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Music Reviews

Saturday

Friday

Song Of The Day

Percussive Thunder and Showers of Brass

Antibalas' nearly 13-minute Afrobeat epic "Sanctuary" unwinds with a graceful, unhurried pace that ever-so-slowly builds steam with each rhythmic reiteration. Though the bassline anchors the song, Antibalas works in a marvelously subtle mix of other elements.

'Sanctuary' by Antibalas

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Thursday

Coming Around to See the Point of The Knife

A Swedish duo who employ synthesizers and a dark, even macabre point of view may not be to every listeners' taste. But The Knife, whose CD Silent Shout was a favorite among music bloggers and Web sites like Pitchfork, may be an exception. Among the darkness, there is a lighter side.

Coming Around to See the Point of The Knife

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Song Of The Day

Bloc Party's 'Second-Generation Blues'

Singer Kele Okereke watches as society begins viewing him with suspicion in "Where Is Home?" Any instrument that's not a drum kit or a voice is almost beside the point: During the verses, guitars and keyboards hang around for atmosphere when they can be bothered to show up at all.

'Where Is Home?' by Bloc Party

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Wednesday

Amy Winehouse Debuts with 'Back to Black'

Fresh Air

Amy Winehouse is a 23-year-old British singer-songwriter who takes much of her inspiration from American soul and R&B. Her American debut album, Back To Black, topped the British charts and hit the American charts at number seven.

Amy Winehouse Debuts with 'Back to Black'

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Tuesday

Song Of The Day

The Return of a Long-Lost Boogie

"Boogie Blues" contains two minutes and one second of wonderful boogie-woogie, sung by a great jazz singer at a 1963 concert and never heard on record until now. Anita O'Day's Tokyo performance aired live on Japanese TV, then languished in the vaults.

'Boogie Blues' by Anita O'Day

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Ned Rothenberg's 'Inner Diaspora'

Fresh Air

Saxophonist and clarinetist Ned Rothenberg has always been a musical cosmopolitan. Early on, he studied jazz with George Coleman and shakuhachi flute in Japan. Rothenberg's new album, Inner Diaspora, sends him back to his roots.

Ned Rothenberg's 'Inner Diaspora'

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Monday

Explosions in the Sky's Instrumental Alternative

The Austin, Texas, band called Explosions in the Sky has spent eight years pursuing what might strike some as a tiny sub-speciality: alternative instrumental rock. The band has a new album called All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone.

Explosions in the Sky's Instrumental Alternative

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Friday

Song Of The Day

Sly Stone: After the Last Hurrah

By the time 1974's Small Talk came out, Stone was viewed as a has-been — a young, brilliant innovator burnt out by drugs and megalomania. A fresh visit to Small Talk, though, counters that assessment, as evidenced by the wry "Wishful Thinkin'."

'Wishful Thinkin'" by Sly Stone

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Thursday

Son Volt's Farrar & Co. Back With 'Search'

Alternative country band Son Volt has a new record out, their second release after a seven-year hiatus. Son Volt is a loose collective of musicians orbiting around Jay Farrar, a St. Louis-based singer/songwriter. Their latest CD is The Search.

Son Volt's Farrar & Co. Back With 'Search'

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Song Of The Day

An Electrified Mantra, Straight out of the '90s

There's something familiar about The Ponys' "Poser Psychotic." The two guitars create a dense blare, the rhythm section throbs with low-end gristle, and singer Jered Gummere intones in a slacker drone. There's no chorus, but it's compelling nonetheless, and in ways that feel eerily recognizable.

'Poser Psychotic' by The Ponys

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Wednesday

Song Of The Day

Finding Comfort in Feeling Trapped

Dolorean's You Can't Win wallows in the dark corners of singer Al James' psyche, but "Just Don't Leave Town" raises the discourse from miserablism to ambivalence. After a bit of downbeat self-analysis, James perks up as he hits a brightly shuffling, bittersweet chorus.

'Just Don't Leave Town' by Dolorean

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Tuesday