T.I. Atlantic
While other MCs have created their own bogeymen to battle — Kanye has his ego, Eminem had Kim, Lil Wayne has those cough-syrup Martians...
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By Ben Westhoff
Published: October 09, 2008
Kings of Leon Only by the Night
RCA
Caleb Followill and the other members of the Kings family once seemed content with updating '70s Southern rock for the new millennium — but...
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By Michael Roberts
Published: October 09, 2008
Calvin Locklear Watch Them Dance
Self-released
Although the moniker slapped on "You're Fired!," the lead track from Calvin Locklear's new EP, can't help but conjure Trumpian expectations, the...
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By Michael Roberts
Published: October 09, 2008
Requiem in Black Revolution NationRevolution Recordz
Requiem in Black isn't breaking new ground with this release, but it's an artistic breakthrough for the band. A lot of the more recent goth and...
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By Tom Murphy
Published: October 09, 2008
Mini Reviews
Herbie Hancock, Then and Now: The Definitive Herbie Hancock (Verve). With all the songs that Hancock has written over the past five decades, it's...
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Published: October 09, 2008
Cold War Kids Loyalty to Loyalty
Downtown Records
Members of the rock intelligentsia both love and hate these Kids, who headline at the Boulder Theater on Friday, October 3 — and the trio's...
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By Michael Roberts
Published: October 02, 2008
Amanda Palmer Who Killed Amanda Palmer?
Roadrunner Records
In a match made in piano-rock heaven, Dresden Dolls vamp Amanda Palmer teamed with fellow ivory-tickler Ben Folds to produce this...
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By Eryc Eyl
Published: October 02, 2008
Able Archer EP01
Public Records
Matt Huseman sang and played in the Greenberry Woods, a band that released two albums on Sire Records circa the '90s, and his experience shows on...
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By Michael Roberts
Published: October 02, 2008
Gritch The World Was Asleep...
Greenland Music Group
The members of Gritch were definitely on to something titling their debut full-length The World Was Asleep... The music presented here is perfect...
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By Tom Murphy
Published: October 02, 2008
Mini Reviews
Bridge and Tunnel East/West (No Idea). Bridge and Tunnel channel the spirit and energy of former project Latterman, without the pretense and...
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Published: October 02, 2008
TV on the Radio Dear Science
DGC/Interscope
Although the Radio crew's talent is well established, the band's music has always raised user-friendliness questions: Sure, 2006's Return to...
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By Michael Roberts
Published: September 25, 2008
Nelly Brass Knuckles
Derrty Ent, Universal
Brass Knuckles is Nelly's Thriller. No kidding. It's not perfect, but neither was MJ's magnum opus; it jumped styles and was not particularly...
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By Ben Westhoff
Published: September 25, 2008
Runway Estates No Good Horse Thieves
Self-released
Runway Estates refuses to wallow in any particular musical genre, which may throw some folks. As the group moves effortlessly from sun-dappled,...
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By Tom Murphy
Published: September 25, 2008
Frogs Gone Fishin' Tell Me True
Oh/Ya Records
Since the dawn of time — or at least the 1960s — a particular breed of music has been consistently popular in these parts: relaxed,...
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By Michael Roberts
Published: September 25, 2008
Mini Reviews
Brian Wilson, That Lucky Old Sun (EMI Records). Ever since Brian Wilson terminated his self-imposed hermitage and started performing again, the...
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Published: September 25, 2008
Blitzen Trapper Fur
Sub Pop
For a buzz band, Blitzen Trapper is extremely modest. Instead of trying to overwhelm listeners with their awesomeness, singer-songwriter Eric...
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By Michael Roberts
Published: September 18, 2008
CSS Donkey
Sub Pop
No one really knows what to do with CSS. Not Sub Pop, not Apple, and certainly not proponents of, uh, "nu-rave." I guess we're supposed to dance,...
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By Dan Weiss
Published: September 18, 2008
Cocktail Revolution Better Reception
Self-released
The members of Cocktail Revolution, who'll celebrate their new disc's release on Saturday, September 20, at Jazz@Jack's, didn't pick up their...
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By Michael Roberts
Published: September 18, 2008
The Fire Drills Cheap Lies EP
Self-released
It's refreshing to hear a band that's not trying to be clever or more innovative than its peers. That said, the straightahead power pop of the...
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By Tom Murphy
Published: September 18, 2008
Mini Reviews
The Clash, Live at Shea Stadium (Legacy Recordings). Not many groups can best the Who. Yet that is exactly what happened when the Clash opened...
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Published: September 18, 2008
Mini Reviews
SOUND BITES
Adele, 19 (Columbia). Obviously, Adele has the pipes to jump the queue and the comparisons among the crowded pack of Brit neo-soul...
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Published: September 11, 2008
Jason Vigil Sometimes Always
Self-released
Heart Gone Sober, Jason Vigil's last album (released in 2006), was so gosh-darn earnest that anyone who's even mildly cynical probably recoiled...
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By Michael Roberts
Published: September 11, 2008
Metallica Death Magnetic
Warner Bros.
This is exactly the record Metallica needed to make in 2008. Real metal's back, and sure, younger bands have rage and technical aptitude on their...
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By Phil Freeman
Published: September 11, 2008
Wovenhand Ten Stones
Sounds Familyre
When fans think of 16 Horsepower founder David Eugene Edwards, the singer-songwriter behind Wovenhand, "accessibility" isn't the first word that...
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Published: September 11, 2008
To Be Eaten In the Clearing
Ash From Sweat
On this latest To Be Eaten release, the band proves once again that it can play razor-precise riffs and rhythms while infusing each song with a...
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By Tom Murphy
Published: September 11, 2008