REVIEW: PAST LIVES – STRANGE SYMMETRY (2008)
Strange symmetry. An awkward correspondence. Although you wouldn’t label the music awkward in the common sense, but as unconventional or perhaps hesitant in the deconstruction and construction of melodies unsure of what could be. The Seattle-based specter of The Blood Brothers‘ remains,&nbs
REVIEW: DOOMTREE – SELF-TITLED (2008)
The Minneapolis collective unveiled their long-anticipated debut. Aside from anthologies of efforts, the self-titled album is first studio album, polished by the artistic visions of five rappers and four producers. Last week I reviewed their previous effort, False Hopes (Doomtree
REVIEW: THE FAINT – FASCIINATIION (2008)
The Faint‘s self-constructed, self-produced, and self-designed Fasciinatiion (blank.wav, 2008) is that long-desired Tetris piece that fits snug between Blank Wave Arcade (Saddle Creek, 1999) and Danse Macabre (Saddle Creek, 2001). The Omaha five-piece returns after a four-year album drought w
REVIEW: THE FAINT – FASCIINATIION (2008)
The Faint‘s self-constructed, self-produced, and self-designed Fasciinatiion(blank.wav, 2008) is that long-desired Tetris piece that fits snug between Blank Wave Arcade (Saddle Creek, 1999) and Danse Macabre (Saddle Creek, 2001). The Omaha five-piece returns after a four-y
REVIEW: ATMOSPHERE – WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU LEMONS… (2008)
Mellow, mature, melodious but not so melancholic. In short, that’s what happens in When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold(Rhymesayers Entertainment, 2008). Instead of fighting back against life’s uncontrollable events, one shouldn’t merely roll with the punches but continue
REVIEW: DOOMTREE – FALSE HOPES (2007)
If something is in the drinking water in Minnesota, good luck finding the source in the land of 10,000 lakes. Midwestern hip hop has been on the radar in recent memory headed by the outspoken Kanye West, the Pitchfork-darlings The Cool Kids, and now with the nearly-Ashlee Simpson-chart-top
Review: Johnny Foreigner – Waited Up Til It Was Light (2008)
The wait was definitely longer than expected, but Johnny Foreigner’s debut album Waited Up ‘Til It Was Light (Best Before Records/Nettwerk, 2008) finally hit digital stores in the United States today. How’s the ‘wait’ to ‘well worth it’ ratio? Shortly: !!! T
REVIEW: KISS KISS – KISS KISS EP (2005)
Kiss Kiss emerged out of New York, releasing Reality vs. The Optimist on Eyeball Records in 2006. Their EP (Eyeball Records, 2005) depicts a rougher dose of their mad scientist experimental debut. The five piece descends from a neo-Vincent Price sonic castle enveloped i
REVIEW: ALKALINE TRIO – AGONY & IRONY (2008)
Opening the sleeve of Agony & Irony (Epic Records, 2008), you pull out a rather simple, but elaborate disc with the retro font logo of Epic Records. Alkaline Trio’s first release with this label isn’t the pinnacle, nor the penultimate in their catalog, but is the strongest effort s