Album Reviews
WARchild - review
WARchild
Wed, 07 May 2008 10:05:11

Emmanuel Jal has got a quite a tale to tell. And he certainly tells it on his debut WARchild. In fact, the album plays out more like a feature film than anything else. In those terms, the WARchild's not unlike Captain Willard's journey down the river to Hell and back in Apocalypse Now. However, ...more
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From the Valley to the Stars - review
From the Valley to the Stars
Tue, 29 Apr 2008 08:16:53

El Perro Del Mar, the Spanish moniker of Swedish singer-songwriter Sarah Assbring, resembles nothing like a dog as her name would suggest. She's much more angelic, the way maybe a hummingbird is in its grace. Yet El "Picaflor" Del Mar just doesn't roll off the tongue the way Perro does. Her first ...more
Beautiful Lie - review
Beautiful Lie
Wed, 19 Mar 2008 16:43:08

Ed Harcourt's The Beautiful Lie serves up edgy, piano-driven singer-songwriter fare. While it's not quite "alt," the album doesn't quite crossover into that dreaded, overly mature Triple A category, either. This in-definability is to Harcourt's credit, as he makes lush, ballad-y songs that are just ...more
New Amerykah, Pt. 1: 4th World War - review
New Amerykah, Pt. 1: 4th World War
Tue, 18 Mar 2008 07:06:05

In some sense, you have to praise an established artist like Erykah Badu for delivering such a heartfelt, crazy and absolute mess of a message record. On the other hand, New Amerykahn's schizo-frenzy may be her way of tyring to cover up the fact that she doesn't necessarily know what the message ...more
Reach - review
Reach
Thu, 21 Feb 2008 07:36:14

Eyes Set To Kill are certainly a Hot Topic-friendly, dualistic metal band. That is, the Tempe, AZ based quintet combine a cute, yet dark, Emily The Strange image with nasty, if somewhat pedestrian, guitar work. It also helps that ESTK employ hot chicks, who are sisters, in the roles of ...more
East Side Story - review
East Side Story
Wed, 05 Sep 2007 11:21:39

The child of an interracial and international jazz duo, 22-year-old singer Emily King performed in folk clubs before she immersed herself in hip-hop after she met Bad Boy producer Chucky Thompson, who helped shape Mary J. Blige's sound. These bits of backstory add up to what you might expect on her ...more
Mentor Tormentor - review
Mentor Tormentor
Wed, 15 Aug 2007 17:45:38

It's hard to find fault with SoCal quasi-duo Earlimart: Aaron Espinoza and partner Ariana Murray's songwriting is workmanlike, and Espinoza's delivery is sincere—his sound the very definition restrained, folky indie rock. And yet, on Mentor Tormentor, Earlimart's first album since 2004's ...more
Combinations - review
Combinations
Tue, 14 Aug 2007 15:39:39

Already tour veterans from time on the road with Coldplay, Snow Patrol and Taking Back Sunday, Texan siblings (plus one best friend) Eisley seem set for success. After all, they have youth and looks on their side, as well as a distinctive blend of enchanted pop-rock dominated by haunting ...more
An End Has a Start (Deluxe Edition) - review
An End Has a Start (Deluxe Edition)
Mon, 16 Jul 2007 18:05:47

Considering the British boys in Editors spent a large part of their debut's promotion time hell-bent on convincing listeners that they're not merely a Xerox copy of Interpol, it's curious that they're releasing their sophomore effort, An End Has a Start, a week after the New York band's Our Love to ...more
Light at the End of the World - review
Light at the End of the World
Tue, 29 May 2007 12:01:20

Despite a recent tour and album that gave their greatest hits a campy, country-and-western makeover, the synth-pop duo Erasure have done virtually nothing to stray from their signature sound on their latest studio recording. Their formula remains distinct and appealing, even if it sounds remarkably ...more
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