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CD Reviews

African Head Charge | Vision Of Psychedelic Africa

On U Sound (2010)
UK dub guru Adrian Sherwood and adventurous percussionist Bonjo I have been releasing their sonic experiments as African Head Charge since the early 1980s.

By GUSTAVO TURNER | February 09, 2010

Fela Kuti | The ’69 L.A. Sessions

Knitting Factory (2010)
Amiri Baraka put it best in his poem "In the Funk World": "If Elvis Presley is King/Who is James Brown, God?" So, by that logic, is Fela Anikulapo Kuti higher than or equal to God?

By ZETH LUNDY | February 09, 2010

Local Natives | Gorilla Manor

Frenchkiss (2010)
Afropoppy, orchestral and baroque, driven by catchy three-part harmonies, Fleet Foxes/Andrew Bird–inspired, yadda-yadda-yadda.

By CARRIE BATTAN | February 09, 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

Tom Caruana Presents: Enter The Magical Mystery Chambers | Wu-Tang Vs. The Beatles

Tea Sea (2010)
There were mash-ups before The Grey Album . (They were called "hip-hop songs.") And there will be mash-ups in the future.

By CHRIS FARAONE | February 09, 2010

Yeasayer | Odd Blood

Secretly Canadian (2010)
Yeasayer have created a decadent, densely produced mess of a second album.

By JONATHAN DONALDSON | February 09, 2010

Myra Melford’s Be Bread | The Whole Tree Gone

Firehouse 12 (2010)
Few jazz players and composers can bring as broad a vocabulary to a single piece as pianist Myra Melford.

By JON GARELICK | February 02, 2010

Four Tet | There Is Love In You

Domino (2010)
In the five years since Kieran Hebden a/k/a Four Tet last dropped a full-length, the playing field has been seriously leveled for sample-based electronic music.

By DANIEL BROCKMAN | February 02, 2010

Original Soundtrack | Kamasutra: Vollendung Der Liebe

Crippled Dick Hot Wax (2009)
The good news: Kamasutra is, in fact, a very early Can recording, credited to "Irmin Schmidt Inner Space Production."

By GUSTAVO TURNER | February 02, 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

Toro Y Moi | Causers Of This

Carpark (2010)
Toro y Moi's debut is a leap into a tactile æsthetic where surreal and sometimes unstable atmospheres lure listeners into simple, soulful songs.

By JONATHAN DONALDSON | February 03, 2010

Ape & Undu | Jaw & Order

Trapjaw (2009)
This is not your typical bi-racial indie-rap duo with a whiteboy who rips and a tandem token black guy who holds the honky's jockstrap.

By CHRIS FARAONE | February 03, 2010

Pit Er Pat | The Flexible Entertainer

Thrill Jockey (2010)
Pit Er Pat, the minimalist duo of Fay Davis-Jeffers and the dubiously named Butchy Fuego, have pared down their sound in search of simple beauty, but the result is an icy album utterly lacking in energy.

By MICHAEL PATRICK BRADY | January 27, 2010

Various Artists | Pop Ambient

Kompakt (2010)
It'd be easy to understand a resistance to "ambient" music — beyond all of its unfortunate Enya and dusty Eno connotations.

By MICHAEL BRODEUR | January 27, 2010

Fresh Vetz | Vet Status

Top Shelf (2009)
It's a bright sign for hip-hop when at least three promising subterranean sluggers ride flows comparable to that of the almighty Nas.

By CHRIS FARAONE | January 27, 2010

The Magnetic Fields | Realism

Nonesuch (2010)
This will be labeled as the Magnetic Fields' folk album, and fairly so.

By JONATHAN DONALDSON | January 27, 2010

Priestess | Prior To The Fire

Tee Pee (2009)
Now Priestess are back in Indieland, rubbing denim-clad elbows with the likes of Nebula and Black Math Horseman.

By MIKAEL WOOD | January 27, 2010

Basia Bulat | Heart Of My Own

Rough Trade (2010)
Like a Laurel Canyon Billie Holiday or a pixilated Tracy Chapman, Bulat sports a voice rich with vibrato, hearty oomph, and dignified lonesomeness.

By ZETH LUNDY | January 27, 2010

Beach House | Teen Dream

Sub Pop (2010)
Before I talk about Beach House's third album — the top dreampop album of 2010 until further notice — I should reveal that I had the big gay whirlwind romance of my life under the influence of a steady stream of Beach House Mania at SxSW three years ago.

By MICHAEL BRODEUR | January 19, 2010

Los Campesinos! | Romance Is Boring

Arts & Crafts (2010)
Toward the end of "In Medias Res," the first song on Los Campesinos!' third album, Gareth Campesinos (the entire Cardiff septet have adopted the surname) asks, "Is this something that would interest you?"

By RYAN STEWART | January 19, 2010