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

Music Reviews

Friday

Song Of The Day

Lyrics Born: Hip-Hop's Simple Pleasures

Lyrics Born, an indie rapper from San Francisco, recalls a time when hip-hop was almost invariably fun, brisk, and at least somewhat lighthearted. "I Like It, I Love It" speaks to a moment when hip-hop, pop, R&B, and a sing-along hook rolled together as one.

'I Like It, I Love It' by Lyrics Born

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Wednesday

Song Of The Day

Splitface And June 16th: Fresh Start, New Planet

The debut album from underground hip-hop producers Splitface and June 16th imagines that its heroes have destroyed Earth (because radio here is too corporate) and become DJs at a station on another planet. "Calm After the Storm" hits one of the album's more optimistic notes.

'Calm After the Storm' by Splitface and June 16th

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Tuesday

Song Of The Day

The Mae Shi: Punk With A Bubblegum Soul

The Mae Shi's work is typically marked by an obsessive urge to create and destroy: It crams many catchy riffs into a single, painfully short song, but then also adds carefully timed choral screams on top of the guitar-strewn snippets, turning the mess into a frantic, joyous post-punk collage.

'Run to Your Grave' by The Mae Shi

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Monday

Second Stage

Ral Partha Vogelbacher: 'Party After the Wake'

Screeching feedback has never sounded more beautiful than it does on Ral Partha Vogelbacher's latest CD, Shrill Falcons. Frontman Chadwick Bidwell says he was listening to a lot of doom metal and noise rock when he set out to compose the album, so it's no surprise he came up with a richly textured collection of songs. Fuzzy guitars rumble over crackling synths and multi-colored, ambient drones.

"Party After the Wake"

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Song Of The Day

DeVotchKa: Soaring And Silken, Sad And Lovely

DeVotchKa's sound is a surprisingly potent potpourri of cabaret, spaghetti Western, and Eastern European Gypsy songs. In "Head Honcho," Nick Urata's gorgeous voice holds the melting pot together as a lone accordion intrudes upon his reverie, insistent and beautiful.

'Head Honcho' by DeVotchKa

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Sunday

Friday

Second Stage

Maps And Atlases: 'Ted Zancha'

The Chicago-based math-rock group Maps and Atlases can pack a lot into a three-minute song. The group's latest EP, You and Me and the Mountain, is a supercharged mix of odd meters, intertwining guitar runs and hurried, half-spoken vocals that pass so quickly, it's nearly impossible to follow with just one listen.

"Ted Zancha"

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Song Of The Day

Jukebox The Ghost: Promise Of A 'Good Day'

Often compared to the likes of Ben Folds, or even a muted incarnation of Queen, Jukebox the Ghost makes music that's buoyant without leaving a saccharine aftertaste. Exhibit A: the flamboyantly orchestrated "Good Day."

'Good Day' by Jukebox the Ghost

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Thursday

Second Stage

The Great Northwest: 'Know What I Mean'

If his sprawling online writings are any indication, Brian Coates, frontman for the slowcore group The Great Northwest, has a head full of so many ideas, it's impossible to silence them. It's not a frenetic burst of creative energy, but more of a steady, babbling stream, which is exactly what The Great Northwest's debut album, The Widespread Reign Of sounds like.

"Know What I Mean"

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Wednesday

Old 97's 'Blame It On Gravity': Taut and Delicate

Formed in Dallas, the Old 97's were long pigeonholed as an alt-country band. They never were — just a rocking quartet with a terrific songwriter up top. They've just put out their best album in seven years.

Old 97's 'Blame It On Gravity': Taut and Delicate

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Second Stage

Sydney Wayser: 'Papa Don't Worry'

Singer-songwriter Sydney Wayser wears her heart on her sleeve. It's a risky move for any musician who wants to be taken seriously, particularly for one like Wayser, whose song stylings are a bit theatrical to begin with. But on her debut collection of piano-driven siren songs, Wayser manages to tread the line between mawkish melodrama and heartfelt elegance with few stumbles.

"Papa Don't Worry"

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Song Of The Day

Baby Dee: Peace Beyond Tragedy

Transgender singer-songwriter Baby Dee has a rich, captivating, otherworldly voice. It soars majestically over mournful, sustained piano chords in "Safe Inside the Day" before retreating and returning, boldly and forcefully. Her voice is a force of nature, marked by dramatic outbursts and an unmistakable air of sadness.

'Safe Inside the Day' by Baby Dee

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Tuesday

Second Stage

Nana Grizol: 'Circles 'Round The Moon'

It'd be easy to dismiss the Athens, Ga., band Nana Grizol as yet another twee college rock group from a town that churns out cutesy artists with yawn-inducing regularity. But from the opening bars of the first track, "Circles 'Round the Moon," with its frolicking guitars and sing-along melody, it's clear that Nana Grizol exudes earnest and irresistible charm.

"Circles 'Round The Moon"

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Song Of The Day

Aaron Parks: Atom-Smashing Jazz Accelerator

WBGO

"Nemesis" is less about being jazz or rock than it is about providing a sonic environment. Pianist Aaron Parks adds some contrasting touches: A mellotron and glockenspiel combine with piano and keyboards to create his own episodic drama. Coming from an album with the appropriate title Invisible Cinema, this is soundtrack music for a movie waiting to be filmed.

'Nemesis' by Aaron Parks

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Monday

All Songs Considered

Sneak Previews: Of Montreal, Okkervil River

We'll soon begin making a list of the year's best albums. Okkervil River and Of Montreal are back. Also, Steve Earle and Gillian Welch, Jeff Hanson, The Walkmen and The Broken West.

Sneak Previews: Of Montreal, Okkervil River

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