All Entries in the "Music Reviews" Category
Lily Allen – It’s Not Me, It’s You – review
“It’s Not Me, It’s You,” is the follow-up to Lily Allen’s critically acclaimed 2007 debut, Alright, Still. The album finds Lily in top form, creating a record Blender’s recent “In The Studio” feature described as “part God, part country and all middle finger.”
Franz Ferdinand – Tonight: Franz Ferdinand – review
Corporate line: The third album from Glasgow-based modern rockers. Tonight: Franz Ferdinand sees them taking a step back from the Post-Punk revival sounds that gave them their breakthrough. With “Tonight: Franz Ferdinand,” the band are seen to incorporate more disparate influences such as Jamaican Dub and elements of Electronica. What remains of the old Franz [...]
Bruce Springsteen – Working on a Dream – review
Corporate line:
The 2009 album by one of the finest American songwriters of his generation. “Working on a Dream” was recorded with the E Street Band and features 12 new Springsteen compositions plus a bonus track: ‘The Wrestler’. . It is the fourth collaboration between Springsteen and Brendan O’Brien, who produced and mixed the album. Springsteen [...]
Hoobastank – Fornever – review
Corporate line: The 2009 album from the Alterna-Rock heroes, produced by Howard Benson who is best known for his work with My Chemical Romance, Daughtry, Reliant K and Flyleaf. When a band has as much success as Hoobastank, the motivation to top itself must come from within. That renewed desire can be heard from the [...]
White Lies – To Lose My Life – review
Artist: White Lies
Title: To Lose My Life
Label: 101
Rating: 6/10
Corporate line: Since opening the NME New Noise Tour in ‘08, White Lies have played well-received festival slots at Latitude, T In The Park, Fuji Rock Japan and a main stage performance at Lollapalooza festival in the US. Recorded at ICP studios in Brussels during the summer [...]
Bon Iver – Blood Bank – review
Artist: Bon Iver
Title: Blood Bank
Label: Jagjaguwar
Rating: 6.5/10
Corporate line: This four-song collection continues down the path forged by 2008’s critically acclaimed “For Emma, Forever Ago.” Bon Iver’s snow-blanketed harmonies live across the seasons. As much as “Emma” is about the cold, “Blood Bank” is about the warmth that gets you through it. Both expansive and intimate, [...]
Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion – review
Artist: Animal Collective
Title: Merriweather Post Pavilion
Label: 101
Rating: 6/10
Corporate line:
“Merriweather Post Pavilion” is the Animal Collective’s ninth full-length. The whoops and hollers that previously held together the sublime, chaotic urgency of their earlier work now signal the calm sense of euphoria and wonder that ripples through this wide eyed record.
The good:
“Summertime Clothes” – Up, up [...]
Britney Spears – Circus – review
“Circus” is the seventh album by Britney Spears. It rolls into town on the heels of an MTV VMA awards sweep, where Britney walked away with three Moonmen awards for ‘Video of the Year’, ‘Best Female’ and ‘Best Pop Video’ for ‘Piece Of Me’.
Akon – Freedom – review
Singer/songwriter/producer, Akon burst out of the starting gates with the winningly melodic and compulsively danceable single “Right Now (Na Na Na).” The song is sparking up the charts in a record-setting pace that’s familiar to Akon’s millions of fans worldwide.
Guns N’ Roses – Chinese Democracy – review
Like the hard-rock equivalent of Brian Wilson’s “Smile,” Guns N’ Roses’ “Chinese Democracy” was one of the greatest records that never was–a project more fable than fact, more speculation than actualization.
