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The Modern Post - Grace Alone
It was a sad day when Thrice announced their hiatus. The only thing that made that pain a little easier to take was hearing that Dustin Kensrue was going to continue to record and release music. The Modern Post is Kensrue's new musical avenue. A worship project being distributed by Mars Hill Music. Continue
Ecovillage - With Wings We Reach The Sky
Ecovillage is the shoegaze outfit of Emil Holmstrom and Peter Wikstrom, who hail from Sverige, Sweden. With Fragile Wings We Reach The Sun being their second release. From the start, with fragile wings... is simply fantastic. There is nothing that evens comes close to being considered filler. In fact the whole album is essentially a sound collage with every song as good as the previous song or better. Continue
Marvin Gaye - What's Going On
Nominally a soundtrack to Ed Burns' film She's the One, Tom Petty's Songs and Music from "She's the One" plays like an entity of its own, standing up quite well without the movie itself. She's the One is one of Petty's most relaxed efforts -- several of the songs feel like they were written and performed quickly, almost as if they were throwaways, but that ramshackle feeling actually works in the album's favor. Continue
Frank Lenz - The Hot Stuff
Frank Lenz is best known as the drummer for Fold Zandura, The Lassie Foundation and countless numbers of studio projects where a true professional musician is required. In concert settings, he always stands out as an actively aggressive player, and one who embellishes the beat instead of just keeping it. He's not known, however, as a vocalist or a solo artist, which is why the arrival of this little release came as a bit of a surprise. And instead of laying down his usual barrage of block rocking beats, this disc is a subdued and soulful rhythmic offering. Continue
Blind Melon - S/T
Strangely, I only rediscovered this album a couple of weeks ago, after it had remained dormant at the bottom of one of my many boxes of CD's. I bought it around it's UK release date after seeing the video for "No Rain" on MTV: like most people, who subsequently heard "Change", I was taken in by the light-hearted, vaguely rocky-folky noises and the lilt of Shannon's voice. Continue
The Brother Kite - Isolation
Having been a pretty big fan of Waiting, I was psyched to get a hold of Isolation. It took me a few listens to really get into Waiting - it was only by virtue of being hooked on the track "Lay Down Your Burden" that I gave the album the requisite time to really warm up to it. It only took me two plays through to go headfirst into Isolation. Continue
Hall & Oates - Big Bam Boom
"Big Bam Boom" was the last major Hall and Oates album, and this BMG's version improves the sound of the CD from its last reissue in 1996. While each LP from the duo's Eighties output on RCA used modern technology to some degree, this album put even heavier emphasis on drum machines, keys and sampling. The electronics seems to write the songs, rather than complement them. Continue
Cush - New Sound
The band plays a somewhat dreamy rock not unlike The Surfers or Everything but the Girl. Considering the members involved, it's not hard to see why comparisons to Honey and occasionally to The Lassie Foundation and Mike Knott's work would be in order as well. "Angelica" has a guitar solo very similar to The Lassie Foundation's "She's Long Gone--She's the Coming Sun," and many of the falsetto background vocals hearken to Wayne Everett's work with Starflyer 59 and The Lassie Foundation. Continue
Pearl Jam - Yield
Pearl Jam is one of the few bands of the last ten years that has released a number of great albums. Starting with the incredible Ten and most recently the allso incredible Binaural, Pearl Jam has continually proved themselves to be a great band, great songwriters and great album makers. Yield is just another in a long line of great albums. True, it isn't quite as impressive as, say Ten, but it is close and continues their level of excellency. Continue
Tears For Fears - Elemental
Roland on his own as producer, songwriter, and instrumental performer is not something to be afraid of. Given his obsessive tendencies when crafting songs, not having Curt Smith let him write the music he wished to make here (and the solid follow-up Raoul and the Kings of Spain album). Not to say that you will hear something completely different from the band's first three albums: the record is still "Tears for Fears" in sound and spirit. Continue
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Ratings Scale +++++ = Masterpiece ++++- = Classic ++++ = Excellent +++- = Good +++ = Average |
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