vinyl Archive
25 Oct 2018
Album Review: The Fall – I Am Kurious Oranj
The Fall were never most people’s idea of a commercial group. They didn’t have the jangling melodicism of the Smiths, nor the sophisticated funk groove of Gang of Four. But […]
14 Sep 2018
Album Review: The Orb — No Sounds Are Out of Bounds
Whether it was an association they originally wished for or not, the Orb were pegged early on as a sort of modern-day answer to Pink Floyd. Though the project (Alex […]
13 Sep 2018
Album Review: Brother Reverend — The Tables Turn Too Often
I think the publicist – however well-meaning he may be – was having a bit of fun when writing the one-sheet that accompanies promo copies of The Tables Turn Too […]
12 Sep 2018
Album Review: Iceberg Slim — Reflections
If I told you that a key inspiration for the slice-of-street hip-hop of Ice-T was an earlier recording artist going by the name of Iceberg Slim, you’d likely develop some […]
11 Sep 2018
Album Review: The Fall — 45 84 89 A Sides
The Fall are one of those groups that somehow largely escaped my notice, until now. I think I first heard a song by the Fall sometime in the late 1980s. […]
10 Sep 2018
Album Review: Nick Ingman — Big Beat
Cratediggers and/or musical Anglophiles of a certain stripe will recognize the name DeWolfe Music. Established over a century ago, the British music production company carved out a unique and important […]
31 Aug 2018
Album Review: Redd Kross — Third Eye
Redd Kross’ Third Eye was released mid-September 1990. Notwithstanding the pop singles charts (then topped by a Latin dance pop ditty called “If Wishes Came True”), the rock scene was […]
26 Jul 2018
Album Review: The Eyebrows — Volume
Here’s the thing about powerpop: it’s either very good or hopelessly bland. There’s seemingly no middle ground; artists working in the idiom either knock it out of the park – […]
25 Jul 2018
Album Review: Craig Smith — Love is Our Existence
This is a fascinating release. Singer-songwriter Craig Smith got his early professional start as a member of the Good Time Singers, a folk ensemble in the mold of the New […]
24 Jul 2018
Album Review: Klaus Schulze — La Vie Electronique Vols 1.0, 1.1 and 1.2
Over the years, there have been a number of massive archival releases that all but define the phrase “for the completist.” In 2011, the Grateful Dead went back to the […]