Sugarland: Gold and Green
All I want for Christmas is a cohesive record As with Sugarland’s previous studio efforts, lead singer Jennifer Nettles suffers from a vocal identity crisis on the duo’s new holiday-themed Gold and Green. Does she want to be a saccharine adult-contemporary crooner (“Gold and Green”), a wailing gospel beacon (“Coming Home”) or the twangy country girl next door (“Nuttin’ For Christmas”)? Here, such shifts seem contrived, robbing Nettles of any relatable authenticity. What little sincerity the set has comes from Kristian Bush singing lead on “Maybe Baby (New Year’s Day)” and “Holly Jolly Christmas.” Unfortunately, the latter is all but... read more
Wale: Attention Deficit
On major label debut, mixtape star looks to the West Born of Nigerian parents in our nation’s capitol, Wale rose to prominence in 2008 with The Mixtape About Nothing, where he used his favorite program as a framing device for his technically adroit diatribes on race, rap, and authenticity. “The Kramer,” for instance, sampled Michael Richards’ infamous Laugh Factory tirade, and subsequent apology, to bookend a fearless dissection of racist language. Wale also adopted Seinfeld’s habit of knowing self-deprecation to send up stale rap conventions, titling a track with three guest stars (including mixtape staple Bun B) “The Feature Heavy... read more
Carrie Underwood: Play On
Underwood’s third album is overdeveloped and undercooked Carrie Underwood’s new album isn’t meant for iPods or headphones—or, for that matter, for individuals. It’s a more public record than a private or personal one, sometimes for better but usually for worse. Opener and first single “Cowboy Casanova” is a barnburner that will be the prelude to many girls’ nights out, while “Mama’s Song” will no doubt soundtrack innumerable weddings in the next few months. Other songs on Play On have less lofty goals: “Someday When I Stop loving You” and “What Can I Say” are soundtrack-ready montage rock; the latter deserves... read more
Norah Jones: The Fall
Unexpected dance grooves from jazzy folk star As a jazz-adoring youngster, Norah Jones initially made her mark as a performer, her best-known songs written by others. Jones has since grown up as a songwriter on the biggest of stages, a challenge she’s tackled by turning inward, working with a set of regular bandmates and daring to whisper her increasingly pointed lines when others might over-emote.... read more
Annie: Don't Stop
Half formula, half adventure “Do you want more, baby, do you want more?” These are the first words Annie purrs on her sophomore album, a come-on that would fit snugly on a Britney Spears anthology. It may seem befuddling how this Norwegian singer gets the indie oligarchy’s sacred seal of approval while other remarkably similar pop acts don’t. But listening to the rest of Don’t Stop, it becomes clear that Annie is more adventurous than her peers.... read more
Half-Handed Cloud: Cut Me Down & Count My Rings
Song-a-minute songwriter digs into his archive, unearths some gems As a songwriter who made his name constructing grand song puzzles out of miniature interlocking pieces, John Ringhofer is the master of intricately fragmented art pop, with four full-length releases so tightly constructed that individual moments can hardly be extracted without compromising their elaborate song-suite structures. That his short-attention-span musical theater works just as well when pulled out from under the canopy of album-long arcs comes as a revelation on Cut Me Down & Count My Rings, a dazzling 46-song collection drawn from previously released EPs, compilations, cassette singles and vinyl... read more
Dave Rawlings Machine: A Friend of a Friend
Longtime sideman takes the lead with first solo album It’s hard to believe A Friend of a Friend is David Rawlings’ first album under his own name. For more than 12 years, the Nashville-based musician has toured, written and recorded with Gillian Welch, exploring the well-worn byways of country, bluegrass and stringband music while making the old-timey sound new. As a hired gun, he’s played sideman to artists following in Welch’s wake or creating their own: Sara Watkins, Ryan Adams, Bright Eyes, Guy Clark, Mark Knopfler and Jay Farrar, among others. So his debut as Dave Rawlings Machine is either... read more
Molina & Johnson: Molina & Johnson
Indie rock vets struggle to pump life into their off-the-cuff collaboration Between them, Will Johnson (Centro-Matic, South San Gabriel) and Jason Molina (Songs: Ohia, Magnolia Electric Co.) have spent the last 15 years filling in the empty spaces on the continuum stretching between Neil Young and Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, maintaining a prolific pace that both insures a sprawling catalog and indicates a general hesitance to spend too much time dwelling on any one project. That makes them a suitable pair, and Johnson & Molina—the result of a laidback 10-day recording session in Johnson’s home studio in Denton, Texas—sounds pretty much... read more
Hem: Twelfth Night
Lilting, lovely soundtrack from this summer’s Shakespeare in the Park production Each summer, a star-studded cast in conjunction with the Public Theater mounts a Shakespeare play in Central Park, for which people wait in the ticket line for hours. Brooklyn band Hem worked closely with Daniel Sullivan, the director of this year’s critically acclaimed Twelfth Night (starring Anne Hathaway, Audra McDonald, David Pittu, Jon Patrick Walker, and Raul Esparza), to create a soundtrack for the production, which has now been recorded and released.... read more
"Weird Al" Yankovic: The Essential "Weird Al" Yankovic
Would it be apropos to write a parody review of “Weird Al” Yankovic’s new greatest-hits compilation? No... read more
Weezer: Raditude
This Rivers is all dried up Weezer fans often cry that haters should quit comparing the band’s later work to Pinkerton and the blue album. That’s fair—bands change, and music evolves. Thing is, even without hope for a return to form, we’re still left sifting through dribble that barely passes as All-American Rejects’ rejects. Had the classics never existed, there’d be little reason to care about Weezer at all.... read more
Nirvana: Live at Reading
In an age where Twitter feeds, YouTube footage and Brooklyn Vegan-esque blogs guarantee over-documentation of any concert mere moments after the lights go up... read more
Alec Ounsworth: Mo Beauty
A hauntingly gorgeous contradiction in terms On his first solo effort, the Clap Your Hands Say Yeah frontman continues his enthusiastic experiments with strange sound combinations. He’s pensive these days—mellow and introverted—and his self-questioning lyrics are matched with a fittingly eerie sound. The album is well conceived with articulate themes running throughout, as when Ounsworth laments the fall of New Orleans in “Holy, Holy, Holy Moses” and then later channels the city’s brass-laden funeral marches into the dirt-smudged “Idiots in the Rain.” Ounsworth’s resounding use of strings, horns, piano and percussion appears and disappears at unexpected moments with beautifully unsettling... read more
Holopaw: Oh, Glory. Oh, Wilderness.
Soft-spoken indie band rocks out on excellent third album On their first two albums, Holopaw ruffled hushed folk with synths and loops. Nestled in almost-sterile arrangements, John Orth’s flutey voice defined fragility, as circular arpeggios turned like quiet screws. Their new album, thankfully, still sounds like Holopaw. It’s just that now, Orth’s voice is often buffeted by bright bursting chords, and leads glinting with pretty little errors. Standard but effective strings and horns sub in for electronics. The result is an album that’s vigorously lily-livered, with hardly a dull moment to be found. Orth’s lyrics are holistic and tender; rich... read more
The King Khan & BBQ Show: Invisible Girl
More skuzzy garage rock from increasingly visible pair Before he donned his gold lamé hot pants and played wild shows like the unholy offspring of Little Richard and Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, King Khan made a pair of loose, lewd, lo-fi albums with fellow Montreal ex-pat and former bandmate BBQ—a.k.a. Mark Sultan. Three years after their lip-smacking What’s for Dinner?, the duo re-teams for another set of R&B-inflected, ’60s-influenced garage rock with its juvenile-delinquent charms and dirty minds intact.... read more
Rickie Lee Jones: Balm in Gilead
Wild girl returns with headphone album “It’s hard to be older and poor, I don’t dig it that much anymore,” Rickie Lee Jones sings on “Wild Girl,” the opening track of her 13th album. Although she’s in character, it’s odd to hear her sing that line; 30 years into an unpredictable career, she still sounds like the wild girl she once was. The largely self-produced Balm in Gilead plies a folksy yet soulful jazz-country sound that showcases both her inimitable voice—with its playful meter and peculiar grain—and her studio prowess.... read more
Various Artists: Ciao My Shining Star: The Songs of Mark Mulcahy
Stipe, Yorke and The National headline benefit for ex-Miracle Legion frontman All-star tributes are too rarely bestowed upon those most in need of recognition. Mark Mulcahy’s long overdue moment in the sun is a bittersweet one, as Ciao My Shining Star adapts the veteran singer/songwriter’s outstanding back catalog largely into a poignant memorial to his wife, Melissa, who died tragically last year.... read more
Scotland Yard Gospel Choir: ...and the horse you rode in on
Art-pop hopefuls issue another rough gem “Oh my god, my life is so fucked up,” Elia Einhorn emotes in the most overwrought fashion possible on the otherwise lightly swinging “Something’s Happening,” delivering the clincher for both laughs and blood: “I’m supposed to go out with Alie to a midnight movie at the Music Box / Maybe we’ll see That Sinking Feeling, maybe we’ll see A Clockwork Orange.”... read more
R.E.M.: Live at the Olympia
Extended live lap through rarities and new ephemera Measured in raw commercial reach, R.E.M.’s appeal may be getting more “selective,” as the euphemism goes, but on this new live double-disc their edge feels recently sharpened. Staged across five nights in Dublin in advance of Accelerate, the set reels off sketches from the then-forthcoming album, including some that never ultimately made the cut. Juxtaposed with a subtle cherry-picking of their earlier work, it’s a coy but endearing alternative history of the band, who seem thoughtful curators. “New Test Leper,” “Cuyahoga” and “Electrolite” flow by as a gorgeous triplet, while the finale... read more
Kings of Convenience: Declaration of Dependence
Norway duo adds depth, dramatic arc to delicate pop pace Kings of Convenience have always had a tight grip on their delicate acoustic sound. However, Declaration of Dependence offers a sense of cohesion their previous albums don’t, a complete story through melody. The slow awakening of “24-25” warms up the listener before the fluttering “Me in You,” which segues gracefully into the lively sway of “Boat Behind.” “Rule My World” begins the descent toward conclusion, though the melancholic pulse of “Renegade” and offbeat vocals of “Second to Numb” still pique and captivate.... read more
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