Written by Ron Trembath
The Wind Whistles, composed of Vancouver’s folk duo Tom Prilesky and Liza Moser, bring out a fresh look at modern folk rock in their stellar release, Window Sill. With a happy attitude, and the musical stamina of a grizzly bear, these two wonderful wordsmiths mix the good ole old, with the newest of the new. Read More »The Wind Whistles: Window Sill [Album Review]
I listen to at least ten new albums each week. With that amount of exposure, it can be difficult to discern one artist from another, the next album from the last. Despite such audible clutter, I review little electronic music. Here’s an exception. Cock and Swan are Johnny and Ola. They record in Bothell, Washington—just north of Seattle. They liken themselves to Mum, Boards of Canada, and Dntel. They just finished recording their first album, Noon Hum EP, and will release it on their own startup label titled Dandelion Gold. Read More »Cock And Swan: Noon Hum EP [Album Review]
Written by Jeremy Ryan
I have always had a very difficult time reviewing releases by bands like Wolf Parade. On one hand, it is difficult to know just how much biographical information it is necessary to write about the band, all the while trying not to lose focus of the material that I am supposed to be assessing. For example, with this band in particular, I could simply discuss Handsome Furs, Dan Boeckner’s side project, and before I know it, I would be elaborating about Spencer Krug’s “classical” music project Fifths of Seven. From this point, I would likely leap to discussing Krug’s involvement in Carey Mercer’s “Frog Eyes” band. It’s a damn slippery slope, but I think that I am going to do my best to focus on what matters here, that being the content of At Mount Zoomer. Read More »Wolf Parade: At Mount Zoomer [Album Review]
Written by Fense
A drum/vocals only group is a rare thing. But, before you dismiss the theory behind such an oddity, you’ve gotta check out Wildbirds & Peacedrums. This Swedish duo is aptly titled – wild vocals on par with (and this may be a bit of a stretch), say, Nina Simone and soothing, hypnotic tribal-like percussion. Read More »Wildbirds & Peacedrums: Doubt/Hope [Video]
Written by bob_vinyl. There aren’t many albums as low-key as Sunday at Devil Dirt by Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan. Every movement of the album is so subtle that it’s difficult to discern. The first two tracks, “Seafaring Song” and “The Raven”, seem more like movie soundtrack material than the road into a dynamic album, but they set the sparse scene for the album’s first stand-alone song, “Salvation”, which makes it clear that this album searches and journeys.
Read More »Isobel Campbell And Mark Lanegan: Sunday At Devil Dirt [Album Review] 
Holy Fucking Shit! This Album Is Amazing!!! That was my expression of XXL upon listening to the first track, “Sunday / Paw Paw Paw Paw Paw Paw Paw.†I was amazed at the power behind XXL, a collaboration between Jamie Stewart’s Xiu Xiu (MySpace) and Italian post rockers Larsen (MySpace) for the Important Records release ¡Ciaütistico! Read More »XXL: ¡Ciaütistico! [Album Review]
Written by Fense
Not too long ago, I wrote a review about a band called Cleeman and, being well in advance of the album release, I tossed in a “p” and titled it a “pReview” – it was a name well received, so well in fact that the release show for said album was dubbed the pReview show. I will now take it one step further. From this day on, pReviews will be included in the Feature Band section and will be focused on a new track from an upcoming album… Read More »Peter Bjorn And John: Nothing To Worry About [pReview]
Let’s face it: Europeans know dance music. We here in the states are often ignorant when it comes to the crafting of the perfect dance tune. European dance music comes more in the form of clashing two worlds: pop and electronica. Now that’s dance music! Read More »Unarmed Enemies: Unarmed Enemies [Album Review]
Written by Fense
February marks three occasions for the girlfriend and myself. The first is our 18 month anniversary. The fourteenth, of course, is Valentines Day. And the 28th is her birthday. It also marks a special occasion for Seattle’s Smile Brigade (MySpace); it’s the release of their next album, Eering, Creaky EP. Read More »Smile Brigade: Eering, Creaky EP [Album Review]
Bon Iver is a play on volume. Led by Justin Vernon, the group’s music is soft and fringes on romantic, as we heard in tunes like “Flume” and “For Emma” and “Skinny Love” off For Emma, Forever Ago. But how does the follow-up to their debut LP, fit in? Blood Bank follows suit, equaling last year’s LP in offering up mysterious, experimental folk-pop.
Read More »Bon Iver: Blood Bank [Album Review]
