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CD Reviews

Justice | Audio, Video, Disco

Elektra/WEA (2011)
It takes only a second into "Horsepower," the gurgling, raging first track on Justice's second full-length, to realize these nutso French geniuses are operating on another electronic plane: a kingdom ruled by distorted synth-bass and overblown rhythms, a wonderland of carousel keyboards and unstoppable funkiness.

By: RYAN REED | October 25, 2011

Laszlo Gardony | Signature Time

Sunnyside (2011)
Boston pianist Gardony isn't known for musical reticence, but even so, this — his ninth release — is one of his more exuberant outings.

By: JON GARELICK | October 25, 2011

Lou Reed & Metallica | Lulu

Warner Bros. (2011)
"I am the table!" growls James Hetfield during the de facto chorus of "The View."

By: BARRY THOMPSON | October 25, 2011

Skeletonwitch | Forever Abomination

Prosthetic (2011)
Although composed of fun-loving party mavens from Ohio, Skeletonwitch on record have always left a trail of scorched earth that lacks in levity what it plentifully makes up for in sheer ass-kicking force.

By: DANIEL BROCKMAN | October 25, 2011

Tom Waits | Bad As Me

Anti (2011)
"Roll my vertebrae out like dice/Let my skull be a home for the mice/Let me bleach like the bones on a beach/I'll be hard like a pit from a peach," Tom Waits growls and spits, cheeky and sibilant, on "Satisfied," the ideological linchpin of his latest studio album.

By: ZETH LUNDY | October 25, 2011

Various Artists | Are You With the Band?

Paper + Plastick (2011)
With this new comp, Lauren Denitzio — former vocalist/guitarist of New Brunswick pop-punk outfit the Measure — has collected tracks by 17 of the best current underground female-fronted pop punk bands.

By: LIZ PELLY | October 18, 2011

Chris Isaak | Beyond the Sun

Vanguard (2011)
Critics of Chris Isaak have long considered him a neo-Elvis in a cheaper suit.

By: MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER | October 25, 2011

Class Actress | Rapprocher

Carpark (2011)
The rescue of Elizabeth Harper from Brooklyn's singer/songwriter coffeehouse circuit is the modern electro-pop scene's equivalent to Luke Skywalker rolling up to the first Death Star to save Princess Leia in Star Wars: A New Hope.

By: MICHAEL MAROTTA | October 19, 2011

Cubic Zirconia | Follow Your Heart

Fool's Gold (2011)
Tiombe Lockhart has been hustling her hot vocal talents for an indie-neo-soul minute now, dropping arresting guest spots with PPP, Waajeed, and Kingdom.

By: ANDREW GRAHAM | October 25, 2011

Real Estate | Days

Domino (2011)
"Easy," the rousing opener from Real Estate's sophomore studio effort, certainly has an appropriate title.

By: RYAN REED | October 18, 2011

Surfer Blood | Tarot Classics

Kanine (2011)
This is a literal holdover. A charming band of Floridians who realized their musical dream in a dorm room, they made the difficult push to Pitchfork ascendancy and won what they really wanted: a major label deal.

By: DAN WEISS | October 18, 2011

John Wesley Harding | The Sound of His Own Voice

Yep Roc (2011)
It's fitting that John Wesley Harding's new album is bookended by tributes to songwriting and music — "Sing Your Own Song" and "The World in Song."

By: NICK A. ZAINO III | October 12, 2011

M83 | Hurry Up, We're Dreaming

Mute (2011)
"City is my church!" sings Anthony Gonzalez, flustered and passionate, engulfed by the head-rush synths and galactic beats of his instant-classic "Midnight City."

By: RYAN REED | October 12, 2011

Nina Violet | We'll Be Alright

Self-released (2011)
As a solo artist, Martha's Vineyard native Nina Violet has been holding back.

By: JEREMY ADAMS | October 12, 2011

Sky Burial | Threnody For Collapsing Suns

Phage Tapes/Small Doses (2011)
This haunting ambient work by Michael Page's Sky Burial is his most expansive, deliberately constructed record to date.

By: IAN DUNCAN-BROWN | October 12, 2011

Zola Jesus | Conatus

Alternative Distribution Alliance (2011)
Listeners could be forgiven for categorizing Nika Rosa Danilova, a/k/a Zola Jesus, as a mope-tastic downer, since older songs like "Night" and "Sea Talk" have used her weapons-grade pipes in service of a Dark Lord of song.

By: DANIEL BROCKMAN | October 12, 2011

Big Troubles | Romantic Comedy

Slumberland (2011)
I was worried when I heard that '80s jangle-pop maestro Mitch Easter was producing Big Troubles' second album.

By: GARRETT MARTIN | October 12, 2011

Boom Bip | Zig Zaj

Lex (2011)
Cincinnati-via-Los Angeles producer/DJ Bryan Hollon, a/k/a Boom Bip, hit throwback gold in 2008 as one half of Neon Neon, an '80s pop concept project with Super Furry Animal Gruff Rhys.

By: ZETH LUNDY | October 04, 2011

DJ Shadow | The Less You Know, The Better

Verve (2011)
Bias alert: 1996's Endtroducing . . . DJ Shadow is one of the most firmly enduring perpetual motion machines in all of musical history, defying genre ("What was trip-hop, dad?") and all preconceived notions regarding an hour filled with turntablism, spoken word, and Metallica samples.

By: DAN WEISS | October 05, 2011

Feist | Metals

Cherrytree/Interscope (2011)
Feist should be making perfect albums every time.

By: RYAN REED | October 05, 2011

High Places | Original Colors

Thrill Jockey (2011)
High Places have changed their sound a great deal since their cool ride together began five years ago with a fresh breeze of homespun sounds, household percussion, and trickling vocals.

By: JONATHAN DONALDSON | October 04, 2011

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