Artist name: Ludo Album name: You’re Awful, I Love You Label: Island Gender: Power Pop Release date: February 26, 2008 ZMErating: 7/10 Website: www.ludorock.com The St. Louis power pop quintet have been gaining a lot of ground lately, getting more and more airing space on the radio, increasing their fan base day to day and of course gaining a lot of exposure on music blogs. In a nutshell Ludo could be described as a Queen/Weezer’s…
Artist name: Nine Inch Nails Album name: Ghosts Label: The Null Corporation Gender: Industrial Rock Release date: March 2, 2008 ZMErating: 5/10 Website: www.nin.com Well boys and girls, it’s here! Since it was announced, we’ve all been (more or less) eagerly expecting it, and now it finally reached us. The new ‘groundbreaking’ album from Nine Inch Nails hit the shelves servers and… well… it sucks! Let’s shed some light, first: I gave it a 5…
Artist name: The OaKs Album name: Songs For Waiting Label: Self-Released Gender: Indie/Folk Release date: March 3, 2008 ZMErating: 8/10 Website: www.theoaksband.com Passion and meaning have somewhat started to fade away in today’s music, particularly in the more lyrically prominent scenes like folk and indie. The Oaks however, a Florida based band founded by college mates Ryan Costello and Matthew Antolick, are a different story, with potent lyrics, that convey a powerful message, as well…
Artist name: Missy Higgins Album name: On a Clear Night Label: Eleven/Warner Reprise Gender: Acoustic Rock Release date: February 26, 2008 ZMErating: 9/10 Website: www.missyhiggins.com Missy Higgins is the kind of singer which you just have to love, for several reasons; she writes soulful music, without unnecessary sweets and flowers, her lyrics are actually very deep, without being fake or overly trying to impress but somehow manages to captivate you and take you into her…
Artist name: Goldfrapp Album name: Seventh Tree Label: Mute Gender: Electronica/Ambient/Pop Release date: February 26, 2008 ZMErating: 9/10 Website: www.goldfrapp.com Well who ever thought, after making one of the most sexiest, sleazy and downright shocking album of the decade, in the form of Supernature, that Goldfrapp would release such a mellow fellow-up like the duo’s latest and forth album “Seventh Tree.” Most of Alison Goldfrapp’s and Will Gregory’s fanbase was built around the previous Black…
Artist name: Xiu Xiu Album name: Women as Lovers Label: Kill Rock Stars Gender: Art Rock/Experimental Rock Release date: January 29, 2008 ZMErating: 9/10 Website: www.xiuxiu.org Something I always appreciate in a good musician is originality, better yet actually uniqueness. A rare quality these days, in a time of piracy, digital mastering and plagiarism of retro musical values. The San Fransisco experimentalists, however, don’t fall in the last category, their different and being different isn’t…
Artist name: Lenny Kravitz Album name: It Is Time for a Love Revolution Label: Virgin Records Us Gender: Soul rock Release date: February 5, 2008 ZMErating: 8 and 1/2 Website: www.lennykravitz.com Well the first thing I thought about when I heard about the album was that he’s still single, so what kind of revolution is he talking about?(bad joke, I know). Anyway, this album was intended to be a classic, but the thing is that…
Artist name: Bullet for my Valentine Album name: Scream Aim Fire Label: Jive Gender: Heavy Metal Release date: January 28, 2008 ZMErating: 8 and 1/2 Website: www.bulletformyvalentine1.com Well I had heard a whole lot about this album before listening to it; and most of what I’ve heard was really bad. So I started listening to it with kind of low expectations, not being a [tag]Bullet for My Valentine[/tag] fan, and I to my shame I…
Artist name: Morcheeba Album name: Dive Deep Label: Echo/Ultra Gender: Electronica/Pop/Soul/Trip-Hop Release date: February 19, 2008 ZMErating: 8/10 Website: www.morcheeba.net The mid 90’s saw a new genre of electronica to surface, namely the cult phenomenon of trip-hop, that characterized itself through a eclectic blend of downtempo electronic music and hip-hop. Among representative trip-hop groups to emerge from the mid 90’s scene were Massive Attack, Bjork, Portishead and of course [tag]Morcheeba[/tag]. The later formed by brother…
Artist name: Hot Chip Album name: Made In The Dark Label: EMI Gender: Electronic Indie/Pop Release date: February 4, 2008 ZMErating: 8/10 Website: www.hotchip.co.uk The electro pop Londoners from [tag]Hot Chip[/tag] have always struck me as your typical smart asses and I simply love them for that. Their awesome blend of smart and humorous knack has always made them terribly appealing to me and since their epic 2006 breakthrough, The Warning, I’ve been a fan….
Tibi Puiu
Andrei Mihai