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CD Reviews

Julian Casablancas | Phrazes for the Young

RCA (2009)
Someday, a great rock film will be made. The opening shot is of a wasted rock star, bejeweled and clad in the finest leather, with white panthers circling the living room of his Parthenon-esque manse as he hits PLAY on a comically large reel-to-reel.

By DANIEL BROCKMAN | November 03, 2009

Morrissey | Swords

UME Imports (2009)
Morrissey — begrudging patron saint of all that is emotionally desolate and otherwise comfortably bummed — is but a mere mortal, as his recent collapse on stage proves.

By ZETH LUNDY | November 06, 2009

Matias Aguayo | Ay Ay Ay

Kompakt (2009)
You know the old saying: you can lead a horse to dance music, but you can’t make it sign up for a Beatport account.

By MICHAEL BRODEUR | November 03, 2009

Bekay | Hunger Pains

Coalmine (2009)
Bekay is that chip-shouldered scumbag from down the block whom your mom banned from the house after she caught him sodomizing your little sister’s Teddy Ruxpin.

By CHRIS FARAONE | November 03, 2009

Various Artists | D-Funk: Funk, Disco and Boogie Grooves from Germany 1972-2002

Marina (2009)
If you have only a few bucks to add some delicious German funk to your collection and are tempted to shell out for the recent Funky Fräuleins on the strength of its amazing bodypaint cover, hold on there a sec.

By GUSTAVO TURNER | November 03, 2009

Florence and the Machine | Lungs

Island (2009)
If the current stable of UK hitmakers poised to conquer Mur’ca were a grade-school class, Florence Welch would be the girl belting the theme from Annie at the top of her lungs until she gets her damn gold star.

By DANIEL BROCKMAN | October 28, 2009

Pink Martini | Splendor in the Grass

Heinz (2009)
The members of Portland’s Pink Martini have covered plenty of well-known songs in their decade and a half together, like “Que Sera, Sera” on their 1997 debut, and the theme from I Dream of Jeannie in their early live shows.

By MIKAEL WOOD | October 30, 2009

Tegan and Sara | Sainthood

Sire (2009)
Tegan and Sara have always been background music for staring wistfully out a coffeeshop window, in a strange city, alone, hung over and/or going on no sleep, wondering what the fuck went wrong.

By BARRY THOMPSON | October 28, 2009

The Very Best | Warm Heart of Africa

Green Owl (2009)
This proper full-length debut of the Very Best — a star-crossed collaboration of Malawian singer Esau Mwamwaya and London-based production duo Radioclit — should work better than it does.

By MICHAEL BRODEUR | October 27, 2009

David Bowie | Space Oddity: 40th Anniversary Edition

Virgin/EMI
David Bowie’s 1969 album Man of Music/Man of Words was retitled a few years after its debut, most likely because it was quickly becoming known as Space Oddity and Those Other Eight Songs We Could Care Less About .

By ZETH LUNDY | October 30, 2009

Henry Threadgill Zooid | This Brings Us To, Volume 1

Pi (2009)
Henry Threadgill has been reinventing his language — and by extension the jazz language — for at least 30 years, beginning with the trio Air in the 1970s.

By JON GARELICK | October 28, 2009

Flying Machines | Flying Machines

Meteor (2009)
It really is a bitch nowadays for young musicians not only to come up with their own voice but to do so in a way that will draw attention. One can go the petulant-brat route, banking on notoriety to lead to eventual absolution through some sort of awesome catharsis.

By DANIEL BROCKMAN | October 21, 2009

Brendan Hogan | Long Night Coming

Self-released (2009)
Self-released (2009)

By TED DROZDOWSKI | October 21, 2009

Erin McKeown | Hundreds of Lions

Righteous Babe (2009)
This local folkie has spent the past few years sifting through the ample riches of the Great American Songbook, first on 2006’s excellent Sing You Sinners , then on Lafayette , a spirited follow-up taped live at Joe’s Pub in New York.

By MIKAEL WOOD | October 21, 2009