Review: Paper Thick Walls – A Thousand Novels (2011)
There’s something nostalgic about Paper Thick Walls’ debut album, A Thousand Novels, but not in the sense that they’ve borrowed from their musical predecessors, as many bands do. Rather, in the Chicago-based group’s ability to capture reminiscence in song. They write songs tha
REVIEW: THE DØ – BOTH WAYS OPEN JAWS (2011)
A good musician once told me he was tiring of hearing new bands try too hard to play something new-sounding and not hard enough to play something that sounded like music. Though that may be a narrow and conservative opinion, I have found this claim often true and I’m glad to say it isn’t the [&h
REVIEW: TELEPATHIQUE – ALL YOUR LOVERS EP (2011)
A few months back in Logan Square, everyone had started to trickle out of Logan Square Auditorium to catch cabs, the L and buses back home. I was going to join some friends, but instead started talking with the drummer. Congratulations turned into talk about, unexpectedly, another band. Unexpected b
Review: Chris Bathgate – Salt Year (2011)
I realized upon first listen that Salt Year, the latest release from Michigan’s revered Chris Bathgate, was a record that would affect my life in a very real way. I wasn’t sure why exactly but as I first listened to the album, months ago, I intrinsically knew that Salt Year w
Review: Eisley – The Valley (2011)
The interesting thing about the band Eisley is the fact that casual Eisley fans are few and far between. Either you’re completely ambivalent about the Texas five piece or you’re completely obsessed so the fact that I’ve always liked Eisley well enough but never really loved the group
REVIEW: THESE CITY LIMITS – THE MODERN STANDARD (2012)
One of the perks (if not THE only perk) of reviewing albums is getting a free copy of a record before anyone else. In this case, Indiana’s These City Limits sent me their new EP before they even have a label to release it. It’s definitely a privilege, but I also felt a stra
REVIEW: LELIA BROUSSARD – MASQUERADE (2011)
I see big things for Lelia Broussard’s voice. It’s sweet but not annoying. It’s got texture, but not so much that she would narrow her audience. It’s original enough that you won’t think twice to compare her to a Michelle Branch or a Colbie Caillat. I remember listening to Rise, an ear
REVIEW: HEMMINGBIRDS – DEATH WAVE (2010)
When I review a new album, I like to give it a couple listens before putting fingers to keyboard. I contend that the most important of these listens is what I refer to as the Morning Commute Test. Sure, the D.C. Metro has some things going for it: it’s clean, has blinky lights that flash […