“Regions of Light and Sound of God is intriguing and quirky; its songs often pose big questions inside informal, loosely developed pop song structures that are instantly accessible yet whose lyrics are often metaphysically elusive.” –All Music Check Our Catalog
Category Archive for 'Alt Rock'
“Though not a concept album in the actual sense, the album’s strong musical themes make it easy to imagine yourself listening to it on your front porch on a sweltering day, with songs like the titular track playing in the background as the neighborhood goes about its business in slow motion.” –All Music Guide Check [...]
“Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys has played a big part in Hacienda’s story to date — he discovered the San Antonio-based band when they passed him a demo CD at a club gig, he produced their first two albums, and recruited them to serve as his backing band for a solo tour.” Check Our [...]
Janka Nabay: En Yay Sah
Posted in African, Alt Rock, Indie, Rock/Pop, World Music on Feb 26th, 2013
“While traditional bubu is played on bamboo flutes, metal pipes, and percussion instruments, Nabay’s brand is pure 21st century dance music… En Yay Sah is easily the most auspicious — and original — debut album of 2012.” –All Music Guide Check Our Catalog
“The Haunted Man is more direct than any of Bat for Lashes’ previous work, and manages to keep the air of mystique around Khan that has made her one to watch and listen to since her early days.” –All Music Guide Check Our Catalog
“[Prince Rama]claim to cover the ‘pop hits’ of ten imaginary bands that all died during the apocalypse by ‘channeling’ them… The ‘songs’ on Top 10 Hits of the End of the World seem to aspire to a peyote-induced vision that melds Bananarama, latter-day Siouxsie & the Banshees, and Hayzie Fantayzee with a little Kajagoogoo and [...]
Ellie Goulding: Halcyon
Posted in Alt Rock, Dance Pop, Indie, Rock/Pop on Feb 23rd, 2013
“Gifted with a disarmingly throaty — yet still resonant — voice and attractive, girl-next-door charisma… An ambitious work by an artist intent on developing her total sound, Halcyon finds Goulding poised at the edge of artistic and career possibilities.” –All Music Guide Check Our Catalog
Holy Other: Held
Posted in Alt Rock, Electronica, Indie, Rock/Pop on Feb 19th, 2013
“Throughout, Holy Other uses repetition to heighten the sense of life as one long cruel cycle of longing and despair… But it’s all the more affecting for that, and for all its cleverness it’s not just a calculated exercise. There could even be commercial potential for this music; it sounds like Michael Jackson slowed down [...]
“Continuing Britain’s recent fascination with Americana, five-piece Leeds outfit the Dunwells’ debut album, Blind Sighted Faith, is an unashamedly retro affair which harks back to the early West Coast rock of Eagles and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young…. [T]he band’s obvious fondness for the ’70s folk-rock era ensures Blind Sighted Faith is largely an authentic [...]
“On Bloom, Beach House just go about their mind-blowing business…. Bloom is a sonic boomerang: resist if you must, but you’ll inevitably end up right back where you started — sucked into their heavenly sonic utopia.” –Boston Phoenix Check Our Catalog
“Feel-good music can be annoying if you’re not, y’know, feeling good. Even with handclaps, tap-dancing synths, and cheerleader chants, though, the Brooklyn duo sound more punk than twee in Lightning. Songs with shotglass-half-full titles like ‘It’s Alright’ and ‘Not That Bad’ build to fist-pump choruses, but there’s just enough attitude to counter that rah-rah spirit.” [...]
“The Heavy’s third studio album, 2012′s The Glorious Dead is a bombastic acid rock, funk, and blues-soaked album that sounds like the illegitimate offspring of the Black Keys and Gnarls Barkley… The Heavy delve into various punk, dance, and blues-influenced sounds including the manic garage rock meets mariachi band anthem ‘Just My Luck’ and ‘What [...]
“Spoon’s Britt Daniel and Wolf Parade’s Dan Boeckner are both true coffee achievers: high-energy dudes who tend to write tightly wound songs. So it’s no shock that their side band is a genuine synthesis.” –Rolling Stone Check Our Catalog
“On their fourth studio album, Blackout, the Dropkick Murphys work with their soused punk rock style for their tightest material to date. Sure, the intensity that made The Gang’s All Here and Sing Loud, Sing Proud so great is intact, but there’s a bit more polish and the Dropkick Murphys’ Irish-colored rock jigs have never [...]
“Named in honor of the converted turn-of-the-century Washington barn where it was recorded, Brandi Carlile’s fourth studio outing, the rough and tumble, sweet and soulful Bear Creek, is as fiery as it is bucolic… Carlile has honed her distinctly retro brand of Northwest Americana down to science, and Bear Creek feels both easy and immediate…” [...]
The Wombats: This Modern Glitch
Posted in Alt Rock, Indie, New Wave, Rock/Pop on Feb 13th, 2013
“The Wombats’ 2011 sophomore effort, This Modern Glitch finds the gleefully cynical Brit trio delivering a batch of catchy, immediately memorable dance-rock tracks the likes of which haven’t been heard since the glory days of Blur and ’90s Cool Britannia.” –All Music Guide Check Our Catalog
Imagine Dragons: Night Visions
Posted in Alt Rock, Indie, New Wave, Rock/Pop on Feb 13th, 2013
“Dramatic and sweeping, the Las Vegas band works in the same vein as pop giants Coldplay, offering up track after track of hooky and emotional midtempo jams. While a move like this might seem overly ambitious for a freshman band, Imagine Dragons are able to pull the sound off…” –All Music Guide Check Our Catalog
“If their debut was any indication, Tame Impala’s second full-length, Lonerism, will once again be compared to albums from the late 1960s and early 70s. But if their intent was to make a record that sounds like it came from that era, they’ve failed and ended up with something more fascinating.” –Pitchfork Check Our Catalog
Chuck Prophet: Temple Beautiful
Posted in Alt Rock, Alt-Country, Country, Indie, Rock/Pop on Feb 13th, 2013
“Ultimately, you can listen to Temple Beautiful for the superficial catchiness of its tunes, Prophet’s slashed guitar chords and his searching, keening vocals and have a good time. And if you want to, you can listen more closely to what he’s getting at on this album, and experience the album as one man’s alternative history [...]
“Oxford, UK’s A Silent Film are bringing their cinematic sounds to the states with their sophomore album, Sand & Snow… It’s a deeply-felt offering that will have you soaring through an alternate world of mixed emotions and vibrant ideas…” –PureVolume Check Our Catalog