// Category Archive for: Music Reviews

Music Review: Death From Above 1979, The Physical World

By Less Lee Moore

I can’t sell you if no one buys.
Point out your heroes, click and they die.
—Death From Above 1979, “The Physical World”

Death From Above formed and later added the 1979 (under a bit of duress, mind you). The duo released some EPs and an album. Then they broke up for a decade and during that time, didn’t speak to each other for five years. Eventually, they started emailing each other again and took steps towards reforming. They toured for a couple of years, including a set at Coachella in 2011. Now they are back with a second album of new material and as much as it pains me to say this, I like it better than everything else they’ve ever done.

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Music Review: Gerard Way, Hesitant Alien

By Tyler Hodg

When it comes to music, change is often a good thing. New settings and surroundings can result in unique creations. Off the heels of a successful past, Gerard Way tries to write a new chapter in his music career with his first post-My Chemical Romance album, Hesitant Alien. It’s not easy starting again, but Gerard Way insists on proving his validity as a solo artist. Unfortunately, the “Black Parade” singer isn’t able to live up to expectations and delivers a painfully mediocre album.

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Music Review: Lucinda Williams, Down Where The Spirit Meets The Bone

By Melissa Bratcher

There is no one quite like Lucinda Williams: her voice, her particularly Southern identity, her phrasing, her stunning writing. A true American iconoclast, she has been recording for over four decades, and shows no signs of compromising her integrity or sense of self. On her new album, Down Where The Spirit Meets The Bone, released on her own independent label, Highway 20 Records, Williams speaks for the poor, the rejected, and the disenfranchised while asking for compassion. Of the 20 songs on the album, she wrote 18 of them, and her very particular voice could not be clearer.

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Music Review: The History Of Apple Pie, Feel Something

By Melissa Bratcher

On their second album, Feel Something, London’s The History Of Apple Pie fully embrace the ‘90s throwback, shoe-gazey style that they explored on their previous release, 2013’s Out Of View. Listening to Feel Something is like taking a trip back to the not terribly long ago, but longer than I think it was past. The cover of Feel Something even looks a bit like a My Bloody Valentine cover.

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Music Review: Various Artists, The Soul Of Designer Records

By Melissa Bratcher

Out now on Big Legal Mess Records, the four-CD, 101-song compilation The Soul Of Designer Records is flat out amazing. Between 1967 and 1977, Memphis-based Designer Records founder, the delightfully named Style Wooten, gave any group that wanted it a chance to record in his studio, using his studio musicians if they didn’t have their own, for the low price of $469.50. In exchange, the group would get 25 copies of their single to sell or distribute, and when those 25 were gone, they could re-up for another 25. Black gospel groups flocked to Memphis to record their 45s, and Designer Records became one of the most successful independent gospel labels in the States.

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Music Review: The Call – A Tribute to Michael Been

By Jeffery X Martin

When Michael Been passed away in 2010, it was a loss to true believers everywhere. Those who shared in his beliefs lost a spokesman, one who was absolutely transparent about the struggles of keeping your balance on the righteous path. Fans of Been’s band, The Call, lost the promise and potential of new music. Rock lovers in general lost one of the best, a man who went practically unsung during his career, yet one whose absence leaves a perceptible gap.

Been left behind a multi-faceted legacy; not only does his music endure, but so does the music of his son, Robert Levon Been, leader of the band Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. In April of 2013, the heir apparent joined the old guard for a tribute concert to the fallen leader.

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Music Review: Brian Reitzell, Hannibal Original Television Soundtrack Seasons 1 & 2

By Less Lee Moore

Fans of both Hannibal Lecter and Brian Reitzell will be thrilled by the recent release of nearly five hours of music from the soundtrack to what may become known as the most compelling interpretation of Thomas Harris’s iconic character, NBC’s Hannibal. With 27 tracks, one representing each episode from both seasons (and an extra track highlighting some of the music in Season 2’s killer finale), there is much to absorb here. Even those who have never seen the show, or who have perhaps avoided it because they can’t imagine anything living up to Anthony Hopkins’s cinematic portrayal, will be seduced by the exquisite sounds contained within this collection.

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Music Review: Merchandise, After The End

By Less Lee Moore

O nostalgia is just a looking glass
It’s for us to distort and mold
Won’t someone please help me
I’m too young to feel this old.
—Merchandise, “Looking Glass Waltz”

The first track on Merchandise’s new album is called “Corridor,” a stunning instrumental track that feels like the introduction to a concept album. While After The End is anything but, it’s not a stretch to imagine the band tackling something like that one day. They’re full of surprises.

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Music Review: Thank You Scientist, Maps Of Non-Existent Places

By Tyler Hodg

In a world with so many options, how does one decide on what genre to listen to? Well, “thank” Thank You Scientist for finding a solution to that problem. Categorizing this band isn’t easy and simply isn’t worth the effort. With the re-release of their album Maps Of Non-Existent Places, Thank You Scientist proves that you don’t need to be bound by genre, but by passion and creativity.

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Music Review: Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga, Cheek To Cheek

By Tyler Hodg

Tony Bennett is a clock that keeps on ticking. His career has spanned over 65 years and he shows no signs of slowing down. For his 57th studio album (!!), Bennett calls upon a familiar friend—Lady Gaga—to record a duet album of jazz standards titled Cheek To Cheek. What initially seems like an unlikely pairing is in fact something incredibly special; listening to this album is a reminder of how great these two artists truly are.

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