LOUIS – FREAK SHOW REVENGE (Superphonic Records)
Comparisons can be made to Elliott Smith or John Vanderslice, just less memorable and less inspired. Don’t get me wrong, man, it ain’t half bad.
RATING: TWO STARS
GRAIG MARKEL – VIA NOVELLA (Sonic Boom Recordings)
Yet another indie folk record (my third this month) turns out to be a magnificent find, featuring Jen Wood (Postal Service) and Jeremiah Green (Modest Mouse). Definitely a stand out this month.
RATING: FOUR STARS
WADE IMRE MORISETTE – STRONG AS DIAMONDS (Nettwerk Records)
Generic acoustic shit plus some yoga influence and interesting chants from the twin brother of Dave Coulier’s Favorite horse-faced Canuck. I’m sure its uplifting for the right listener. That listener is not me.
RATING: ONE STAR
MORNING BELL – THROUGH THE BELLY OF THE SEA (Orange Records)
Enjoyable enough, though the bands heavy Flaming Lips/Mercury Rev influence is at times wearing, and the “choose-your-own-adventure” concept achieves far less interesting results than it were no doubt intended. Nonetheless, this is recommended listening for the fans of the aforementioned bands.
RATING: THREE STARS
NAGLFAR - HARVEST (Century Media)
Holy shit! A Swedish band playing something called “Death Metal”. What will those darn Scandinavians think of next?
RATING: FUCKING ZERO STARS
NICK CAVE AND THE BAD SEEDS – THE ABATTOIR BLUES TOUR (Mute)
A double live CD plus a double DVD taken from the supporting tour for some of the best work the band has to their credit. There is no possible way to go wrong here.
RATING: FIVE STARS
ONO – OPEN YOUR BOX (Astralwerks)
Dance Remixes as done by Pet Shop Boys and Basement Jaxx. And I have to say, I was expecting her box to be much worse.
RATING: THREE STARS
JON RAUHOUSE – STEEL GUITAR HEART ATTACK (Bloodshot Records)
Front to back, a fantastic disc of (mostly) instrumental Hawaiian and country sounds. Boner.
RATING: FOUR STARS
UTAH CAROL- RODEO QUEEN (Stomping Ground)
Comfortable country tinged folk. Warm melodies and dreamy vocals certainly make for a hell of a sweet listen. Fits well with a smoke and a drink.
RATING: THREE STARS
APOCALYPTICA – THE LIFE BURNS TOUR (Jive Records)
There is something to be said for 4 Cellists capable of unleashing the kind of assault most bands can only dream of. The inclusion of a drummer on this live DVD only seems to take away from the experience.
RATING: THREE STARS
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