Reviewed by Kyrby Raine
Joy Adler/Postcards
Give Joy Adler credit for not trying to sound like any of the other female singer/songwriters out there. Her voice, soaring and radiant, flows like a waterfall. Throughout Postcards, I found myself simply mesmerized by her singing; it wasn’t until after I listened to the album more times did I even [...]
Archive for March, 2008
Joy Adler’s ‘Postcards’ is emotionally uplifting, radiant
Posted in Music Reviews, tagged Americana, blues, funk, jazz, the Cult on March 30, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Rivercity Seven delivers wildly unpredictable genre hopping
Posted in Music Reviews, tagged art rock, Devo, Genesis, new wave, Oingo Boingo, Peter Gabriel, progressive rock on March 30, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Reviewed by Kit Burns
Rivercity Seven/Sidewinder Stitches Time
Rivercity Seven changes with the weather. At one point, the group is tripping us with mad flashbacks of the Peter Gabriel-lead Genesis (for those of you too young to remember, Phil Collins was not always the vocalist for Genesis) and then flipping the switch to the herky-jerky synth pops [...]
Rapper M.C. Mars finds humor in the darkest recesses of life
Posted in Music Reviews, tagged AIDS, Dennis Hopper, hip-hop, HIV, rap on March 28, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Reviewed by Kyrby Raine
M.C. Mars/Letz Cabalaborate
When M.C. Mars’ album arrived in our office, there was a mad tumble among staffers for it who mistakenly thought that Dennis Hopper had released a rap record under pseudonym. Yes, if you look at the album cover, Mars does somewhat resemble Hopper. However, he is his own person and [...]
Versatility, innovation, and sarcastic humor color leave SMUG ‘Freshly Stained’
Posted in Music Reviews, tagged Devo, Plain White T's, post-punk, Public Image Ltd., punk, the Dead Kennedys, the Offspring on March 23, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Reviewed by Kit Burns
SMUG/Freshly Stained
Given SMUG vocalist/bassist Bret Helm’s reported touring experience with Public Image Ltd. in the mid-’80s, I was expecting something a little bit more angular and post-punk with his own outfit, SMUG. Certainly that influence can be heard on a few tracks, such as the neo-Goth stomp of “Passing You By” and [...]
Lisa Dudley deserves standing ovation for patriotic songs
Posted in Music Reviews, tagged AM radio, America, country, Gospel, Iraq, Patriotism, soldiers on March 23, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Reviewed by Kit Burns
Lisa Dudley/”I Believe in America”
I’m reluctant to call Lisa Dudley a patriot although her three-cut EP, “I Believe in America,” especially (obviously) the title cut pretty much defines her as one. There’s nothing wrong with that; it’s just that patriotism in America is often viewed as being supportive of their war against Iraq.
On what [...]
Sterr provides hard-rock alternative to Canadian peers Arcade Fire
Posted in Music Reviews, tagged '90s, alternative, Canada, Coldplay, Radiohead, rock, the Arcade Fire, the Dears on March 19, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Reviewed by Kit Burns
Sterr/Better Now
Whenever Canada is mentioned in the indie press these days, it usually has something to do with Montreal’s college-radio darlings such as the Arcade Fire, the Dears, etc. As someone who has actually followed Canadian rock over the past couple of decades, those groups – and that sound – is not [...]
Ken Snyder keeps the sonic boom of real rock alive
Posted in Music Reviews, tagged Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Joe Satriani on March 14, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Reviewed by Kit Burns
Ken Snyder/Progressive by Nature
Ken Snyder is a throwback to the days of guitar heroes in rock, from the mind-altering psychedelic metal of Jimi Hendrix to the epic riffs of Jimmy Page to the intricate soloing of Joe Satriani. It saddens me that such showman rock has become a rare breed in today’s emo-driven market. Well, at least [...]
Repeated spins reveal ’subtle charms’ of Scott Thompson CD
Posted in Music Reviews, tagged Jack Johnson, jazz, Peter Gabriel, progressive rock on March 9, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Reviewed by Kit Burns
Scott Thompson/All the Wisdom
How much you will appreciate Scott Thompson’s All the Wisdom CD is dependent upon how patient you are with it. This album is a grower, one that takes repeated spins for its subtle charms to be apparent. But then again those are the records that you end up spinning [...]
The Libertines US reflect the lost innocence of ’80s indie rock
Posted in Music Reviews, tagged R.E.M., WOXY, Ohio, college radio, D.I.Y., the Replacements, Husker Du, jangle, the Smiths on March 7, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Reviewed by Kit Burns
The Libertines US/Greatest Hits
The Libertines US originate from a more innocent time, alternative rock’s salad days of D.I.Y. vinyl, fanzines, and college-radio stations. As you can probably tell from the ‘US’ in the group’s name, there are no English punks in this band with rehab problems. Nope, these are the original Libertines, [...]
Blake Ian’s ‘Alchemist’ is a ‘keeper’
Posted in Music Reviews, tagged folk, grunge, Jeff Buckley, Pearl Jam, R.E.M. on March 5, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Reviewed by Kit Burns
Blake Ian/Alchemist
There’s a sense of mystery surrounding singer/songwriter Blake Ian. With an album cover quite similar to that of R.E.M.’s Lifes Rich Pageant (I’m showing both for all to see), Ian steers the college-rock scene away from the funky post-punk moves and into a decidedly folk-oriented approach. However, that doesn’t mean that Alchemist is a collection of [...]
