A myriad of intersting new music this week, folks. My personal favorite release is “Romanian Names,” the latest release from behalf of what’s possibly one of the most under rated contemporary singer/songwriters, John Vanderslice. Check out our download/stream of John’s Fetal Horses in a previous post, for a bit of sampling. Yes, genious . Can’t help noticing there are a lot of R & B and hip-hop centered albums this week, most probably having to…
Provocative artwork? Surely not. That’s not blood on the cover of the new Manic Street Preachers album, just a boy with one side of his face more red than the other. Or to put it in more artistic terms a la frontman James Dean Bradfield, “a much more modern version of Lucian Freud-esque brushstrokes”. But either way you look at it, this work of album-cover artistry for the Journal for Plague Lovers has been banned…
Those of you kind readers who’ve been following my writing for the last couple of weeks may have noticed that I’m a big fan of Natasha Khan’s latest LP, “Two Suns.” It’s eery, up-lifting and filled with hope. I always feel more motivated and ready to face the world after I give it a spin, from the first to the last track. The bonus songs on the album aren’t too shaky at all, too.If you…
Back in March, the music scene was left a bit numb when a new Jack White side-project was announced, the alt supergroup The Dead Weather – comprised of, obviously, Jack White on drums (this not so obvious), Alison Moshart of The Kills on vocals, Dean Fertita of Queens of the Stone Age on guitar and Jack Lawrence of The Raconteurs on bass guitar. Since then, though, not much has been heard from them, apart from…
This week’s highlight is definitely Green Day’s new record “21st Century Breakdown,” the follow-up to the band’s 2004 commercial success “American Idiot.” The punk rockers are looking pretty good at the moment, having a very good chance in topping the Billboard charts next week. Their 2007 reunion album, “Rise To Your Knees,” wasn’t seen very well, both critically and commercially-wise, but the Meat Puppets’ new “Sewn Together” LP looks damn fine. The sound is still…
St. Vincent is releasing her sophomore album, “Actor,” this week and, from the looks of it, it already announces itself as being one of 09’s best. One of the most prolific singer/songwriters of our time, Cat Stevens, is releasing a new album this week as well, under his muslim name Yusuf Islam, dubbed “Roadsinger.” Another really sweet release is “White Lies for Dark Times” by Ben Harper & Restless 7. Let’s not forget about the…
Kanye ‘Gay Fish’ West, Jared ‘Jesus’ Leto and Brandon ‘Swarovski’ Flowers – the hippest bunch ’round this side of the Internet. As if news of Creed and Limp Bizkit getting back together wasn’t enough for any sane man to bear, here’s another kick in the nuts – Kanye West and Jared Leto’s emo outfit 30 Seconds to Mars are set to work together on a new song, that will most probably get featured on the…
I think at one point or another, we’ve all wondered what would happen if you took two parts Van Halen, mixed in one part Red Hot Chili Peppers, spiced it up with a little Joe Satriani, and then settled on the most confusingly wrongheaded band name ever (and if you haven’t, what’s wrong with you, guy?!?!) So it’s with a mixture of joy and insomnia-induced hysteria that I present to you this band: Chickenfoot. Joe…
Some awesome new releases this week, guys. Bob Dylan is releasing a new album, his 33rd in fact, called “Together Through Life”, possibly his most murky record to date. Is remarkable how Dylan, aged 67, can still pop out quality music at. Then again, nothing amazes now when putting Bob Dylan and quality in the same sentence. Seeing how the rap scene has been intensively suffering lately from the lack of above-par releases, fans can…
I don’t know about you, but Jimi Hendrix always seemed like a Budweiser man. Hmm… or maybe Heineken? On second thought, judging from his psychedelic shows/times, beer seems like the last thing on his mind. How many Hendrix fans would try the above blend, though? And what’s better then chilling on the couch, sipping on a Purple Haze brewski then doing it while watching Jimi Hendrix reality TV? Seems like back in February of 1969,…
Tibi Puiu
Conor O' Brien
Al Byrne