Written by Fense
The year is over. We have a new president about to take office, a failing economy, and out of control weather. The good news is that last year saw some amazing albums hit and, thanks to the rampant oppression of hard times, next year should prove just as fruitful music-wise. After all, difficult times, depression, etc. can often breed above average achievements in the arts… right?
So here it is, my top 33 and 1/3 albums of the year and the last post of 2008. …

Written by Fense
And here I thought quirky, lo-fi, synth-based garage bands were pretty much limited to Kill Rock Stars releases, but Hot Lava (http://www.myspace.com/hotlavaep) proved me wrong. Their little ditty that is Lavalogy may sound like it could be a KRS release, but it comes to us from the honored label Bar None. But then again, this is a label that goes through such a diverse list of artists to include 10,000 Maniacs, Architecture In Helsinki, and DJ Spooky in their catalog, and that’s before you even hit …

Written by Fense
I don’t know about the rest of the world, but we here in America like to binge. Be it binge drinking, binge eating, binge buying. We gorge ourselves to the point of being quite disgusting. I am part of the problem, and a recent visit to the Cloudberry Records website saw me binge downloading a mass of mp3s, many of which will soon find their way here into posts (though I may concoct a playlist — better yet, mixtape — of various artists from the …

Written by Fense
I didn’t check out Fugu 1, the debut LP by Fugu, until well after its release. Featuring an impressive lineup of French and European pop artists, Fugu’s music is a blend of pop styles, from the upbeat to the softly melancholy. And, to continue the trend, I’m just now checking out Fugu’s latest.

Written by Fense
Nick Butcher is youthful but balding; he’s thin with a very natural, normal look. One would hardly expect him to be the mastermind of a minimalist-experimental-electronic outfit. But he is. That his appearance is more fitting for a talegate party than this just goes to show that looks can be deceiving.

Written by Fense
I can get into this, no problem. The Big Picture plays soft, bedroom-y pop with emphasis on slow tunes that feature acoustic, or, at least softly electric, guitars and quiet melodies on keyboard. None of it gets too loud. And it sure is cutesy — like “About A Dog”.

Written by Fense
Sometimes when I review an album, I like to go in fresh, knowing nothing of the group, their influences, what people thing they sound like, what I expect them to sound like, et cetera, et cetera. Tonight I’m sitting in The Old Edison Inn, one of the few restaurants in Edison — one of the few businesses. I don’t feel like cooking. So I decided to pack up my laptop and pop in for a quick bite. I have, in fact, heard their Alaskan …

Written by Fense
Bathed in orange light from an Ikea touch-lamp, I sat down at my kitchen table a few evenings ago. On the table I placed three things: 1) a box of organic ginger snaps, which was to be my dinner as I did not feel like cooking, 2) my white MacBook, 3) a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon. I set forth with a task — to pare my inbox down from its more than 300 emails to under 200. It was going to be a long night. …

Written by Fense
In music, it is very rare to create something entirely new. To break ground would be to christen a new instrument, one that does something bizarre, one that sounds like no other. Or to use an instrument in a way that has never been done before. Moments like these have spawned great works — my recent viewing and subsequent coverage of Kraftwerk And The Electronic Revolution comes to mind. Another artist along these lines could be Wolf Eyes.

Written by Fense
One of the first noticeable items about Cake On Cake (MySpace) is the name. It’s a sweet (no pun intended) take on Bob Dylan’s classic Blonde On Blonde. The two, of course, have little, if anything, in common. It’s there; but that’s not really important in the bigger scheme of things, now, is it? We’re here to hear about the music.