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CD Reviews

Art Brut | Brilliant! Tragic!

Cooking Vinyl/The End Records (2011)
On Art Brut's third album, Eddie Argos can't decide if he wants to be Jarvis Cocker or Sid Vicious.

By: MIRIAM LAMEY | May 25, 2011

Boris | Attention Please

Sargent House (2011)
Two new albums are out this week from Boris.

By: JONATHAN DONALDSON | May 25, 2011

Eddie Vedder | Ukulele Songs

Monkeywrench (2011)
Unless your name is Tiny Tim or you perform with Michael J. Epstein, you shouldn't be putting out an entire album of ukulele songs; something just feels weird about it.

By: MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER | May 27, 2011

Face to Face | Laugh Now, Laugh Later

Antagonist (2011)
Putting 1999's Ignorance Is Bliss aside, Face to Face still sounds the way they always have.

By: REYAN ALI | May 25, 2011

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

Age Rings | Black Honey

Self-released (2011)
With the MP3 emerging as the king format these days, anything longer than a 40-minute CD is just too long.

By: JONATHAN DONALDSON | May 26, 2011

Blank Dogs | Collected By Itself 2006-2009

Captured Tracks (2011)
Mystique is a powerful tool, as Mike Sniper knows well, since it helped get Blank Dogs, his bedroom-project-turned-band, a healthy amount of press.

By: REYAN ALI | May 18, 2011

Emmylou Harris | Hard Bargain

Nonesuch (2011)
Anyone with a passing knowledge of Emmylou Harris will recognize that "The Road," the opening track on Hard Bargain, is about Gram Parsons and the relationship that kicked off her career 40 years ago.

By: NICK A. ZAINO III | May 18, 2011

Krallice | Diotima

Profound Lore (2011)
The history of pop would have you believe that music has no purpose except to make you hum along and tap your toes, the perfect soundtrack for your participation in consumer society.

By: DANIEL BROCKMAN | May 26, 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

Okkervil River | I Am Very Far

Jagjaguwar (2011)
From Green Day's American Idiot to the Hold Steady's Separation Sunday, concept albums have been back in style for a bit.

By: DAN WEISS | May 26, 2011

Classified | Hand Shakes and Middle Fingers

Decon (2011)
Classified is to Canada what Jay-Z is to the States in that both are pre-eminent rappers in their respective countries.

By: CHRIS FARAONE | May 12, 2011

Manchester Orchestra | Simple Math

Favorite Gentleman/Columbia (2011)
It's not uncommon to find young alt bands testing their boundaries on their third albums, exhibiting growth through darker material and more-complex lyricism.

By: ALEXANDRA CAVALLO | May 12, 2011

Mindless Self Indulgence | Tighter

The End (2011)
If MSI's convulsive rave rendering of Method Man's "Bring the Pain" had been rap rock's definitive anthem, history would have changed trajectory.

By: BARRY THOMPSON | May 17, 2011