James Blake: James Blake
Posted in Uncategorized on May 27th, 2011
“Full of airy vocals and synths, the album sounds as if it could lift off at any moment if not for the drum thumps tethering it down.” –The Boston Phoenix Check Our Catalog
Monthly Archive for May, 2011
“Volume 2 finds their passionate fandom and astute study at work once again, producing homage and history that ranges across a roster of players past (Mark “the Bird’’ Fidrych) and present (Ichiro Suzuki), famous (Reggie Jackson) and obscure (Carl Mays, the only player in major league history to kill a man with a pitch).” –The [...]
Ray Davies: See My Friends
Posted in Rock/Pop on May 27th, 2011
“The most soulful results arise in his duets with women: an exquisitely bluesy “Long Way From Home” with Lucinda Williams, a great bit of lead vocal role-swapping with Paloma Faith in “Lola” and “Dead End Street” with the brassy Amy McDonald.” –Los Angeles Times Check Our Catalog
Steel Magnolia: Steel Magnolia
Posted in Country on May 27th, 2011
“On their eponymous debut, the duo known as Steel Magnolia continue their winning ways combining her bluesy bruised angel rasp with his slick, keening country pop tenor.” –The Boston Globe Check Our Catalog
“Maintains its luxurious hold from beginning to end.” –All Music Guide Check Our Catalog
Panic at the Disco: Vices & Virtues
Posted in Rock/Pop on May 27th, 2011
“From the opening chimes of The Ballad of Mona Lisa to the a-ha-tinged strings of Memories, Vices & Virtues is a breath-taking voyage, which ends in the brilliantly bonkers baroque stomp of Nearly Witches (Ever Since We Met…)…one can’t help but smile when a record is this brilliantly bombastic.” –BBC Music Check Our Catalog
Over The Rhine: The Long Surrender
Posted in Alt Rock, Alt-Country, Rock/Pop on May 27th, 2011
“Their sound wasn’t far removed from the American heartland to begin with, but these days it’s getting close to Tom Waits territory, what with the barely-in-tune pianos, the mandolins, the slide guitars, the humid-summer-evening tempos, and Karin Bergquist’s increasingly smeary approach to sung pitch. There’s also more than a touch of Lucinda Williams in her [...]
Dom: Sun Bronzed Greek Gods
Posted in Alt Rock, Electronica, Indie on May 27th, 2011
“Worcester’s Dom…likely to be our biggest musical export this year.The seven songs on this EP, now being re-released onto the bigger stage through Astralwerks, are the epitome of the predominant contemporary mercurialism, where lo-fi electronic retro-futurism meets psyched-out garage.” –The Boston Globe Check Our Catalog
“Nelson’s singing and guitar playing have always fallen well to the jazz side of country all along anyway, and he’s hardly been a garden variety hat act during his long career, while Marsalis has long worked to reintroduce jazz as a viable popular form in American music. It’s about synthesis, really, and so it makes [...]
Mary Mary: Something Big
Posted in Christian & Gospel, R&B on May 27th, 2011
“Mary Mary still know how to make an entrance, opening their sixth album with a raucous stomper — the album’s title track — that samples the Jackson 5′s “Mama’s Pearl.” The following track, “Something Bigger,” increases the energy with super-charged marching-band percussion.” –All Music Guide Check Our Catalog
The Low Anthem: Smart Flesh
Posted in Alt Rock, Alt-Country, Country Folk, Folk Rock on May 27th, 2011
“High-lonesome folk, bare-boned Americana, and old-timey harmony numbers are the name of the game, and although the band’s use of vintage instruments makes for some fun Wikipedia sleuthing (what are “crotales,” anyway?), the spotlight remains on the songs themselves.” –All Music Guide Check Our Catalog
“On P.A.R.C.E., short for the Columbian term “parcero”, which means “pal” or “friend”, Juanes believes true brotherhood can help to solve South America’s sociopolitical problems, at least on the brilliant commentary called “Quimera.”” –All Music Guide Check Our Catalog
Glee: The Music, Volume 5
Posted in Soundtracks, Teen Pop, Television, Vocal Pop on May 27th, 2011
“The cast continues to grow, with Chord Overstreet (Sam) singing two Justin Bieber tunes and Darren Criss (Blaine) steering the Human League’s “Don’t You Want Me” into Euro-dance territory. Gwyneth Paltrow (substitute teacher Hollie Holiday), who helped Glee score a Top 20 hit with Cee Lo’s “Forget You” in late 2010, makes three cameo appearances [...]
Glee: The Music, Volume 4
Posted in Rock/Pop, Soundtracks, Teen Pop, Television, Vocal Pop on May 27th, 2011
“Heather Morris (Brittany) steps out from behind her ditzy cheerleader façade to perform a pair of Britney Spears songs, and it’s nice to see another member of the supporting cast enjoy a much-deserved turn in the spotlight. The album’s true highlight, though, is an a cappella version of Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream,” performed by Criss [...]
Glee: The Christmas Album
Posted in Holiday on May 27th, 2011
“Features a handful of wintertime tunes, from the standard crop of Christmas carols to more secular fare like Frank Loesser’s “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” and the Carpenters’ “Merry Christmas Darling.” Most of the carols are what you’d expect: slick, sentimental, and performed in Glee’s familiar Broadway-pop style, with solos by the cast members and backup [...]
“There was a time when Dylan’s voice still had a stunning, pre-burnout clarity, and that’s the case on this inspired performance at the Brandeis Folk Festival on May 10, 1963. This is a true discovery, plucked from a concert tape recently found in the archives of Rolling Stone cofounder Ralph Gleason.” –The Boston Globe Check [...]
Hayes Carll: Kmag Yoyo (& Other American Stories)
Posted in Alt-Country, Country on May 27th, 2011
“You can’t listen to this freewheeling Texas singer and songwriter long without becoming thoroughly convinced that he’s a full-blooded relative of Hank Williams, Ernest Tubb and Merle Haggard.” –Los Angeles Times Check Our Catalog
Crystal Bowersox: Farmer’s Daughter
Posted in Country Folk, Rock/Pop on May 27th, 2011
“Bowersox expertly works the territory between folk and country.” –Chicago Tribune Check Our Catalog
In Volume II of his seminal work on the O’Farrell collections, master uilleann piper Jerry O’Sullivan is joined by baroque cellist Audrey Sabattier Cienniwa and harpsichordist Paul Cienniwa to reveal the symbiotic affinity between the Irish pipes and 18th-century baroque music. Check Our Catalog
Bach: Sonatas for Viola Da Gamba
Posted in Classical, Performed at the Crane, Solo Stringed Instruments on May 17th, 2011
Bach’s complete Sonatas for Viola Da Gamba performed by Audrey Cienniwa (violoncello piccolo) and Paul Cienniwa (harpsichord). “These performances rarely disappoint…The Cienniwas are uncomplicated, instinctive musicians with a remarkable musical rapport.”–The Strad, Feb. ’09 Check Our Catalog