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MIKAEL WOOD

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The Chemical Brothers | Further

Astralwerks (2010)
Astralwerks (2010)

By: MIKAEL WOOD | July 07, 2010

Devo | Something For Everybody

Warner Bros. (2010)
Given the theory of de-evolution these Ohio brainiacs began expounding more than 30 years ago, it makes a sad kind of sense that Devo's first album since 1990's Smooth Noodle Maps offers such a charmless, base-level version of the band's synth-addled new wave.

By: MIKAEL WOOD | July 01, 2010

Taio Cruz | Rokstarr

Mercury (2010)
When Taio Cruz sings, "I can't live without you," in "Take Me Back," pop-song conventions tell us he's referring to a lover.

By: MIKAEL WOOD | June 24, 2010

The Futureheads | The Chaos

Dovecote (2010)
"I wish that I could stop the noise," sings Barry Hyde not long into The Chaos . It sure doesn't seem that way.

By: MIKAEL WOOD | June 16, 2010

Bettye LaVette | Interpretations: The British Rock Songbook

Anti- (2010)
Bettye LaVette’s previous two albums had titles that required a little digging to unpack.

By: MIKAEL WOOD | June 01, 2010

James Lidell | Compass

Warp (2010)
Hey, I love Veckatimest as much as the next wimp, but the prospect of Grizzly Bear multi-instrumentalist Chris Taylor’s offering production to the latest album from Jamie Lidell didn’t seem promising when it was announced earlier this year. After all, Lidell has spent the past half-decade effecting an unlikely transition from introspective IDM nerd to extroverted R&B dude.

By: MIKAEL WOOD | May 26, 2010

CocoRosie | Grey Oceans

Sub Pop (2010)
Freak-folk fans disappointed by the relative accessibility of recent efforts by Devendra Banhart and Joanna Newsom should check out CocoRosie’s latest.

By: MIKAEL WOOD | May 19, 2010

Free Energy | Stuck On Nothing

DFA/Astralwerks (2010)
Like Bad Company and Damn Yankees before them, these buzzed-about Philadelphia longhairs have a song on their debut that shares the name of their band — a sure sign that Free Energy are serious about having a good time.

By: MIKAEL WOOD | May 12, 2010

Booka Shade | More!

Get Physical (2010)
Booka Shade get back to where they once belonged.

By: MIKAEL WOOD | May 04, 2010

Roky Erickson With Okkervil River | True Love Cast Out All Evil

Anti- (2010)
True Love Cast Out All Evil finds troubled Texas psych-rock legend Roky Erickson reflecting on a life filled with turmoil.

By: MIKAEL WOOD | April 27, 2010

Freelance Whales | Weathervanes

Frenchkiss/Mom + Pop (2010)
Puritanical indie types unsettled by how well Owl City’s “Fireflies” fits on the new Radio Disney Jams 12 should comfort themselves with the debut from this suitably fringe-dwelling New York combo.

By: MIKAEL WOOD | April 22, 2010

Codeine Velvet Club | Codeine Velvet Club

Dangerbird (2010)
Like a Glaswegian version of Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner’s Last Shadow Puppets , the Codeine Velvet Club project finds Jon Lawler of the Fratellis making retro-’60s supper-club pop with sweeping orchestral arrangements where the fuzzy guitars usually go.

By: MIKAEL WOOD | April 14, 2010

Black Prairie | Feast Of The Hunter’s Moon

Sugar Hill (2010)
Admire the Decemberists’ meticulous sea-shanty soundscapes but can’t stand Colin Meloy’s word-nerd volubility?

By: MIKAEL WOOD | April 07, 2010

Titus Andronicus | The Monitor

XL (2010)
As if to allay any fears of a starchy Civil War concept album, Titus Andronicus frontman Patrick Stickles spends the first minute of The Monitor shouting out a series of cultural artifacts that postdate that conflict by, oh, about a hundred years: the Garden State Parkway, the Newark Bears, even the Fung Wah bus.

By: MIKAEL WOOD | March 16, 2010

Ted Leo | The Brutalist Bricks

Legacy (2010)
Leave it to Ted Leo to find his way from "There was a resolution pending on the United Nations floor" to "Tell the bartender I think I'm falling in love."

By: MIKAEL WOOD | March 09, 2010

Lightspeed Champion | Life Is Sweet! Nice To Meet You!

Domino (2010)
Devonté Hynes first appeared as a member of the joky UK dance-punk trio Test Icicles.

By: MIKAEL WOOD | March 03, 2010

Gil Scott-Heron | I’m New Here

XL (2010)
It's always easy to forecast others' doom, announces Gil Scott-Heron near the end of his first album since 1994.

By: MIKAEL WOOD | February 23, 2010

Hot Chip | One Life Stand

Astralwerks (2010)
Four albums into a career that appeared to begin as an art-school goof, Hot Chip look more likely than any of their peers to ascend one day to the intellectual electro-pop heights of Pet Shop Boys or Scritti Politti.

By: MIKAEL WOOD | February 16, 2010

Midlake | The Courage Of Others

Bella Union (2010)
On this lovingly crafted follow-up, the men of Midlake have moved on to emulating the late-'60s/early-'70s British folk-rock scene.

By: MIKAEL WOOD | February 09, 2010

The Soft Pack | The Soft Pack

Kemado (2010)
This Los Angeles foursome first emerged in 2008 as the Muslims, a name they elected to change after they grew disgusted with and exhausted by all the ignorant — and often racist — bullshit that came out of people's mouths during shows/interviews/conversations.

By: MIKAEL WOOD | February 03, 2010

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