REVIEW: THE JEZABELS – THE BRINK (2014)
The Jezabels’ second full-length release, The Brink, is an invigorating shake-up: a welcoming jolt to whatever tiring routine, rut, feeling or season that has found its way of bleakly overstaying. With that said, there are few components to The Jezabels music that are glaringly happy, traditi
REVIEW: FAUVE ≠ – VIEUX FRÈRES – PARTIE 1 (2014)
Early February, FAUVE ≠ sold out the 1,500 capacity venue Le Bataclan for a week-long stint of concerts. Vieux Frères – Partie 1 was just hitting shelves, soon to fly off and drive them up the charts. The collective bubbled in 2013 with a small burst here, sma
REVIEW: MIKE KROL – TRUST FUND (2013)
Mike Krol is a Los Angeles-based art designer by trade. He has contributed his talents to releases from Madison bands Sleeping in the Aviary and Icarus Himself. His work with these bands has had its rewards: the drummer for Sleeping in the Aviary, Michael Sienkowski, plays for him. His own releases
REVIEW: THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM – B-SIDES (2014)
The Gaslight Anthem’s newest release, B-Sides is a collection of 11 tracks recorded between 2008 and 2011 including: the studio track ‘She Loves You,’ and rare acoustic takes on some of the bands’ biggest songs as well as an inspired version of The Rolling Stones’ ‘Tumbling Dic
REVIEW: KLASSIK – YRP (2013)
Klassik has earned himself a spot as Milwaukee’s most promising new hip-hop artists. Radio Milwaukee named him “Solo Artist of the Year” for 2012. He recently opened for Talib Kweli at Summerfest, which only proves his worthiness of this title. The album opens with the Soul meets IDM (with a t
REVIEW: PIQUED JACKS – JUST A MACHINE (2013)
Piqued Jacks are a relatively new group of native Italians who have recently set up shop in Austin. After releasing two EP’s in their homeland the boys have made it stateside; delivering another EP of brand new material entitled Just a Machine. Just a Machine opens up with the
JOHN’S TOP ALBUMS OF 2013
10. Chance the Rapper – Acid Rap The Chicago kid broke the radar with #10Day, blipping past Midway and O’Hare to land worldwide in such a shockingly short time. The lead single “Juice” and the beautiful organ build surrounding “Cocoa Butter Kisses” made this stellar mixtap
MIKE’S TOP ALBUMS OF 2013
10. The Growlers – Guilded Pleasures There is something instantly likable about The Growlers new album. The recordings are pleasurably low fi, the songs are catchy and cool, and the writing is funny and alarming. Vocalist Brooks Nielsen spins a doped up dream of Laurel Can
BRANDON’S TOP ALBUMS OF 2013
2013 was quite a year for albums. This is a selection of the year’s best releases. There are quite a few excellent records that didn’t make the list. 10. Vampire Weekend – Modern Vampires of the City It is a reflective offering with a mix of genre-blending bursts and somber