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Illinois

What the Hell Do I Know?
Ace Fu (2007)

It's hard to talk about bands you don't know. I feel like there should be a mental block when you describe a band that has a solid fan base, but that you've only listened to a handful of times. Nevertheless, you have to start somewhere, and every band (well, most bands) deserves a listen. So I go forth into the … Read more

Ben Weasel and His Iron String Quartet

These Ones are Bitter
Mendota (2007)

Growing up, Ben Weasel was the total embodiment of punk rock to me. Sure, NOFX was the band that hooked me in, but Screeching Weasel made me fall in love with the genre. Plus the dude's been wearing leather jackets and chucks since the late eighties and probably hasn't held a job with a salary or benefit plan for one … Read more

Two Gallants

The Scenery of Farewell
Saddle Creek (2007)

Two Gallants have left many critics, myself included, dumbfounded for a means of describing their music. Those less talented have made illusions to their folk rock contemporaries and labelmates, or a certain well-known rock duo, claiming vocalist/guitarist Adam Fontaine and drummer Hyde Edneud as the bastard sons of these groupings. The closest thing I have come across as to giving … Read more

Beastie Boys

The Mix-Up
Capitol (2007)

Everyone in the known universe that's ever listened to music has heard at least one (but more likely three-to-ninety) Beastie Boys song. They've connected with nearly ever corner of the music industry, inspired by and passing on the torch to musicians in hip-hop, rock, punk, dance, funk, jazz, soul, garage, indie, and electronica. So where does the band that's done … Read more

Kings of Leon

Because of the Times
RCA (2007)

Kings of Leon: the South's answer to rock and roll. Their dirty, sometimes bluesy, sometimes alternative rock can get even the drunkest college kid pumped and ready to roll. That drunken college kid "" I call him Joe Jack "" won't be disappointed with their newest album Because of the Times. On Because of the Times, the rock-o-meter is definitely … Read more

Shellac

Excellent Italian Greyhound
Touch & Go (2007)

The first Shellac record that I bought was Terraform in college. I popped it onto my record player and shortly thereafter fell oddly in love with Shellac's minimalist crushing sound. Todd Trainer (drums) and Robert Weston (bass) provide a heavy tight rhythm while Steve Albini (guitar) lays over a tin can like tone, or lack there of some might say, … Read more

Ian Cho

The Waking Woods
Tovian (2006)

Reviews of music this insular, personal, and weird usually end up talking about other artists. Something along the lines of: "Cho sounds like that one guy, but with a hint of that other guy. A complex ratatouille of influences including..." but I can't write that review for a couple of reasons. The first is that I don't spend a whole … Read more

The White Stripes

Icky Thump
Warner Bros. (2007)

"Ecky Thump," a Lancashire colloquialism, is most commonly described as slang for an exclamation of surprise, disbelief, or in recognition of something amazing. Icky Thump, The White Stripes sixth studio album, definitely lives up to it's name. The band released a statement on their official website explaining that: The White Stripes have completed the recording and mixing of their sixth … Read more

Elliott Smith

New Moon
Kill Rock Stars (2007)

Elliott Smith's tragic death is seemingly unavoidable when talking about his music. It seems so interlinked with the subject matter of his songs that one must always connect the two; many of his lyrics seem to prophesize his untimely death, referencing his unhappiness and growing drug addiction, and it's this that seems to draw many people to Smith's music. In … Read more

Tulsa Drone

Songs from a Mean Season
The Perpetual Motion Machine (2007)

As I sit on my bed and listen to Songs from a Mean Season, I am twenty hours removed from having all four of my wisdom teeth removed. The pain really isn't all that bad, but I can still taste blood when I swallow, and my cheeks are pretty bruised. Then I start to really listen to the music entering … Read more

Crayven

Colosseum
Independent (2007)

Some of the most memorable albums were created in the strangest fashion, The Doors' L.A. Woman comes to mind. Although not exactly a legendary album, the same goes for Crayven's debut EP Colosseum. Guitar and bass were recorded straight to the computer, vocals in the studio of a local radio station and the drums into a mic before going into … Read more

Queens of the Stone Age

Era Vulgaris
Interscope (2007)

Over the years, Queens of the Stone Age have managed to carve a deep niche into the hard stubbornness of mainstream music. Like his previous band Kyuss before, Josh Homme has created in Queens of the Stone Age a unique sound and style that sticks out like crazy on a milquetoast landscape. While the albums individually aren't always the most … Read more

Go it Alone

Histories
Rivalry (2007)

For the most part I tend to think of hardcore as the last bastion of true emotional outpouring for contemporary music. Hip hop and rap seems to be more concerned with stuff they want or stuff they are going to get. Metal either wants to bellow about goblins or how much their girlfriend sucks. Country music is a running joke … Read more

Death is Not Glamorous / Down and Outs

Split
Dead & Gone (2007)

Punk has always been international. When public intellectuals like Thomas L. Friedman began to trumpet the interconnectedness of a globalized world, American punks had already been booking tours, trading records, and making friends with their international brethren for years. It's a shining example of how the right cultural formation can dissolve political borders with ease - just as earlier rock … Read more

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