review Archive
03 May 2009
Album Review: Arthur Alexander — Lonely Just Like Me: The Final Chapter
I first heard the name Arthur Alexander many years ago when listening to an interview with John Lennon; the then-former Beatles was talking about his major influences, especially some of […]
02 May 2009
Album Reviews: Toy Matinee — s/t and 3rd Matinee — Meanwhile
Toy Matinee was a short-lived pop-prog/art-pop group that released a single eponymous album in 1990. With a sound halfway between Mr. Mister and Jellyfish, Toy Matinee balanced the former’s chart-oriented […]
01 May 2009
Album Review: Air — Moon Safari 10th Anniversary Edition
At the very tail-end of the 20th century, Air — the duo of Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoît Dunckel — released their debut, Moon Safari. Their blend of dance, exotica, rock […]
23 Apr 2009
Album Review: Walk the Line (Soundtrack)
Val Kilmer would be proud. The nearest, best antecedent to the soundtrack to the 2005 Johnny Cash biopic Walk The Line is Kilmer’s vocal turn in Oliver Stone’s The Doors. […]
22 Apr 2009
DVD Review: TCT — Concerts for Teenage Cancer Trust
TCT is a British non-profit (one of those “registered charities” Paul McCartney sang about in “Band on the Run”) to improve the lives of young people in cancer hospitals. Once […]
21 Apr 2009
Album Review: Illegitimate Spawn: The Fuzztones Tribute Album
The concept of Illegitimate Spawn chases its own tail: an international compilation of unknown groups playing cover versions in tribute to The Fuzztones, a group who are themselves essentially a […]
20 Apr 2009
Album Review: Wensday — Torch Rock™
Picking up Torch Rock™, one would expect an outing not dissimilar to late 70s/early 80s efforts by Karla DeVito and Ellen Foley; there’s a mock-operatic approach to the proceedings, much […]
19 Apr 2009
Album Review: Rupert Wates — Coast to Coast: Postcards from America
Coast to Coast is full of pleasant, NPR-circuit, inoffensive story-songs that put the focus squarely on the vocals and lyrics. The instrumentation floats by, supporting the melody but never calling […]
18 Apr 2009
Album Review: War of Ages — Fire from the Tomb
Onward Christian soldiers! War of Ages’ latest offering, Fire from the Tomb may be the worst thing I have ever heard, and that’s saying a lot (I saw Styx on […]
17 Apr 2009
Album Review: Vaeda — State of Nature
The debut full-length from this trio is tightly and expertly played, passionately sung, flawlessly produced…and boring as hell. There’s not a single thing here we haven’t heard a hundred times […]