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Our latest album reviews, featuring the records we've most enjoyed (or not) over the past few weeks.

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Browse our album reviews according to score: Highest (9.5/10 or more) or Lowest (2/10 or less)

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 unknown: Illinois' What the Hell Do I Know?. The first impression I got was the band's "biography," written by a friend who spent some amount of time hanging out with the band. It doesn't really describe the music at all, except that it fits Illinois' hometown of Bucks County, Pennsylvania quite well. The biographer mostly just talks about how cool the guys in the band are and throws out a little too many inside jokes. This kind of threw me off; since the bio told me nothing about what the band sounded like, I still felt in the dark. And I realized I don't really want to hear about inside jokes or how rowdy the guys in the band get, because I'm only in charge of judging the music. Somewhat confused and a little cynical already, I started the disc. … 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 … 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 … 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 … 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 … 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 … Read more

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One from the archives

Terror

The Damned, The Shamed
Century Media (2008)

Since forming in the year 2000, Terror has been unleashing a punishing assault of metallic hardcore punk to the masses. From the get-go with their four-song demo the band has delivered an intensity, especially that of frontman Scott Vogel, that is unmatched by any of their peers. The evolution of Terror may seem like nothing dramatic to the casual hardcore music listener, but with a careful ear one can find a shift in style as the band has released album after album over the years. While still maintaining a sound rooted in the metallic hardcore sound (Integrity, Leeway, Cro-Mags), the band has infused more leanings in a strictly metal/thrash direction over the years, never more evident than on this, their fourth full-length, The Damned, The Shamed. Right out of the … Read more

More album reviews

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

Dizzee Rascal

Maths + English
XL (2007)

Despite the abrasive nature of U.K. garage, Dizzee Rascal has performed the extraordinary task of achieving eminence in various circles of British music, from his immediate contemporaries in grime and hip-hop to the less approximate in metal and indie. The Arctic Monkeys have gotten in on some mutually reciprocal sampling, and Dizzee was an unexpected highlight of 2004's Carling Festival; … Read more

Pelican

City of Echoes
Hydra Head (2007)

Yeah, the guys in Pelican are busy dudes. City of Echoes is the band's third full-length and seventh record released since 2001. I admire their work ethic. For those of the initiated, Pelican is an instrumental outfit that tends to get lumped into the "Post"¦" categories (see post-metal, post-rock) along with bands like Isis and their ilk. To be honest, … Read more

Coconut Records

Nighttiming
Young Baby (2007)

Jason Schwartzman was first known for being the drummer of the alternative rock band Phantom Planet. But Schwartzman left the band in the middle of their third album to try his luck as an actor. Since then he has made his mark on the film industry in movies such as "I Heart Huckabees" and "Marie Antoinette." Now he is back … Read more

Porcupine Tree

Fear of a Blank Planet
Atlantic (2007)

I've been hoodwinked. Hornswaggled, if you will. Lied to for years. About what, you ask? Well, I'll tell you, you nosey sons of bitches. Porcupine Tree. For years I've had people tell me "Dude, (yes, dude is their preferred nomenclature) you need to check out Porcupine Tree. I know you hate prog, but check these guys out". Prog. Pfffft. You … Read more

The Copyrights

Make Sound
Red Scare (2007)

Like the Bible's steadfast conviction in the second coming of Christ, I knew this day would someday come. And goddamnit, it's here! Pop punk - real pop punk - has returned. While far too many bands are priding themselves convoluted songwriting, a whole new batch of bands - some old, some new - are popping up and proving that all … Read more

Full Contact / Heartbreak Kid

GNP Split Series Vol. 1
GNP (2006)

Split CDs are never a good idea because you usually don't have any clue what's going on, especially when you have two bands that sound alike. At least with vinyl, you have to make a conscious effort and turn the piece of wax over. Maybe the first GNP Split Series will be the split CD that changes everything for me. … Read more

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Browse our album reviews according to score: Highest (9.5/10 or more) or Lowest (2/10 or less)