Recent reviews

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

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

The Good Life

Album of the Year
Saddle Creek (2004)

Tim Kasher manages to juggle two well-respected bands without taking a noticeable break. The strident noise of Cursive may sound much harsher than the soft melodies of The Good Life, but most of the songs are on the same subject of unsuccessful relationships. The Good Life makes that disappointing love theme into a year-long affair on their third full-length album, Album of the Year. Each track on the album represents a different month for a total of twelve tracks. At some points, Album of the Year is similar to the grandeur of Bright Eyes' Lifted. Kasher is more conservative with his instruments in his relatively small band compared to Conor Oberst's full-blown orchestra. Kasher still manages to capture the remarkable full sound without being over-the-top. The album is kind of like an indie pop version of Vivaldi's "The Four Seasons." Each season is captured by this collection of songs: the sprightly liveliness of spring, the haziness of lazy summer nights, the haunting drabness of autumn, and the starkness of winter. Kasher recounts an entire relationship on the title track for the month of April. Each mood in the song is dictated by the instrumentation. The beginning of the relationship is … Read more

Tree Wave

Cabana
Made Up (2004)

The sound is akin to being smothered by some heavenly, heavily pixilated pillow- warm washes of analog static, compressed layers … Read more

Badly Drawn Boy

One Plus One is One
Astralwerks (2004)

Before writing this review I sat down to go through my usual pre-review writing routine which consists of listening to … Read more

Folsom

Folsom
West Coast Worldwide (2004)

With the way things are going in the music world these days, it should only be a matter of months … Read more

Isis

Oceanic Remixes Volume II
Robotic Empire (2004)

As I did with the review of Volume I, I will recommend that those of you who have not heard … Read more

The Shore

The Shore
Maverick (2004)

Could it be that my computer has a secret quality music detector and it was trying to warn me? My … Read more

Browse our review archives

Review categories

200 Words Or Less

749 reviews

Book Review

42 reviews

Classic Album

25 reviews

Multiple Authors

300 reviews

Review

4865 reviews

Video/DVD Review

19 reviews

One from the archives

L.A. Takedown

II (2017)
Ribbon Music (2017)

You don’t need to have been to Los Angeles to best experience L.A. Takedown’s latest album, II. It’s an album that’s evocative of a time and place, though it’s one that may or may not exist. The fact that it’s almost entirely instrumental (save for some lightly sprinkled vocoder in its final moments) doesn’t provide any concrete evidence. It’s an album length mystery, and one that’s worth the patience of letting it unfold.Led by Los Angeles-based composer/multi-instrumentalist Aaron M. Olson, the seven-piece band’s follow-up to L.A. Takedown’s 2015 self-titled debut is the first release featuring the full band -– keyboardists Ryan Adlaf and Jonah Olson, guitarists Miles Wintner and Stephen Heath drummer Mose Wintner, and bassist Jessica Espeleta. "Composer" is not a loose term in this case –- Olson studied … Read more

More album reviews

Parts & Labor/Tyondai Braxton

Rise Rise Rise
Narnack (2004)

Brooklyn strikes again with this 2-for-1 bargain from noise rock provocateurs Parts & Labor and loop-based composer Tyondai Braxton. Rise Rise Rise may only be the second major release from each of the two parties involved, but surprisingly enough, it manages to exhibit more progress than a second - not to mention split - release would normally demonstrate. Parts & … Read more

The Colour

The Colour is Out and About
Monarchy (2004)

"The Colour" are out and about - I guess. Yeah, okay. Center singer dude here sounds kind of like Robert Smith, guy from that one band, and sometimes sounds like...like notimportantenoughformetoknowhisnameleadsingerofHOTHOTHEAT (who are pretty much over at this point). The Cure is kind of 'in' again so yeah, who knows if this band will rise to fame or not with … Read more

The Veils

The Runaway Found
Sanctuary (2004)

Finn Andrews, the vocalist and guitarist of the Veils, once posed alone in front of a cemetery. The building behind the cemetery was grey, old, and had shingles flaking off the roof. The grass was an unsightly shade between jaundice yellow and moss green. There was a tree looming above the scene was bare and angular. Andrews fit right in … Read more

Camera Obscura

Underachievers Please Try Harder
Merge (2004)

With the state of pop music looking more and more depressing with every year, it is always nice to hear a band whose influences reach a bit deeper than the latest craze. In the case of Glasgow, Scotland's Camera Obscura (not to be confused with the San Diego band of same name), cues are taken as much from the British … Read more

Ween

Live In Chicago
Sanctuary (2004)

Note:If you need to really know how I feel about Ween as a band, please refer to my review on of their CD Quebec, on this very website. My other review contained a small bit on a time when I experienced Ween live. I have seen them again since, and considering this is a live DVD/CD package, I find it … Read more

Terror

One with the Underdogs
Trustkill (2004)

Terror might be the only band that could have had a successful career in music without playing a single show. The band's demo made its way online via their website and created a tidal wave of positive reviews that praised the band as the "saviors of hardcore." After the release of the demo, the band's first set of shows included … Read more

The Cure

The Cure
Geffen (2004)

Even if you're in a band whose career spans almost 30 years, there is a first time for everything. This is the first time the Cure have released an album on Geffen instead of Elektra Records. After self-producing many of their albums, they handed over the reigns of producer to Ross Robinson, who has produced for the likes of Limp … Read more

The Dillinger Escape Plan

Miss Machine
Relapse (2004)

The Dillinger Escape Plan (DEP) certainly have been enjoying the good life since releasing their last full-length, Calculating Infinity, back in 1998. The band was hand-picked by Mike Patton to tour alongside one of the bands they openly idolize, Mr. Bungle. A mutual respect between the two bands eventually led to DEP recording an EP, which contains Patton's musical vision, … Read more

The Killers

Hot Fuss
Island (2004)

I want to bash the Killer's debut Hot Fuss so much. The press sets them up easily for a beating; there's enough hype to fuel the world for a month or two and they focus on singer/songwriter/synthesizer Brandon Flowers. How could someone from Sin City have the last name Flowers and be in a band named the Killers? I looked … Read more

Oceansize

Effloresce
Beggars Banquet (2004)

A lot of my friends feel they have a duty to recommend me music. I don't mean to sound conceited, but I'm quite an educated individual when it comes to music of multiple genres. So when a friend suggests something to me, it's more often than not something I've already heard. But if I do have a weak spot in … Read more

Fall Out Boy

My Heart Will Always be the B-Side to My Tongue
Fueled By Ramen (2004)

Yo, this CD title sucks. It doesn't even really make sense. Also, fuck the packaging. It's not the average size of a jewel case, so it won't fit on my CD shelf. I have around five hundred cds, and they are taking up three full shelves on a good-sized bookcase, but next to those three shelves are a small pile … Read more

Zao

The Funeral of God
Ferret (2004)

Some would call Zao the musical embodiment of a soap opera. Even in their early years, they went through two lead vocalists and countless other band members. Their defining moments, however, were when vocalist Dan Weyandt entered the band and recorded Where Blood & Fire Bring Rest, Liberate Te Ex Inferis, Self-Titled, and Parade of Chaos. The drama didn't end … Read more

Alexisonfire

Watch Out!
Equal Vision (2004)

Back in the late nineties a handful of bands like Shai Hulud and Poison the Well began blending technical metalcore with more melodic, Midwest-style emo, building a sound that for the time was pretty innovative. After gaining a large amount of popularity, newer bands began emulating this style and making it more and more watered down. These are bands like … Read more

Jesse Malin

The Heat
Artemis (2004)

I love Ryan Adams - in a musical way. When I heard that Ryan Adams's partner in crime, Jesse Malin, was releasing a second album, I was excited. They are not only cohorts in the Finger (shh...they don't want you to know), but they also share the same roots. Boy falls in love with the punk scene, but then matures … Read more

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