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We have Liftoff (again)

Back, Brightside , and they've got it nailed
If there is a constant that runs through Walt Craven's vocal and lyrical work from 6gig through Lost on Liftoff, it is his role as the impassioned voice of the underdog.

By SAM PFEIFLE | November 18, 2009

Them Crooked Vultures | Them Crooked Vultures

DGC/Interscope (2009)
One day, maybe in a decade or three, somebody will dig this LP out of the future virtual version of a record crate in a Salvation Army and be blown away by the deep grooves this supergroup generate

By DANIEL BROCKMAN | November 18, 2009

Heather Woods Broderick | From the Ground

Preservation (2009)
Let not the minimalist packaging of Heather Woods Broderick’s From the Ground mislead you into assuming it’s some sort of heady ambient work that you’ll get around to next time you’re cleaning — as happened to me.

By MICHAEL BRODEUR | November 17, 2009

Swollen Members | Armed to the Teeth

Battle Axe (2009)
I’m not completely sure why the mere mention of Swollen Members rubs so many underground rap snobs the wrong way.

By CHRIS FARAONE | November 18, 2009

Annie | Don't Stop

Smalltown Supersound (2009)
Things have gotten pretty crowded in the electro-pop demi-monde since Annie released her indie-hit debut, Anniemal , back in 2004.

By MIKAEL WOOD | November 17, 2009

Tom Waits | Glitter and Doom Live

Anti- (2009)
Arriving five years after his last release of new material, and two after the three-disc Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards box of outtakes and oddities, this live set culled from assorted 2008 gigs could be seen as a time marker.

By JEFF TAMARKIN | November 17, 2009

Rear-view mirror

Albums you shouldn't let slip by
After a few days of Indian Summer to remind us of the summer we nearly didn't have, it's timely to shed some warm light on albums released recently that didn't get their proper due.

By SAM PFEIFLE | November 11, 2009

Devendra Banhart | What Will We Be

Warner/Reprise (2009)
With the title of his latest album, this lovably polyglot erstwhile (and unwitting) “freak” folkie turned gallery darling and global lounge lizard asks a valid question. Indeed, what will we be this time?

By MICHAEL BRODEUR | November 10, 2009

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 09, 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

Tomorrow never dies

A new full-length from Dave Rowe (and Trio)
For a Halloween party with substantially less gore, check out the newest release from Dave Rowe (and sometimes his Trio), The Music Never Dies .

By SAM PFEIFLE | October 28, 2009

Haunted Shipyard

Jodi Explodi deliver ghosts of Halloween past
Guitar World recently gave credit to KISS for turning “party” into a verb.

By SAM PFEIFLE | October 28, 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