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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)

Matt Pond PA

Emblems
Altitude (2004)

I once had a substitute teacher that repeated something 10 times, because he said that people have to hear something at least 8 times before it actually gets into their head. I had to see Matt Pond PA in print 10 times before I went to buy their latest, Emblems. When I got to the store, they didn't have it until 2 weeks later. Matt Pond's voice inflections are at times like Tim Kasher resulting in the band having a similar sound to the Good Life. Another Tim Kasher connection is that Cursive has a song called "Butcher the Song," while Matt Pond PA has a song called "The Butcher." As if two connections were not enough, Cursive is one of the few bands that have a permanent cellist and so is Matt Pond PA! For a different comparison, Matt Pond PA have the pop sensibility of Death Cab for Cutie mixed with the somber undertones of Elliott Smith. The album begins with arguably the best track on the album, "KC." A catching number with lyrics filled with vivid imagery. The acoustic and electric guitar, cello, bass, and drums intertwine to produce a mellifluous sound that will force the melody … Read more

The Magnetic Fields

I
Nonesuch (2004)

Disclaimer: I am not actually going to write much about this album itself because I don't have too much to … Read more

Ryan Adams

Love is Hell
Lost Highway (2004)

Well, it's been a busy year for our friend Ryan Adams: a rock and roll record, two EP's, a broken … Read more

Secret Chiefs 3

Book of Horizons
Mimicry (2004)

For many, Secret Chiefs 3 is considered to be "Mr. Bungle minus Mike Patton." While I feel this description does … Read more

Plan of Attack

The Working Dead
Organized Crime (2004)

Upon their inception a few years ago, Plan of Attack was already a cut above a lot of the hardcore … Read more

Ween

Quebec
Sanctuary (2003)

Ween. What the fuck is Ween? I sure don't know. If someone asked me to tell them about Ween, I … Read more

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One from the archives

Off With Their Heads

From the Bottom
No Idea (2008)

Remember when the Dropkick Murphy's were good, when they were still a bunch of drunken rabble-rousers instead of highbrow hooligans cashing in on the idea that if you give any goon a Guinness or Smitwicks, it'll make them Irish? Can't remember that far back? It's been a few years. Want a refresher on what good, rowdy, bar friendly punk rock sounds like? Then do yourself a favor, go to you local record store and pick up Off With Their Heads' newest album From the Bottom. Oh you've heard that name before? Then once you hear this record you'll ask yourself the same question that I did: Why did I sleep on this band? Take one listen to this Minneapolis band and it's clear they spent their teenage years falling asleep … Read more

More album reviews

Crime In Stereo

Explosives and the Will to Use Them
Blackout! (2004)

I've gone off on tangents about the current state of hardcore in a bunch of other reviews, so I'll spare you the long-winded speech. We all realize that bands that would have been brushed over two years ago are starting to get a little more attention from the mainstream. And one of the hotbeds of this recent punk rock craze … Read more

With Passion

In The Midst Of Bloodied Soil
Earache (2004)

An important point in anybody's musical listening/purchasing career is when they first realize that there are LPs and EPs. The difference between the two is that the EP, extended play, is just a handful of songs, while the LP, long play, is a full complete album usually lasting between 20-60 minutes depending on the genre. What I soon realized was … Read more

Kanye West

The College Dropout
Roc-A-Fella (2004)

Each year there are only a few hip-hop discs I pick up and really enjoy. They have to be more than something I'll listen to for a month and then quickly tire of (ex. 50 Cent). The disc this year is Kanye West's The College Dropout. I first got the album way back in February, during the initial hype for … Read more

Harkonen & These Arms Are Snakes

Like a Virgin
Hydra Head (2004)

When I was in the sixth grade I had a birthday party and for some reason one of my classmates, his name was Seth, gave me a copy of Sir Mix-A-Lot's album Mack Daddy. I didn't ask for it, I guess he just assumed it was something I would enjoy. Anyways, contained on said album is a track entitled "Seattle … Read more

!!!

Louden Up Now
Touch & Go (2004)

This whole intro paragraph is going to serve as a completely unneeded expository explanation on how dance music has all of a sudden become huge with indie kids. Yeah, so dance music. It's become pretty big hasn't it? I guess there are a few kinds: shit like The Rapture, where's these sleazy kids dancing around; terrible stuff like The Faint … Read more

Multiple Authors

Keane

Hopes and Fears
Interscope (2004)

Well it's the middle of the summer, the sun is out, the birds are singing, and there is romance in the air. What a perfect time for the release of this year's album to fall in love to. In fact, as you are reading this review I can almost guarantee you that Hopes and Fears is aiding another pair of … Read more

Multiple Authors

Keane

Hopes and Fears
Interscope (2004)

My first listen: Let's get some facts straight. Keane is a three piece band. They don't have any guitars, instead there is a piano. They are also deemed as the "next Coldplay." That's quite a misnomer; Coldplay has a guitar, sometimes two, and rock a lot harder than Keane. And Coldplay doesn't even rock hard. They can't be the next … Read more

Animal Collective

Sung Tongs
Fat Cat (2004)

So here I am. Thinking of everything else I could be doing that does not include listening to the never-ending song by the Animal Collective. Forward. Sorry! I really do like them, they are doing "Something Different" and "Breaking New Ground", even. They're interesting, cryptic... in fact, this is the perfect record to add to your collection to prove just … Read more

John Vanderslice

Cellar Door
Barsuk (2004)

Breaking News: San Francisco's favorite singer-songwriter/space cadet has returned to the home planet for his newest release Cellar Door . As his spacecraft touched down, thousands of loyal fans anxiously lined up outside of record stores to the hear musical renditions of his latest journeys via compact disc. Once the fans had attained their own personal copy of the transmission … Read more

Bonnie "Prince" Billy

Greatest Palace Music
Drag City (2004)

I will admit, I read a few reviews of this record before buying it and I still had no idea what it was. Even by the time I picked it up I was clueless as to what this record held in store. Was it other people covering Will Oldham songs? Was it Will Oldham Covering other artist's songs? Was it … Read more

The End

Within Dividia
Relapse (2004)

Whether you call it tech-metal or mathcore, it's a style of music that has captivated the head-bangers of the world. Gone are the days of the traditional and straightforward songwriting of Metallica and Slayer, they have handed over the reigns to the next generation led by the likes of The Dillinger Escape Plan and Mastodon. And following right on the … Read more

Devendra Banhart

Rejoicing in the Hands
Young God (2004)

I work at this really cool toy store in Austin, TX called Terra Toys. No, I'm not trying to get a bunch of customers, this is just exposition. Anyways, Terra Toys is located on South Congress Ave., a street filled to the brim with stores containing all kinds of vintage clothes and furniture. Today, I was walking down to the … Read more

Killing the Dream

Killing the Dream
Rivalry (2004)

Today when homosapiens talk about the old school of hardcore they usually refer somewhere between the time periods of the early 1980s and the late 1980s. But as time goes on the gap begins to get larger and the definition of new school is constantly being reinvented. Look at a band like Youth Of Today for instance, when they emerged … Read more

Franz Ferdinand

Franz Ferdinand
Sony (2004)

Recently it seems like every magazine I pick up has something positive to say about Franz Ferdinand; Franz Ferdinand this, Franz Ferdinand that. It's always Franz, Franz, Franz! Yet there are still people who ask, "Who is Franz Ferdinand?" That?s a completely reasonable question, because not everyone reads music magazines. Archduke Francis Ferdinand?s assassination was one of many causes of … 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)