Austin City Limits

By Jim Caligiuri at 12:00 AM on October 4, 2006

It's easy to complain about the weather conditions during the Austin City Limits Festival.  read more

Califone

By John Schacht at 5:37 PM on October 1, 2006

Califone tears another audio hole in the space/time continuum with its fourth full-length, emerging with the band’s best collage of cross-bred eras yet. Acoustic Delta blues (“Sunday Noises,” “Rose Petal Ear”), back-porch Appalachia (“Burned By the Christians”), folk-pop (“The Orchids”) and syncopated funk (“Pink & Sour”) marinate in futuristic sounds, like Mississippi John Hurt, Neil Young and Curtis Mayfield transported through Four Tet’s chop shop. Brian Deck’s production envelops Tim Rutili’s vocals and elliptical narratives in nuance—check the layered murk and tribal beats that birth the chrome-plated rock beast “Black Metal Valentine.” Throughout, melodies bloom from flickering shadows, state...  read more

Amos Lee

By Carter Davis at 5:24 PM on October 1, 2006

Although singer/songwriter Amos Lee often comes across as apologetic with his nearly whispered vocals, his newest effort, Supply and Demand, finds him sounding much more self-assured, and the lyrics to the disc’s opener, “Shout Out Loud,” are every bit as affirming as a fist-pumping arena-rock tune, with Lee even breaking out of his normally hushed singing on several tracks. Sure, this onetime schoolteacher still exhibits moments of repentant introversion—such as the aching, done-me-wrong ballad “Careless”—but his incorporation of gospel, soul and blues elements into his stripped-down folk music, as well as his newfound optimism, make Supply and Demand a...  read more

The Damnwells

By Bud Scoppa at 5:10 PM on October 1, 2006

On their second full-length, Brooklyn quartet The Damnwells graduate from “lightly likable” to “the far side of paradise” (to borrow film critic Andrew Sarris’ categories). Air Stereo eschews the commonplace Replacements moves of 2004’s Bastards of the Beat in favor of a diverse, sharply conceived and executed song cycle in which the Alex Dezen-led band makes all the right moves, from expanding its sound with judiciously employed strings (“Graceless”), horns (“Kung Fu Grip Kiss”) and female backing vocals (“Golden Days”) to enlisting gifted knob-twiddler Jim Scott (Wilco, Matthew Sweet), who delivers a crystalline mix. The album concludes with the assaultive...  read more

Chris Thile

By Stephen M. Deusner at 4:54 PM on October 1, 2006

Best known as one-third of Nickel Creek, Chris Thile is a mandolin prodigy who recorded his first album when he was only 13 years old. On How to Grow a Woman from the Ground, Thile moves with unsurprising confidence from bluegrass to jazz to classical arrangements, but he shows much less mastery over his pop compositions. “Stay Away” showcases a startlingly graceful melody, but his cover of The White Stripes’ “Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground” comes off as mere novelty, the title track sounds too abstract and aimless, and—the name says it all—“You’re an Angel, and I’m Gonna Cry”...  read more

DJ Shadow

By Jeff Leven at 4:36 PM on October 1, 2006

Before the exuberant slapdash eclecticism of Gorillaz or the madcap rhythmic musicality of Gnarls Barkley, there was DJ Shadow, an undersung bridger of worlds whose pioneering vision has yet to yield the deserved commercial bounty. Part of the curse of being a first mover is that it’s often hard to catch up to yourself. Indeed, the shadow of this particular DJ’s early work looms large on The Outsider. In contrast to the genius iconoclasm of Entroducing… or the elegant, moody melodicism of Shadow’s last masterpiece The Private Press, his work here seems scattered and gimmicky, even despite a few moments...  read more

William Elliott Whitmore

By Brooke Marshall at 4:13 PM on October 1, 2006

William Elliott Whitmore is a 28-year-old punk who cradles his banjo and acoustic guitar in tattoo-scrawled arms. But if you didn’t know better, you’d think his voice belonged to some gritty old bastard with a longtime two-pack-a-day habit and an intimate relationship with Jack Daniels. Whitmore’s simple arrangements—often just vocals over banjo or guitar—and introspective lyrics (“Don’t alter my altar / Don’t desecrate my shrine / My church is in the water / My home is underneath the shady pines,” Whitmore rasps wearily but firmly in “One Man’s Shame”) make for a stripped-down sound that’s personal and endearingly pure. ...  read more

Citizen Cope Every Waking Moment [RCA]

By Justin Hopper at 4:06 PM on October 1, 2006

For more than a decade, Clarence Greenwood has inhabited that off-white tower overlooking the American street scene. Even if his dwelling is more bullet-riddled fake stucco than pure ivory, Greenwood—aka Citizen Cope—has made his oft-meager living observing the American drama and offering us its tales, like an inner-city rag salesman showing swatches. Whether it’s Baltimore hustlers, lost souls in the nation’s capitol, or the victims—both foreign and homegrown—of war, the characters in Cope’s songs from The Clarence Greenwood Recordings (2004), have walked, talked and protested on the seedy streets paved by the tradition of the American observational songwriter.   But...  read more

Robyn Hitchcock

By Rob O'Connor at 3:59 PM on October 1, 2006

Backed by The Venus 3 (Peter Buck, Scott McCaughey and Bill Rieflin), who sound much like his mid-’80s band, The Egyptians, Hitchcock returns to his trademark: arpeggiated guitars swirling around hyperactive basslines with whimsical lyrics cloaked in harmony that turn dark without warning. He’s always drawn attention with his surrealistic jottings and bizarre juxtapositions, but here it’s the gorgeous backing harmonies that accompany “(A Man’s Gotta Know His Limitations) Briggs,” the lonesome pine that creeps into his voice during “Red Locust Frenzy,” and “N.Y. Doll”—his fitting tribute to late bassist Arthur “Killer” Kane—that are Hitchcock’s enduring strengths. Literate but rarely...  read more

Gin Blossoms

By Matt Price at 3:37 PM on October 1, 2006

I’m not afraid to admit that I love “Allison Road.” And the Gin Blossoms’ first new album in 10 years, Major Lodge Victory, picks up exactly where the band left off with Congratulations... I’m Sorry. The problem of picking up where you left off, of course, is that each song will inevitably be compared to hits of the past. For instance, “Learning the Hard Way” doesn’t pack the same Top 40 punch as “Hey Jealousy,” nor does “Super Girl” capture the heartbreak of “Found Out About You.”  But new songs “Someday Soon” and “The End of the World” are classic...  read more

BT

By Jonathan Lipps at 3:22 PM on October 1, 2006

It’s now longtime producers, rather than artists, who hold the tools necessary to push the sonic envelope. In BT’s latest offering, such experience has proved handy. At-times-cacophonous tech noise is offset by surprisingly sustainable undercurrents of melody that tend toward melancholic—but in no way sleepy—ruminations on a universe where robots are hardly second-class citizens. Sensitivity to jazz and orchestral techniques make This Binary Universe stand out from its electronic cousins, though claims that it marks a new era in modern music are overstated.  The album is accompanied by a DVD, which consists of the same tracks set to video. The...  read more

Adem

By Andy Beta at 2:13 PM on October 1, 2006

His own contributions to the folky strain of electronic music no doubt overshadowed by old bandmate Kieran Hebden (who garners much critical adieu as Four Tet), former Fridge bassist Adem Ilhan has slowly crafted his own distinct brand of bedroom pop. Adem’s 2004 debut, the home-recorded Homesongs, spun demure and effortless-sounding tracks that stayed close to the vest, venturing into fields of low-key instrumentation and deft programming without much outward show. Similarly unobtrusive, a stately guitar figure opens his follow-up disc and underpins many of the subsequent tracks, whether they’re spacious or more chipper and upbeat. As bells garland Ilhan’s...  read more

Brisa Roché

By Palmer Houchins at 2:08 PM on October 1, 2006

On her genre-hopping and language-swapping debut full-length, this American-born, Paris-based singer-songwriter trades the smooth delivery of labelmate Norah Jones for the quirky vocal stylings of Regina Spektor. But unlike Spektor, Roché hints at the refined elegance of songstresses new (Fiona Apple) and old (Billie Holiday). The Chase doesn’t feel nearly as long as its seventeen tracks might suggest, probably due to Roché’s penchant for penning short, playful pop songs. Her most notable songwriting accomplishment, though, is never diminishing her breathy, idiosyncratic voice, which alone establishes Roché as a formidable, wholly versatile talent....  read more

Mindy Smith Long Island Shores [Vanguard]

By Andy Whitman at 1:36 PM on October 1, 2006

Maybe Thomas Wolfe was wrong, maybe you really can go home again. On her sophomore album Long Island Shores, Americana singer/songwriter Mindy Smith explores this premise, and discovers some previously unmapped territory of the heart along the way.   Raised on Long Island, N.Y., Smith moved first to Knoxville, Tenn., where she immersed herself in the Appalachian musical tradition, then to Nashville, where she pursued her songwriting muse. But back on Long Island, she left behind some painful childhood memories, some unresolved conflicts and a beloved mother buried in the cold, windswept ground. And since ghosts travel light, they...  read more

Archie Bronson Outfit

By Austin L. Ray at 12:43 PM on October 1, 2006

Plenty of bands cite hip and unhinged influences like Captain Beefheart, Son House, and The Stooges, but few actually bolster their claims with music those forbears would respect. Enter Archie Bronson Outfit, a London trio whose sophomore release embodies the raw energy upon which rock ’n’ roll was sired. Surprisingly, there’s no real star in the band. Drummer Mark “Arp” Cleveland pens the lyrics, but shuns the spotlight, manning the kit and holding the glorious mess together. Sam Windett slings guitar and provides the oh-so-desperate vocals. Meanwhile, Dorian Hobday’s bass intermingles with Windett’s six-string to the point that they sometimes...  read more

Madeleine Peyroux

By Catherine P. Lewis at 12:31 PM on October 1, 2006

For better or worse, jazz vocalist Madeleine Peyroux won’t ever outgrow the Billie Holiday comparisons, despite her crooning claim, “I’m not looking backward for something that’s gone” (“Once in a While”). But looking backward is precisely where Peyroux camps, from her lounge-jazz sound to her choice of covers: Joni Mitchell (“River,” a duet with k.d. lang), Leonard Cohen (“Blue Alert” and the title track) and Serge Gainsbourg (“La Javanaise”). Only a tender take on Tom Waits’ “(Looking For) The Heart of a Saturday Night” gives Peyroux the glimmer of modernity Perfect World so desperately craves....  read more

Anthony David

By Amber North at 12:22 PM on October 1, 2006

Just like what The Bronx did for hip-hop in the early ’80s and Detroit for the emergence of R&B in the ’60s, Atlanta has become the new Philly for rising neo-soul artists. With his sophomore album, Anthony David establishes himself as a serious musician who can hold his own in the neo-soul market. The Red Clay Chronicles boasts a solid mixture of funk, smooth jazz and soul. He scores big with “Words,” his gorgeous duet with R&B darling India.Arie. In “ATL Sunshine,” David paints a vivid picture of his love for the city that boosted his music career. But the...  read more

Sandra McCracken

By Andrew Earles at 11:59 AM on October 1, 2006

Sandra McCracken’s Gravity | Love occupies that female-folk position between more obtuse artists like Megan Reilly and the shiny new rootsy pop you find climbing the country charts. Even if you consider 2004’s Best Laid Plans a palatable ride, there are no sonic difficulties hindering her latest album from making a commercial impact. A songwriter’s songwriter, McCracken doesn’t feel the need to personally grace her album covers, nods to her religious faith in subtle lyrical turns, and proves she’s capable of creating Americana to rival recent outings from Tom Petty or The Jayhawks, especially on “Gravity,” “Traincar” and “Portadown Station”—the...  read more

Lady Sovereign

By Brian Howe at 11:59 AM on October 1, 2006

If Missy Elliott were a tiny white chav, she’d be Lady Sovereign. With her beats de-grimed for American audiences, Sov doesn’t sound quite as explosive here as she did on her legendary demo tracks, but there’s no containing her charisma. Like countryman Mike Skinner of The Streets, the “biggest midget in the game” takes on the banalities of modern British life with irreverent wit: wage slavery on the slinky “9 to 5”; poor fashion choices on distended bounce track “Hoodie”; cranky neighbors on the filthy “Fiddle with the Volume”; and outdated stereotypes of Britain on “My England.” Albion subsides; Lady...  read more

Gov't Mule

By Matt Price at 11:50 AM on October 1, 2006

Gov’t Mule just wiped the studio clean of any remaining shred of the boy-band era en route to knocking out its latest release. Lead singer Warren Haynes brings his bottomless voice to all 71 minutes of the appropriately titled High & Mighty, including soon-to-be fan favorites “Brand New Angel” and “Nothing Again.”  The slightly downtempo “Million Miles from Yesterday” may be the best song on the album. With a gospel chorus backing Haynes, Danny Louis’ bluesy organ underscores the refrain “I’ve got to find my way home.” Some jambands fall prey to the limits of a studio album, but Gov’t...  read more