// Category Archive for: Music Reviews

These New Puritans, Hidden

By Stuart Myerburg

Imagine Philip Glass recording a symphony with Nitzer Ebb, Nine Inch Nails, and Depeche Mode and you have some idea of the singularly daring sound created by These New Puritans on their second album, Hidden.

Frontman and principal songwriter Jack Barnett dubs it a “hybrid,” which is a perfect description of the aggressive, synth-based songs his band couples with classical strings and woodwinds.
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Desktop EP

By Megashaun

Desktop is a combination of the creative forces of two men: Keith Thompson (from Electric Six and Johnny Headband) and Zach Curd (from Suburban Sprawl Music’s The Pop Project). When I first discovered the act several months ago, it was mainly with the intention of reviewing their all-too-short debut EP. At only three songs in length, it can’t possibly be difficult to describe them adequately.

But that’s exactly the position I found myself in. Having heard the EP hundreds of times now, I’m still at a loss to talk about it with adjectives other than “kick-ass,” “amazing,” and “awesome.”
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Sloan, Hit & Run (EP)

By Jemiah Jefferson

The newest original-material release from Toronto’s ambassadors of brainy party rock shows the four members of Sloan further exploring their masterful sound with these five tracks, one from each member (with an additional track from the prolific Chris Murphy).
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Neil Young, Dreamin’ Man Live ’92

By J Howell

Find out how to win a copy of Dreamin’ Man Live ’92 at the end of this article! The contest has now ended.

In short: this record is achingly beautiful. Buy it.

It’s beyond the scope of this review to really go into why Neil Young is, well, Neil Young, and I’m not going to indulge in a long string of superlatives here.
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Dex Romweber Duo, Ruins Of Berlin

By J Howell

The moniker “Dex Romweber Duo” is a little misleading on Ruins of Berlin, a record by a band ostensibly consisting of former Flat Duo Jet Romweber and his sister Sara on drums. Ten of the 14 tracks feature at least one other person, though the final track is Dex solo.
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Johnny Action Figure, Good Eye

By Christian Lipski

In every genre of art, there evolve solidified scenes, where well-defined rules force participants to toe the line and conform, even if the theme itself is nonconformity. And there are, logically, points when those scenes lose their power to enclose, and you suddenly begin to see variety where there once was only similarity. At this point, there are usually no existing words to define the new forms, except to identify what scene they were or are not a part of.
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Peter Project, Fresh EP

By Megashaun

Based on how much I loved and listened to Peter Project’s self-titled debut (reviewed in Popshifter ) I had some rather high expectations when I had heard he released a follow-up in the form of a bar of soap.
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Venus Bogardus, Spitting At The Glass

By Jemiah Jefferson

When does influence become imitation? When does homage become outright copying? These questions illuminate upon listening to this album, the third from UK-to-Santa Fe art rock transplants Venus Bogardus.
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Bettina Köster, Queen Of Noise

By Ann Clarke

I love it when you put on an album, and it just kicks ass immediately. I love it even more when it continues to kick ass, and then when it’s over, you feel compelled to listen to it again! That doesn’t always happen, even with some of your personal favorite albums.

Bettina Köster’s Queen of Noise might not be my favorite album, but it certainly falls into the realm of the type of album I just described. It just kicks ass, and continues to kick ass! (I apologize for my lowbrow description, but I guess it sort of brings the cave-girl out of me!) I mean, seriously; when something just rocks your lame ass, you know it instantly.
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Gorevette, Lustfully Yours

By Mandy Mullins

Grab your dancing shoes and head out onto the floor and get ready to have a great time! In a match made in rock & roll girls heaven, the wonderful Nikki Corvette and Gore Gore Girls’ guitarist/leading lady Amy Gore have teamed up to form an ultra-fun little Detroit super group called Gorevette. Along with Lianna Castillo on bass and Al King on drums, Gorvette have just released their seven-song debut EP, Lustfully Yours.
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