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

Music Reviews

Thursday

Song Of The Day

Homey Intimacy, Soaked in Strings

Often recalling the rustic delicacy of Iron and Wine — if it were soaked in strings and robbed of some of its stark clarity — Horse Feathers' music radiates homey intimacy, as Peter Broderick fleshes out Justin Ringle's voice and guitar with all manner of warmly unamplified instrumentation.

'Hardwood Pews' by Horse Feathers

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Wednesday

Song Of The Day

Three Decades of Pop Music, Colliding at Once

"In the Clouds" practically bursts with infectious energy, spilling over with disco beats and Vocoder-enhanced backing vocals, while singer Aaron Bruno unleashes a mean falsetto, evoking a younger and hipper Barry Gibb. The result is a fun, sexy anthem that shimmies with a cool confidence.

'In the Clouds' by Under the Influence of Giants

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Tuesday

Song Of The Day

Futuristic Funk That Draws on the Past

On an itchy masterstroke, I.G. Culture leads a group called Quango, channeling George Clinton's Mothership Connection by exhuming "Frantic Moment," an obscure 1977 gem from Parliament-Funkadelic's late guitarist, Eddie Hazel.

'Frantic Moment (Original Cover)' by Quango

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Monday

Song Of The Day

AM Radio Gets a Modern Sheen

The Texas band Midlake has changed its sound dramatically on The Trials of Van Occupanther, transforming its poppy, keyboard-driven music into a deeper, '70s-influenced folk-pop experience. But there's also a refreshingly modern touch to "Roscoe."

'Roscoe' by Midlake

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Sunday

Marking Milestones with Bob Dylan's 'Modern Times'

Bob Dylan's new album "Modern Times" comes out this week. Commentator Adam Langer says he can measure the milestones of his life in Dylan albums — and this one is no exception.

Marking Milestones with Bob Dylan's 'Modern Times'

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Friday

Song Of The Day

A Protest Anthem That Rocks and Stomps

The backbeat of Gov't Mule's "Mr. High and Mighty" is a heavy-lidded blast of '70s stomp-rock — Foghat's "Slow Ride" functions as a not-so-distant cousin. But rather than extol stoner virtues, the song expresses indignation over the doings of the craven and powerful.

'Mr. High and Mighty' by Gov't Mule

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Culture

OutKast Goes Old School in 'Idlewild'

You won't mistake Idlewild for Busby Berkeley's portrayal of Hollywood's golden age. But then, that was equally true of Martin Scorcese's New York New York and Francis Ford Coppolla's Cotton Club.

OutKast Goes Old School in 'Idlewild'

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Thursday

Song Of The Day

Music for the Morning After, and Beyond

Musicians often chronicle the anguish, adjustments and small triumphs associated with a relationship's end. But few capture the emotional rawness and suffocating isolation quite as powerfully as Lisa Germano's "Too Much Space."

'Too Much Space' by Lisa Germano

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Wednesday

Song Of The Day

Rainer Maria Ditches Accusation for Empathy

"You're so terrified / so terrified," Rainer Maria's Caithlin De Marrais sings with neither rancor nor disappointment, and the reason becomes clear as she hits that word "so" a third time, spins it from an intensifier into a conjunction, and sings, "So am I," recasting everything to admit to her own weaknesses.

'Terrified' by Rainer Maria

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Tuesday

Song Of The Day

Lily Allen: Tomorrow's Pop Today

Though she remains relatively obscure in the U.S., Lily Allen has spent the summer establishing herself as queen of the U.K. pop-music scene. Having already attracted blog- and press-fueled hype to rival that preceding Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy," Allen exudes swaggering star quality on "Smile."

'Smile' by Lily Allen

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Monday

Song Of The Day

A Warm Song Made from Modest Parts

Page France's nuanced, clever folk-pop is carefully constructed using acoustic guitar, organs, glockenspiel, tambourine and the pretty backing vocals of keyboardist Whitney McGraw. Meanwhile, Michael Nau's striking voice lends the band's music an air of sincerity and innocence.

'Antarctica (My Beloved Home)' by Page France

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Friday

Song Of The Day

A Mission Statement Against Moping

In fewer than three minutes, "Tell Me Tell Me" showcases what The Adored is all about, from an over-arching philosophy — they're right; you're wrong; don't take anything too seriously — to a perfectly punchy power-pop sound.

'Tell Me Tell Me' by The Adored

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The Sounds of Panama's Mixed Musical Heritage

Migrant workers came from around the world to build Panama's transportation systems. They brought, among other things, music with them. Dozens of bands that came to be known collectively as Combos Nacionales married musical styles as distinct and distant as New York boogaloo, Cuban descarga and Trinidadian Calypso. Panama: Latin, Calypso and Funk at the Isthmus charts this uniquely Panamanian hybrid.

The Sounds of Panama's Mixed Musical Heritage

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