R.E.M. Collapse Into Now Warner Bros.; 2011 Though 2008′s audacious Accelerate was generally well received, its aggressive garb never really suited R.E.M., so a reversion to their old sound was bound to happen. For as U2-like as they’d like to be perceived, the trio don’t really have the swagger in them, no matter how hugely popular they’ve become since their modest 1983 debut. It’s fitting, then, that Collapse Into Now’s strengths reside in songs like “Blue,”... [Read more...]
Gruff Rhys Hotel Shampoo Ovni Records; 2011 Like the small shampoo bottles and toiletries he’s collected over the years while on tour fronting Welsh band Super Furry Animals, the songs on Gruff Rhys’s third solo outing aren’t so much components of a lucid, binding concept, but rather a jumble of sundry lagniappes: useful freebies to the enlightened; landfill dross to the grouch. Yet suggesting that any of these tunes are merely the adequate throwaways of a distracted songwriter... [Read more...]
Gorillaz The Fall EMI; 2010 Edging further from the realm of ingenious concept into the land of shameless gimmickry, Damon Albarn (the mind behind this virtual cartoon collective) dangles his latest album from another intriguing hook: that it was recorded entirely on his iPad while on an American tour. While cynics might cite this as merely a canny, cross-promotional marketing tool, it’s really just a footnote, a fact that has little bearing on The Fall’s essential merits. Drawing so... [Read more...]
The Decemberists The King Is Dead Capitol; 2011 With their latest release, The King Is Dead, Portland, Oregon quintet The Decemberists veer off their recent path toward grandiosity for their most countrified and pastoral album to date. Tapping into their shared love of R.E.M., the band wring rustic, shimmering beauty from tunes like “Don’t Carry It All,” “Calamity Song,” and “Down By the Water.” That all three have Peter Buck providing guitar work and vocal... [Read more...]
Bruce Springsteen The Promise Columbia; 2010 Though many hailed Born to Run as an instant classic upon its 1975 release, it would prove to offer a mere glimmer of the genius 1978′s Darkness on the Edge of Town continues to bask in. Widely considered Springsteen’s masterpiece, Darkness earned as much praise for its broad concept as it did for its conciseness. Just how controlled a statement it was many never fully realized, until last month’s release of The Promise, a 22-track collection... [Read more...]
Kings Of Leon Come Around Sundown RCA; 2010 This is one of those albums wherein everyone hears something different, and personally, I think that’s my favorite thing about it. KOL have packed their fifth studio release with a variety of sub-genres; they’ve written ballads and rock songs that sound more beautiful placed together than they would apart. And as KOL fans are accustomed to, the band have recorded them cleanly and in that voice you’ve come to know like a friend. On Come... [Read more...]
Neil Young Le Noise Reprise; 2010 As hard as it’s been to draw a bead on Neil Young since, say, 2000, his latest release, Le Noise, comes as no surprise. Paired with ambient-friendly producer Daniel Lanois (he helped mold the distinctive sounds of U2′s The Unforgettable Fire, The Joshua Tree, Achtung Baby, and How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, among many others by artists as diverse as Emmylou Harris and Scott Weiland), Young lets loose his passion for the raw, unchecked power last captured... [Read more...]
Ray LaMontagne God Willin’ & The Creek Don’t Rise RCA/Red; 2010 If you’re like me, “Trouble” was your first introduction to Ray LaMontagne. It’s a revelatory song from his sophomore album of the same name, one that lolls comfortably in the past while trudging determinedly toward the future of folk. If LaMontagne’s voice, which falls somewhere between Levon Helm and Sam Cooke, wasn’t arresting enough, his thoughtful, poetic lyrics backed up many... [Read more...]
Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse Dark Night of the Soul Capitol; 2010 It’s a testament to Danger Mouse’s skill and cachet as a producer that Dark Night of the Soul was already being hailed as a classic long before its completion. Everything he’s touched thus far, from Gnarls Barkley to the Good, the Bad, and the Queen, has garnered critical, commercial, and artistic acclaim, and Dark Night’s promise of Sparklehorse’s insightful songs sung by a slew of guest artists refracted... [Read more...]
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Mojo Reprise/WEA; 2010 America has her share of rock n’ roll heroes: Elvis, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, and Buddy Holly among them. But does she have a band that compete with Britain’s best? It’s a question that’s been circulating for some time among music critics, and one that’s gone largely unanswered despite all the heated debate. The Beatles; the Kinks; the Who; the Rolling Stones; Led Zeppelin; Pink Floyd… What group have we... [Read more...]
