The Hold Steady
Stay Positive
Vagrant (2008)
Stay Positive, the fourth album finds the Brooklyn by way of Minneapolis The Hold Steady trying to further their scope as musicians and lyricists while also tackling a greater challenge: aging gracefully. While there are stumbling points to the album, the band holds steady. It's these falters though that may cause a rift in the unified scene that vocalist Craig Finn so often name checks. If Boys and Girls in America splintered The Hold Steady's fan base, then this album, more radio friendly and polished, could create the dichotomy between cutting edge hipsters and casual music fans that call the group their own. Departing further away from the angular and bare song writing found on Almost Killed Me and Separation Sunday, this disc is full-bodied throughout. On previous records each instrument sounded detached from the others, playing in rough unison while Finn sputtered out narratives of folks who are, as writer Raymond Carver would say, "low rent tragedies." Their newest album goes exactly against that grain, achieving the sound they've been aiming for since their inception. Each player weaves their instrument into a behemoth rock sound similar to the style that filled arenas through the sixties into the early eighties. … Read more
Secret Chiefs 3
Xaphan: Book of Angels Vol. 9
Tzadik (2008)
John Zorn is well on the way to becoming the most prolific artist in music history. Through recordings from Painkiller, … Read more
Fuck Buttons
Street Horrrsing
ATP (2008)
When I was eleven my mother asked me if the family should remodel our basement, converting it into a living … Read more
Tokyo Police Club
Elephant Shell
Saddle Creek (2008)
Tokyo Police Club's A Lesson In Crime put the band in an awkward position. The seven-song EP gained a substantial … Read more
