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RYAN REED

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Battles | Gloss Drop

Warp (2011)
In an twist of musical irony, the New York nutsos in Battles lose their most prominent member — vocalist/guitarist/sound manipulator Tyondai Braxton — and end up sounding more like an actual band.

By: RYAN REED | June 07, 2011

My Morning Jacket | Circuital

ATO (2011)
If there's any band in the universe that knows the meaning of power, it's Kentucky's My Morning Jacket, a five-piece that thrives, more than anything, on the thunder of five hairy men playing instruments together in a room.

By: RYAN REED | May 25, 2011

Man Man | Life Fantastic

Anti (2011)
Man Man fans probably weren't expecting "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head"–levels of optimism from the happy-titled Life Fantastic, but the vibe on the Philly-based band's fourth album is pretty morbid, even by their standards.

By: RYAN REED | May 26, 2011

Owl City | All Things Bright and Beautiful

Universal Republic (2011)
Odds are, if you're reading this review, you're not looking for an Owl City purchase recommendation.

By: RYAN REED | May 12, 2011

Beastie Boys | Hot Sauce Committee Part Two

Capitol Records (2011)
"Back on the mic, it's the anti-depressor," flows King Ad-Rock over raunchy drums and speaker-busting clavinet in "Make Some Noise," the bravado launching pad of Beastie Boys' eighth studio album.

By: RYAN REED | May 06, 2011

Explosions in the Sky | Take Care, Take Care, Take Care

Temporary Residence Limited (2011)
Temporary Residence Limited (2011)

By: RYAN REED | April 27, 2011

Panda Bear | Tomboy

Paw Tracks (2011)
Tomboy , Noah Lennox a/k/a Panda Bear's third studio album, kicks off with "You Can Count on Me," a slab of intoxicating psychedelia that's quintessentially Panda Bear, from the gorgeous choir-boy vocal harmonies (enunciated to crisp perfection) to the plentiful reverb to the uplifting, major-key message of family commitment.

By: RYAN REED | April 13, 2011

Scattered Trees | Sympathy

(Roll Call/EMI 2011)
On "Love and Leave," a painfully straightforward alt-guitar ballad on an album full of painfully straightforward alt-guitar ballads, Chicago's Scattered Trees can't decide which early-period Chris Martin moment they'd like to ape.

By: RYAN REED | April 06, 2011

The Dodos | No Color

Frenchkiss (2011)
Francisco duo the Dodos, makes a lot of broad statements on the band's fourth studio album. Fortunately, the music fills in the blanks

By: RYAN REED | March 23, 2011

R.E.M. | Collapse Into Now

Warner Bros. (2011)
It's tough for a band nearly 30 years into their singularly influential career not to dissolve into an adjective. But R.E.M. have taken their moniker on quite a musical journey.

By: RYAN REED | March 16, 2011

Beach Fossils | What A Pleasure

Captured Tracks (2011)
This EP is an eight-song follow-up to Beach Fossils' homonymous full-length debut from 2010, and these days, Dustin Payseur and his band of chilled-out '80s worshippers have their sound down pat.

By: RYAN REED | February 23, 2011

Young Galaxy | Shapeshifting

Paper Bag (2011)
The synthesizer called and Young Galaxy answered. On their third studio full-length, the Canadian indie-pop trio have gone all-out digital, laying down their guitars as sacrificial lambs and bowing to the altar of '80s electro-pop legends like Eurythmics and Depeche Mode.

By: RYAN REED | February 16, 2011

Iron & Wine | We Kiss Each Other Clean

Warner Bros. (2011)
Sam Beam, the bearded craftsman otherwise known as Iron & Wine, is the very personification of musical consistency.

By: RYAN REED | February 01, 2011

Review: Cold War Kids | Mine Is Yours

Interscope (2011)
A lot of people are going to hate this album, but not everyone.

By: RYAN REED | January 27, 2011

Cloud Nothings | Cloud Nothings

Carpark Records (2011)
There's still something borderline poetic about a teenage dude recording a collection of lo-fi punk/pop songs on a laptop in his bedroom.

By: RYAN REED | January 18, 2011

The Smith Westerns | Dye It Blonde

Fat Possum (2011)
If the Smith Westerns' homonymous 2009 debut perfectly captured the awkward, waning days before high-school graduation, then their sophomore effort is the Chicago indie quartet's college existential-crisis record, more sprawling and a tad wiser while still hitting its target of raw, British Invasion–style psychedelia

By: RYAN REED | January 11, 2011

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