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ZETH LUNDY

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dj4

Dr. John | Locked Down

Nonesuch (2012)
The Night Tripper, circa 2012: big fat funky drums, Nuggets-psych organs, ladies in the background going "Yeah-eahh!," woozy/honking brass.
By: ZETH LUNDY  |  April 03, 2012
jc4

Johnny Cash | The Soul Of Truth: Bootleg Vol. IV

Columbia/Legacy (2012)
Unlike his pal Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash didn't merely flirt with a gospel phase or release an album or two of spiritually charged music.
By: ZETH LUNDY  |  March 28, 2012
TheShinsPortOfMorrow

The Shins | Port of Morrow

Aural Apothecary/Columbia (2012)
Meet the new Shins. Same as the old Shins? Kinda sorta.
By: ZETH LUNDY  |  March 13, 2012
WreckingBall

Bruce Springsteen | Wrecking Ball

Columbia (2012)
There was a time when Bruce Springsteen didn't need rousing choirs, swelling orchestrations, or repetitive Pogues poses to broadcast anthemic populist subversion.
By: ZETH LUNDY  |  March 06, 2012
cm4

Cotton Mather | Kontiki [Deluxe Edition]

Star Apple Kingdom
When it was released in 1997, Cotton Mather's sophomore album racked up glowing critical huzzahs across the pond (not to mention big-ups from Oasis), yet dudded here in the States.
By: ZETH LUNDY  |  February 14, 2012
PB-L

The Punch Brothers | Who's Feeling Young Now?

Nonesuch (2012)
For a group full of virtuosos, the Punch Brothers refuse to dole out prodigious string-murdering sessions.
By: ZETH LUNDY  |  February 07, 2012
Off the Record: Air - Le Voyage

Air | Le Voyage Dans La Lune

Astralwerks (2012)
It was inevitable that Air would one day be asked to soundtrack a colorized version of an iconic 1902 silent French film about moon exploration, right? There's the French thing, the moon thing, the kitsch-cool factor.
By: ZETH LUNDY  |  January 31, 2012
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Future of the Left | Polymers Are Forever

Xtra Mile (2011)
Since we last heard from Future of the Left, Cardiff's greatest non-furry export lost founding member Kelson Mathias and gained two new ones.
By: ZETH LUNDY  |  January 17, 2012
Alex Chilton - Free Again

Alex Chilton | Free Again: The ''1970'' Sessions

Omnivore (2011)
Post–Box Tops and pre-Big Star, Alex Chilton was an 18-year-old Memphis boy on his way to his dual identity: former #1 pop hitmaker, perpetual underground hero.
By: ZETH LUNDY  |  January 10, 2012
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Smashing Pumpkins | Gish/Siamese Dream

Capitol (2011) 
Billy Corgan's zeitgeist whine, so omnipresent via high-charting Siamese Dream tracks "Today" and "Disarm," was the true sound of the alterna-'90s.
By: ZETH LUNDY  |  November 29, 2011
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The Who | Quadrophenia: The Director's Cut

UMC (2011)
Pete Townshend's working demos for the Who have long been sought in bootleg circles, often for the simple reason that the songwriter's vulnerable vocals offer relief from the barbaric yawp of lead singer Roger Daltrey.
By: ZETH LUNDY  |  November 22, 2011
REM-L

R.E.M. | Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage: 1982-2011

Warner Bros (2011)
Now R.E.M. have died two deaths: first, when drummer and founding member Bill Berry split for the comforts of country life in 1997, and then nail-in-the-coffin style, when the Athens, Georgia, band announced its official break-up two months ago.
By: ZETH LUNDY  |  November 16, 2011
kv-list

Kurt Vile | So Outta Reach

Matador (2011)
This six-song, 30-minute companion EP serves as a victory lap for long-haired Philadelphian Kurt Vile, whose vacillating and absorbing Smoke Ring for My Halo is certainly one of the year's best albums.
By: ZETH LUNDY  |  November 09, 2011
SPECTOR-L

Various Artists | Phil Spector Presents the Phillies Album Collection

Legacy (2011)
Before finding infamy as a perm-'fro courtroom crazy, the guy who held the Ramones at gunpoint, or the dude who dared helm murky post-Beatles waters, Phil Spector was synonymous with '60s-pop Wall of Sound production.
By: ZETH LUNDY  |  November 02, 2011
tom waits - list

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
bb-list

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
wilco-list

Wilco | The Whole Love

dBpm (2011)
Wilco's evolution from Uncle Tupelo detritus to post-Americana thinking-man's jam band goes two steps back on their eighth studio album, and that's a good thing.
By: ZETH LUNDY  |  September 27, 2011
stv-list

St. Vincent | Strange Mercy

4AD (2011)
The pretty/ugly dichotomy at the heart of Annie Clark's St. Vincent moniker is in full tug-of-war on her third and most challenging full-length.
By: ZETH LUNDY  |  September 13, 2011
gj-list

Grace Jones | Hurricane

Wall of Sound/Play It Again
Seriously: you'll probably refuse to believe me when I say that a one-time Bond villainess is behind this near-masterpiece, a collection of way-heavy grooves packed with wit, wisdom, and ballsier-than-ballsy vocal takes.
By: ZETH LUNDY  |  September 07, 2011
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Patti Smith | Outside Society

Columbia/Arista/Legacy (2011)
Punk-rock-poet-priestess, Mapplethorpian-anti-pin-up-queen, rabble-rousing-riot-grrl-archetype: Patti Smith is your go-to rock icon when it comes to underbelly doppelgangers of Pat Benatar or Stevie Nicks.
By: ZETH LUNDY  |  August 10, 2011
tmbg list

They Might Be Giants | Join Us

Idlewild/Rounder (2011)
I don't formally speak for all TMBG fans, but I think I speak for most TMBG fans when I say that every post-John Henry studio release has been greeted with crossed fingers and a mantra: "Pre-John Henry caliber."
By: ZETH LUNDY  |  August 03, 2011
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