Music
Review: Lauren Mann & The Fairly Odd Folk
Over Land and Sea starts out with a force that immediately captures your attention. … read more
Review: Judy Kang
A comparison to Bjork is not the way to my heart; her music is like listening to a fax machine have a nervous breakdown. … read more
Review: John Cale – Shifty Adventures In Nookie Wood
John Cale
Shifty Adventures in Nookie Wood
Double Six
Street: 10.01.12
John Cale = Bauhaus + The Velvet Underground x Brian Eno
Stand back, kids … at 70, sporting pink dye in his white hair, legend John Cale (The Velvet Underground and too many others to name) is rockin’, and not in a rockin’ chair, son. This album is chockful of his smooth and unmistakable voice––like the voice Jim Morrison might have grown into––his standard drone and his louche lyrics that rival Leonard Cohen’s for their depth. You don’t so much listen to Nookie Woods as you get grabbed and bodily hauled in for some very shifty adventures, indeed. The opener, “I Wanna Talk 2 U,” a collaboration with hip-hop producer Danger Mouse, explodes out of your speakers. The masterful “Hemmingway” rattles you with its building intensity, while “Face to the Sky” is a gorgeous melding of electronic and organic elements, a swooping, woozy nod to Dali’s Car and Bowie. But lest all this ancient name-dropping makes you think the album is a throwback, worry not: there’s nothing old-fashioned about it. Cale seems committed to moving forward with music, playing around with over-processed autotune on “December Rain,” but he’s not afraid of organic acoustic sounds, as on “Mary.” If you don’t already know Cale, it’s time you met him, and a trip to the Nookie Woods is a fine place to start. –Madelyn Boudreaux … read more
Review: Iron Reagan
Iron Reagan will initially be recognized for its membership, which counts two members of Municipal Waste and two members of Darkest Hour in its ranks, but this should be eclipsed by their music. … read more
Review: Iceage
Like dying in a dream or Francis Bacon’s paintings, Iceage have delivered a bittersweet roller-coaster stomach lurch with their sophomore release, which drives forward in a disjointed dance with opener “Ecstasy.” … read more
Review: Hypocrisy
With a new record, Hypocrisy hits the road this spring in the ol’ USA to support it and all that goodness. … read more
Review: Horsehands
Boston-based Horsehands are an experiment with an old, familiar sound that is miraculously unlike anything you’ve ever heard. … read more
Review: High Priest of Saturn
A classic case of stoner doom by numbers, High Priest of Saturn imitate all the basic components of their chosen genre, but fail to add anything substantial or unique to the mix. Highly hailed with comparisons to Black Sabbath and Electric Wizard, the band’s self-titled debut only resembles these bands by the most generous comparison. … read more
Review: Greg Boring
Greg Boring are from Brisbane, Australia, and they make improvisational analog synth psychedelia. Heavy Syrup, the group’s debut LP, was an interesting listen, and even more interesting in its compositional techniques. In its recording process, the album’s songs were outlined but improvised. … read more
Review: Gold Fields
I want to enjoy this Aussie dance-rock, but something about it reminds me a little too much of being 15 and angst-ily blasting Panic! At The Disco. My teenage insecurities aside, the fast rock chords combined with perky electro-beats and male pop vocals that are the basis of Gold Fields are pretty decent—if not boy-band quality. … read more