Much has been made about the fact that Treble & Tremble, Earlimart’s latest album, was influenced by the death of the band’s friend Elliott Smith. But you don’t need to be enamored of Smith’s moody melancholy to appreciate the growth of this band from Grandaddy wanna-bes into formidable, thoughtful craftsmen…
For the third straight album, Alabama’s Drive-By Truckers write what they know with a zeal unsurpassed in American rock groups. Suicide, drugs, corruption, tornadoes, family — these complex topics populate The Dirty South, a bracing reconsideration of life below the Mason-Dixon Line. What had become an easy cultural stereotype –…
On its full-length debut, this Los Angeles trio does a commendable job of mixing atmosphere and muscle. Though the band’s calling card is singer Gena Olivier’s Nico-like hypnotic control, Midnight Movies repeatedly back up her musings with a sharp guitar-and-keyboard assault, especially with the monstrously devotional “Love or a Lesson.”…
In the midst of an undervalued solo career that’s lasted longer than the Replacements ever did, Paul Westerberg continues to craft durable records for an ever-diminishing cult audience. And while the deceptively titled Folker doesn’t perfectly encapsulate aging, parenthood and marriage like his ’02 gem, Stereo/Mono, the new album mines…
If the music biz took applications for power-pop professionals, Zach Rogue’s résumé would be killer. On its debut, Out of the Shadow, his San Francisco quartet flaunts its many melodic references: high-lonesome country tunes, Simon & Garfunkel-style ballads, sunny Big Star introspection. If those credentials weren’t enough, Rogue Wave’s plum…
It would be an answered prayer for most up-and-coming ambient artists: a personal invitation from the members of Sigur Ròs to join them on tour. But when that fantasy scenario actually happened for San Diego musician Jimmy LaValle, his response was unexpected. You see, he really wasn’t that familiar with…
Before we continue, let us ponder some hard questions. What if the Strokes weren’t The Strokes? What if they weren’t that band from New York with the obnoxiously cool haircuts and the obnoxiously uncool tee shirts? What if there was no hype draped around their skinny necks? What if they…
Prior to 2003, Death Cab for Cutie were merely one more articulate bunch of emo kids. One glimpse of their alabaster pigmentation told the story: Sensitive, brokenhearted, anxious, awkward and only occasionally compelling. Disappointments? Abandonment issues? Frontman Ben Gibbard had plenty of both. Learning how to make these gripes worth…
Warren Zevon’s almost-certain final album sums up his eclectic career to fine effect. If that doesn’t make it any sort of masterpiece, well, then that’s no problem. Masterpieces weren’t his thing even in the best of times, and they certainly aren’t his stock in trade as he suffers from terminal…
Sorry — there won’t be any Missy Elliott or Snoop Dogg on this stop of the self-proclaimed “first true annual hip-hop festival.” Except for Fabolous, a rather anonymous platinum seller, each of these acts offers the best and most lucrative that rap has to offer in the 0-3. Channeling Shaggy…
Hip-hop, not rap. Charming, not tough. Suburban, not street. Taste the Secret, Ugly Duckling’s latest laugh-in-the-face-of thug-life “realism” assault, continues the group’s brave struggle to carve a niche for intelligent, playful B-boy culture. Over the course of an engaging EP and a terrific full-length debut, Ugly Duckling sought to reanimate…
While Christina Aguilera sufficiently undermined a respectable (if not quite illustrious) first outing with last year’s unfortunate Stripped, a follow-up that tried to out-pink Pink, Justin Timberlake merged independence and accessibility on Justified, his confident, engaging, mature solo debut after so much *NStink. Anyone with a fondness for Off the…
If Lucinda Williams is such a genius, then how come she keeps making the same album? Car Wheels on a Gravel Road, her 1998 breakthrough after years of obscurity, defined and perfected her earthy songwriting, filled with lust, longing, and exacting character detail. Its acclaim deserved, the record also painted…
Let’s make this clear: These aren’t bad albums bands you hate make bad albums. No, these five records do something much worse: They’re disappointments, unworthy efforts from once-great artists and overhyped freshmen. What’s most offensive, though, is that a lot of people didn’t even seem to notice. 1. The Vines,…
About a year ago, Prince Paul, as part of Handsome Boy Modeling School, opened for Radiohead at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, segueing playfully behind the turntables from song to song — kitsch tunes, classic jams, whatever in between. And then something truly startling happened.Paul played the opening, ingratiating…
If the Chemical Brothers represent dance music at its most intelligent — and Daft Punk represents the genre’s cheesy, crowd-pleasing appeal — then Basement Jaxx most assuredly offers the art form at its emotional, sensual, visceral best. Remedy, the U.K. duo’s debut after years of DJing in London, flowed cohesively…
