Various Artists: After Dark 2
Rarely do compilation albums add up to something greater than the sum of their parts. read more
JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound: Howl
JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound are doing that thing the people always say they want bands to do—that thing where a band transforms their early, almost literal take on retro-minded soul music into a sound that's unique and modern. read more
Daft Punk: Random Access Memories
Sasha Frere-Jones’ review of Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories baffled many in the critic’s corner this week as he insisted that this album asks, “Does good music have to be good?” read more
Scout Niblett: It's Up To Emma
Though there was precious little excess to burn, Scout Niblett subjected herself to trial by fire on her previous release, The Calcination Of Scout Niblett. read more
Dirty Beaches: Drifters/Love is the Devil
Two years ago, Alex Hungtai (a.k.a. Dirty Beaches) still had a day job. read more
The National: Trouble Will Find Me
Trouble Will Find Me may be The National’s funniest album to date. Not that it has a whole lot of competition. read more
Pistol Annies: Annie Up
They worked better as a cartoon than a franchise read more
R.E.M.: Green 25th Anniversary Reissue
Integrity has always been a big part of R.E.M. When the band finally did make the jump to the bigs, some fans, not surprisingly, didn’t take it well. read more
The Breeders: Last Splash LSXX
CONSUMER ALERT: This vastly expanded, packed-to-the-gills 20th anniversary reissue of The Breeders' Last Splash album contains exactly the same version of Last Splash that can currently be found crowding 99-cent CD bins all over the world. read more
Peals: Walking Field
There’s a song on Peals’ debut album called “Tiptoes In the Parlor,” a title that sums up the Baltimore two-piece’s sound, which is soft and inconspicuous. read more
Sam Amidon: Bright Sunny South
During every long journey there are moments of looking back, of breathing in the vast traveled landscape as an inspiration to tighten the straps and press onward. read more
pacificUV: After the Dream You Are Awake
“After the dream you are awake,” coo pacificUV’s Clay Jordan and Laura Solomon on the opening track of the Athens group’s newest offering. read more
Wild Nothing: Empty Estate EP
Where the 2000s saw an explosion of folk groups, the second decade of the new millennium has so far been characterized by a couple of great dreampop records and a lot of subpar ones. read more
Mark Kozelek and Jimmy LaValle: Perils From the Sea
Some musicians just don’t want their music played in daytime. read more
John Grant: Pale Green Ghosts
John Grant is one of the most enigmatic, endearing vocalists making music today. read more
Wampire: Curiosity
There’s been no shortage of cutesy synth-pop bands sprouting up in Portland over the past few years. read more
Still Corners: Strange Pleasures
At a certain point in every music lover’s life, there comes a moment that all have experienced in some capacity. read more
Natalie Maines: Mother
The lines that separate country music fans from, well, fans of any other style of music are some of the most blindly protected and strictly observed separations that occur in this country. read more
Patty Griffin: American Kid
With a bit of juke-joint loose blues strumming rising from a National guitar, Patty Griffin leans into “Don’t Let Me Die In Florida” with a tortured cry on what becomes a steamy track with a deep, surging pocket. read more
The Uncluded: Hokey Fright
The first thing that comes to mind upon hearing "Kryptonite," opening track of The Uncluded’s inaugural album Hokey Fright, is that perhaps you’re listening to two songs at once. read more
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