Artist name: Black Lips Album name: Good Bad Not Evil Label: Vice Records Gender: Alternative Rock/Garage Rock Release date: September 11, 2007 ZMErating: 7.5/10 Website: http://www.myspace.com/theblacklipsThe term of garage rock revival seems to get tossed around a bit easily, few bands really follow up to their label so to speak, but a band of witty post-teenagers that jams in dark basements to Stooges songs, such as early [tag]Black Lips[/tag], might deserve their tag line. Although…
Artist name: Liars Album name: Liars Label: Mute Records Gender: Experimental/Indie Release date: August 28, 2007 ZMErating: 8.5/10 Website: http://www.liarsliarsliars.com/ [tag]Liars[/tag] is one of those bands that you simply don’t know what to expect from, they’re totally unpredictable and always experimenting with their music. This has caused some severe loss of fan base over the past years, because of their ever changing albums, each LP with a totally different and weird theme (witches, betrayal, the…
Artist name: Caribou Album name: Andorra Label: Merge Records Gender: Electronica Release date: August 21, 2007 ZMErating: 9.5/10 Website: http://www.caribou.fm/ Imagine living in a world of your own, a world where man is no longer its master and overseer, but a simple observer, a world in which innocence, youth and all that is pure blossoms. I might seem like I’m getting all [tag]John Lennon[/tag] on you, but I’m getting somewhere. This world of fiction has…
Artist name: M.I.A. Album name: Kala Label: XL Records Gender: Hip-Hop/Electronic Release date: August 21, 2007 ZMErating: 10/10 Website: http://www.miauk.com/ “M.I.A.’s coming back with power!” At least that’s what trip-hop princess Mathangi “Maya” Arulpragasam, or more know by her stage name [tag]M.I.A.[/tag], states in the chorus of “Bamboo Banga”, a new song of her latest album “Kala”. Indeed she’s back in full throttle; if you thought her debut album, “Arular”, was tight, varied and adventures,…
Artist name: Lori McKenna Album name: Unglamorous Label: Warner Bros Records Gender: Country/Folk Release date: August 14, 2007 ZMErating: 8/10 Website: http://www.lorimckenna.com/ Lori McKenna is a mother of five from Stoughton, Mass. (pop. 27,000), about 20 miles outside Boston. Almost every info you can find about her begins with that and so when listening to the album you should not let yourself be influenced by that. Was not quite sure what to expect and when…
Artist name: Architecture in Helsinki Album name: Places Like This Label: Polyvynil Records Gender: Indie/Pop Release date: August 13, 2007 ZMErating: 8/10 Website: http://www.architectureinhelsinki.com/ Your favorite Aussie six-piece, [tag]Architecture in Helsinki[/tag], is back with their newest effort “Places Like This”. Three is the magic number, and although they’ve received some nice positive critical reviews for their last two records, I think “Places Like This” may just be the thing they needed to launch them on…
Artist name: Korn Album name: Untitled Label: EMI/Virgin Records Gender: Nu Metal/Industrial Metal Release date: July 31, 2007 ZMErating: 7/10 Website: http://www.korn.com/ After in their previous album, 2005’s “See You On The Other Side”, [tag]Korn[/tag] recorded without their old time guitarist Brian ‘Head’ Welch (who apparently decided to follow the path of God) another hard blow struck the band. Their drummer David ‘Calvin Klein’ Silveria, who’s tripping rhythm defined the nu-metal paradigm, took a break…
Artist name: Sum 41 Album name: Underclass Hero Label: Island Records Gender: Punk Rock Release date: July 24, 2007 ZMErating: 3/10 Website: http://www.sum41.com Just when you thought you heard the last of [tag]Sum 41[/tag], the Canadian trio are back to prove us wrong. After 10 years of being together, 4 platinum albums and numerous sell out tours and gigs, the Deryck Whibley fronted band return with their fifth studio release “Underclass Hero”. I have to…
Artist name: Smashing Pumpkins Album name: Zeitgeist Label: Reprise Gender: Alternative Rock/ Hard Rock Release date: July 10, 2007 ZMErating: 6.5/10 Website: http://www.smashingpumpkins.com/ The [tag]Smashing Pumpkins[/tag] are back, or should I say [tag]Billy Corgan[/tag] is back, after a 7 year hiatus. The band was a ’90 alt legend, seconding in my opinion [tag]Nirvana[/tag] as alt kings of our times. During the years, however, something went terribly wrong; after their classics 2nd and 3rd albums “Siamese…
Artist name: Velvet Revolver Album name: Libertad Label: RCA Records Gender: Hard Rock Release date: July 3, 2007 ZMErating: 9/10 Website: http://www.velvetrevolver.com/ If [tag]Velvet Revolver[/tag] never made it to its second album, i would be any thing but surprised. I mean face it when you have such a conglomeration of stars and egos from the ’80 hard rock times, featuring ex-members of Guns N’ Roses and fronted by arguably the biggest ego of the grunge…
Tibi Puiu
Andrei Mihai