucking Christland! I was furious! I can’t stand Monster Ballads, and I’m guessing that this song was one of the “genres’” progenitors. My problem is that [...]
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