Tag: rock
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the sundays – reading, writing and arithmetic (1990)
The Sundays weren’t doing too much differently. In the previous decade, The Replacements had their edgy jaunt, Rickie Lee Jones had their unashamed sentimentalism, The Smiths had their riffs. At the start of a new age, and a refreshal of the consumer market, Reading, Writing and Arithmetic was equal parts mournful and joyous. Its effect […]
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bobbie gentry – ode to billie joe (1967)
On an unusually tempoed record, Bobbie Gentry ticketed a safari of her hometown. Folk, soul, blues, and rock were cross hatched, exhibiting the oneness of context-heavy music. While Ode To Billie Joe is not blessed with the most natural flow, the tracks come to purr with Southern verve and the synesthetic particulars of Mississippi life: […]
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muse – will of the people
Despite picking up an open-goal ‘concept’, Muse pass the ball backwards, before Matt Bellamy volleys it into his own net and does an extended air guitar celebration. I try not to be blunt in my criticism, but I have absolutely no reservations about calling this album stupid. WOTP reduces political fights to rudimentary, vapid musings […]
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the lounge society – tired of liberty
Speedy Wunderground, record label/verb. to rise with acclaim, while wearing expensive-looking baggy clothes and having a shaky voice. Label manager Dan Carey (previous producer for Franz Ferdinand, black midi, Fontaines D.C. and TOY) has a definite ‘type’. This is an impassioned debut album with riveting moments that nonetheless needs a weightier voice. To make more […]
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why bonnie – 90 in november
On their debut record, this Texas rock quintet find a sun-blushed home nestled between light grunge and late 00s sensibility. Despite a sweeping sound, Why Bonnie trim many of their provocative elements in favour of comfort. Together with the tight confines of the band’s instrumental set up, ‘90 in November’ passes with neither a hitch, […]
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