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CD Reviews

Rickie Lee Jones | Balm in Gilead

Fantasy (2009)
It’s astonishing to think that Rickie Lee Jones would turn out an album this organic and free of cynicism 30 years after her debut with the star-making, retro-hipster hit “Chuck E.’s in Love.” Particularly since her songwriting has always been so acutely self-aware.

By TED DROZDOWSKI | December 02, 2009

KZA | Dig and Edit

Endless Flight (2009)
KZA is renowned in Japan as one of the greatest record collectors in a country famous (or should we say notorious?) for the obsessive gathering of obscure cultural artifacts.

By GUSTAVO TURNER | December 02, 2009

Julianna Barwick | Florine

Emusic (2009)
When someone describes an album as “hmmm, I dunno, sort of like Enya if she were from Brooklyn” — that person is not setting you up for success with said album.

By MICHAEL BRODEUR | December 02, 2009

Rihanna | Rated R

Def Jam (2009)
Look, it’s not as if there were a song where she says, “Chris Brown, you chicken-shit motherfucker, your ass is gonna pay.”

By MIKAEL WOOD | December 02, 2009

Fashawn | Boy Meets World

One (2009)
Since Boy Meets World dropped into my radar a month ago, I’ve discovered how much magic stretches clean across the tracklist, and I was planning to include it on my year-end list. Yet more immediate praise is due.

By CHRIS FARAONE | December 02, 2009

Miss Tess | Darling, Oh Darling

Self-released (2009)
Boston singer-songwriter Miss Tess has always had the pipes and the taste to carry off her various ventures into country, blues, and multi-hued swing, but Darling, Oh Darling underlines her overall sound.

By JON GARELICK | December 02, 2009

Real Estate | Real Estate

Woodsist (2009)
Real Estate’s buzzed-about debut speaks the language of the season, its slow sunset of sound flush with twinkling Stratocasters, drum kits that trot off into the distance, and anemic vocals that, as with Grizzly Bear or Beach House, magnify the fragility of it all.

By ZETH LUNDY | November 25, 2009

Erik Deutsch | Hush Money

Hammer and String
Having played in projects from jam bands to jazz and as a singer-songwriter accompanist, keyboardist Erik Deutsch led an acoustic jazz album for his debut.

By JON GARELICK | November 25, 2009

Trans Am | What Day Is It Tonight? Trans Am Live, 1993 - 2008

Thrill Jockey
Trans Am are distillers of guilty pleasures, mixing fat AOR riffs with sleazy electronic accents and a propulsive attitude typically reserved for arcade soundtracks. What Day Is It Tonight? covers the DC-area band’s 20-year history with high-quality, high-energy live cuts taken from their many tours.

By MICHAEL PATRICK BRADY | November 24, 2009

Wale | Attention Deficit

Interscope (2009)
It turns out there is merit behind the billion-dollar hype machine that’s been propelling Wale since he surfaced on the face of URB two years ago.

By CHRIS FARAONE | November 24, 2009

Various Artists | Panama! 3

Soundway (2009)
If you purchase a copy of Soundway’s wonderful Panama! 3 — and you should — you get two things for the price of one. First, this is a carefully curated CD of “Calypso Panameño, Guajira Jazz & Cumbia Típica on the Isthmus 1960-75” that will keep you smiling — and perhaps dancing — for a healthy while.

By GUSTAVO TURNER | November 25, 2009