Jimi Goodwin
Odludek
Heavenly Recordings (2014)
After a career spanning more than ten years and 4 critically acclaimed albums as the frontman of Manchester 3-piece Doves, Jimi Goodwin has been waiting quite a while before indulging in his first solo release. Taking direction from mix tapes that used to circulate between Goodwin and his friends, Odludek is a fiery and unpredictable album that embraces the eclectic … Read more
Jimmy Cliff
Rebirth
Universal (2012)
It’s always curious to see a veteran musician team up with their junior. Last year Jimmy Cliff joined with producer Tim Armstrong (Rancid) for the Sacred Fire EP, a pairing that sparked Cliff’s creativity and lead to this follow-up full-length. While it’s easy to note Armstrong’s presence on Rebirth (the album features a reappearance of the EP’s “Ruby Soho” cover), … Read more
Jimmy Cliff
Sacred Fire EP
Collective Sounds (2011)
Jimmy Cliff sounds pretty spry for a 63 year-old. The reggae legend is a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer (whatever that means) and holds England’s esteemed Order of Merit in addition to releasing several notable albums. Cliff hasn’t released a record since 2004’s Black Magic, but this teaser EP for a forthcoming 2012 LP raises the bar. The CD … Read more
Joan Of Arc
Joan Of Arc, Dick Cheney, Mark Twain
Polyvinyl (2004)
It's strange to think that Tim Kinsella has been at it for about decade now, using his inexplicable charms and off-key personality with groups like Cap'n Jazz, Make Believe, Owls, Friend/Enemy, and his long-standing Joan Of Arc project to create an impressive and utterly distinctive catalog. The man's certainly prolific, releasing at least one new addition to an extensive body … Read more
Joanna Newsom
The Milk-Eyed Mender
Drag City (2004)
The Milk-Eyed Mender came out in March and has been gathering press clips like a two-ton goliath going berzerk at a post-bar mitzvah shindig. It's freaking December and I haven't written anything about this record! So, what's a distraught proto-writer to do when 'best of 04' lists start trickling in? Easy! For you lovely readers, wherever you are, check the … Read more
Joanna Newsom
Ys
Drag City (2006)
It's no great feat to experiment sonically and stretch musical taxonomy into another "-core" (clarinet-core, pots-and-pans-core, sit-on-a-synth-and-fiddle-core). We aren't afraid of strange, so long as it's strange enough to earn a fucking modifier - fucking out there, fucking bizarre, fucking genius, man. However, the moment we can't rationalize an artist's eccentricity into concrete, tangible terms - political, intellectual, or conceptual … Read more
Jodis
Black Curtain
Hydra Head (2012)
It is roughly 5:30 AM at the time of my finally getting down to writing this and the sun is just breaking over the horizon outside my window, and the Jodis song “Red Bough” from their album Black Curtain is just starting to hit its stride providing an apt soundtrack to my bleary eyed state (I have been up all … Read more
Jodis
Secret House
Hydra Head (2009)
Jodis is finally making its way onto stereos after a bit of a wait since the group announced its existence. Jodis is a three piece outfit consisting of James Plotkin (Khanate, Khlyst, Atomsmasher, The Lotus Eaters, House of Low Culture), his former compatriot in Khanate Tim Wyskida, and Aaron Turner (Isis, Old Man Gloom, House of Low Culture, The Lotus … Read more
Joe Jackson
The Duke
Razor & Tie (2012)
Joe Jackson’s love of Jazz is no secret; with his new album being a tribute to the Jazz king Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington simply titled The Duke. Joe has been on the scene now for over thirty years putting out hits like his early pop work “Is She Really Going Out With Him” and “Sunday Papers” from the album Look … Read more
Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros
Live at Acton Town Hall
BMG, Dark Horse Records (2023)
Most music fans were stunned when Joe Strummer passed away in 2002. I’d recently skipped out on a Mescaleros show, thinking I had plenty of time to see the legendary musician. I honestly wasn’t all that into his work with the Mescaleros at the time, but Streetcore is one of the records of that era that’s still in heavy rotation … Read more
Joel Martin
The Tipping Point
Independent (2013)
Ottawa-native Joel Martin is back with his twelfth album entitled The Tipping Point. For someone who has spent the majority of his career experimenting with sound and innovative ways and techniques to strike his audience, it’s safe to say he has succeeded in showcasing his creativity and talent with this interesting collection of songs which best represent him as an … Read more
Joey Cape
Bridge
Suburban Home (2008)
Where does the aging punk-rocker go when his band's presence in the scene has all but evaporated, releasing new material only when the mortgage has to be paid or a new mouth to feed has entered the family unit, touring mostly when the opportunity is to travel overseas? He goes to the studio, unplugs the guitar, slows down the tempo, … Read more
Johann Johannsson
Orphee
Deutsche Grammophon (2016)
The Icelandic composer has risen magnificently in the last few years due to his works within the film domain. A prolific artist, Johannsson has contributed with scores for some excellent recent movies, including The Theory of Everything, as well as his frequent collaborations with visionary director Denis Villeneuve, in Prisoners, Sicario and the upcoming Arrival. Johannsson returns now with Orphee, … Read more
John Carpenter
Lost Themes
Sacred Bones (2015)
Having produced the energetic low-budget action picture Assault on Precinct 13 in 1976 prior to laying the foundations of the modern slasher movie with 1978's Halloween, film director John Carpenter positioned himself as a master of frightening and just plain exhilarating cinema with the early '80s trio of The Fog, Escape from New York, and The Thing. 1983's Christine (based … Read more
John Cate & The Van Gogh Brothers
X
American Music Partners (2011)
The newest John Cate & The Van Gogh Brothers album X has been released and I am happy to say it does not disappoint. The album has twelve tunes on it that fit well with what you have come to expect from John and the band, great melodies, three part harmonies, and lyrics that make you think. I have been … Read more
John Frum
A Stirring in the Noos
Relapse (2017)
Technicality in death metal is a very common treat, and it has been present within the genre since its beginnings. Through time this idea has evolved, moving from the likes of Death and Suffocation to acts like Artificial Brain and Ulcerate. John Frum is a new entry in this tradition, formed by members of some elite bands of the extreme … Read more
John Frusciante
Enclosure
Record Collection (2014)
Though he’s primarily known for being the former, on-again, off-again guitarist for Red Hot Chili Peppers, John Frusciante has long pursued a solo career that’s been full of peaks and valleys. After releasing a pair of somewhat fascinating, but difficult-to-listen-to albums in the 1990s, Frusciante hit his stride as a solo artist in the early 2000s, at one point releasing … Read more
John K. Samson
Provincial
Anti (2012)
It’s already been four plus years since the last Weakerthans record. If I weren’t aging quickly myself, that would feel like a long time. While I’m not sure what’s up with their status as a band, ringleader John K. Samson set aside time in early 2011 to record his first solo record, Provincial. The frontman, known for his somewhat nasal … Read more
