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Music Reviews Music reviews of new albums in pop, rock, folk, jazz, blues, classical, world, and hip-hop.

Music Reviews

Second Stage

One For The Team: 'Best Supporting Actor'

Minneapolis-based quintet One for the Team offers a healthy dose of sunshine on its sophomore album, Build It Up. The album, which first dropped this past summer, serves up a dozen tracks of jangly power pop, with glimmering unisex harmonies that offer a welcome balm to the wintry weather.

Best Supporting Actor

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Music

From McCartney, Young: Something Old, New

2008 has been a milestone year for music. Neil Young has released new solo albums in each of the past three years, and Paul McCartney is back this year with a surprising new album. Bob Boilen talks with Michele Norris about these stunning recordings, both new and old.

From McCartney, Young: Something Old, New

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Second Stage

Faded Paper Figures: 'North By North'

Southern California-based Faded Paper Figures wears its inspirations on its sleeve. On its MySpace page, bands such as The Postal Service and Stars are listed as major influences – a fact that's easy to hear on the electro-pop trio's debut, Dynamo. It features intriguing lyrics, the occasional duet, and plenty of drum machines and programmed keyboards.

North by North

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Kanye's Latest A Deeply Personal Departure

The Chicago rapper's new album, 808s and Heartbreak features him singing instead of rapping, but he's filtered his vocals through the voice processing system known as Auto-Tune, an increasingly popular trend among pop artists. The result is a melancholy, intimate and decidedly quirky effort.

Kanye's Latest A Deeply Personal Departure

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One Critic, Three New Pop Singles

Fresh Air

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews a trio of new pop singles: Pink's "So What," Beyonce's "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)," and "Crush," from onetime American Idol sensation David Archuleta.

One Critic, Three New Pop Singles

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Song Of The Day

The Foreign Exchange And The Internal Inferno

The group unpacks the emotions of an unfaithful lover in the sensual but scalding "House of Cards." Amid a hazy soundscape of haunting keyboard riffs, angst-ridden guitars and jackhammer beats, frontman Phonte Coleman confesses to himself: "There's no one else to blame / Your worst enemy is you."

House of Cards

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World Cafe

One Day International: Irish Indie-Pop

XPN

Produced by Bell X1 guitarist Brian Crosby, One Day International's Blackbird is full of melodic and intricate lullabies. Matt Lunson's emotional vocals tell stories of lovers and strangers, while the band's string and piano arrangements draw comparisons to Rufus Wainwright and Keane.

One Day International: Irish Indie-Pop

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At Long Last, 'Chinese Democracy' Exists

The making of Guns N' Roses' Chinese Democracy took more than a decade, during which time the hard-rock band spent many millions of dollars and experienced the departure of every prominent band member except reclusive singer Axl Rose. Now that the album is finally in stores, does it live up to expectations?

At Long Last, 'Chinese Democracy' Exists

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Second Stage

Michna: 'Swiss Glide'

The music of New York City-based producer and DJ Michna (also known as DJ Egg Foo Young) could be called trombone electronic dance pop. His debut album, Magic Monday, features smooth, down-tempo electronic beats, blended with plenty of urban flair, needle-drops, and Michna's own trombone work. Michna is a skilled trombonist and makes use of the instrument throughout Magic Monday.

Swiss Glide

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Song Of The Day

The Dead Trees: The Absurd And The Vulgar

Sometimes, song lyrics fall off a singer's tongue in such a way that their meaning is practically irrelevant. Michael Ian Cummings, singer and guitarist for The Dead Trees, already knows how to bend and slur words to his will, if his new album is any indication. "OK Standby" finds him conveying yearning without bothering to tell a linear story.

OK Standby

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Second Stage

Sara Lov: 'New York'

The Los Angeles-based dream-pop duo Devics has enchanted fans for years with its beautifully dark and moody music, but there's hardly been a peep from the band since its 2007 album, Push the Heart. Thankfully, singer Sara Lov has just released a solo EP, The Young Eyes, which features gorgeous ballads, setting her flawless voice over melancholic piano and strings.

New York

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Song Of The Day

McCoy Tyner, Derek Trucks: Timeless Melody

In the grand scheme of Tyner's discography (one of postwar jazz's most consistently invigorating), the duets collection Guitars feels like more of a curious one-off than a significant late-career addendum. In his new reinvention of "Greensleeves," the jazz-piano legend collaborates with blues guitarist Derek Trucks.

Greensleeves

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