Album Reviews » Passion of the Weiss

Nov
15

I immediately dismissed White Williams after noticing he was tabbed as the opening act on the Girl Talk/Dan Deacon Hipster Headache 07! tour (sponsored by Dewars.) Then I saw his album art, begging to be filed into the “why can’t irony finally die?” category. But upon closer examination, wading into this American Apparel infested territory… Continue reading »

Oct
25

Danny!-Danny is Dead!

Now that “Fiascogate” has crushed the dreams of the Okayplayer message board junkies who’d hoped to anoint him the rightful heir to the Native Tongues conscious rap throne, they’d be well served to redirect their dork-outs (like Buggin’ Out, but nerdier) towards 24-year old South Carolina MC, Danny!, a rapper/producer who reminds me of what… Continue reading »

Oct
16

Sunset Rubdown: Random Spirit Lover

I usually re-post my Stylus articles in their entirety here, but it feels wrong to to do so for this one, as seems to make a lot more sense over there. I told my editor, Todd Burns, it’s either one of the best things I’ve ever written for them or one of the worst. Hopefully,… Continue reading »

Oct
09

Band of Horses: Cease to Begin

Cease to Begin, the sophomore effort from Band of Horses sees its official Sub Pop release today and has been met with solid reviews, with Pitchfork throwing it a 7.7 and Stylus giving it a solid B. In his piece, Derek Miller wrote that, “Band of Horses can still pen some itchingly addictive tunes. Cease… Continue reading »

Oct
09

The Grateful Dead: Golden Gate Studios 1965 (Rare Studio Outtakes)

Reading Crock Tock’s review of the Dark Star Orchestra show in San Francisco has gotten me in a Dead sort of mood. To get my fix before I see DSO this coming Saturday at the El Rey, I’ve been listening to The Dead’s Golden Gate Studio’s Autumn demos, recorded on November 3rd, 1965, in the… Continue reading »

Oct
03

Clean Guns: World Domination EP

Considering Zilla, is a regular contributor to this site, I’m obviously not the most objective person to evaluate his music. But the truth is, if I didn’t think his music was great, I never would’ve asked him to blog for me in the first place. Since I first wrote about them roughly a year ago,… Continue reading »

Sep
28

The Deadly Syndrome-The Ortolan

There’s wolves in the garden,” Chris Richard belts out, midway through the fourth song of The Ortolan, the debut from the Silverlake quartet, the Deadly Syndrome. Every time I hear the line, it instantly triggers memories of an ‘80s movie that shall forever remain nameless, a fact I attribute to having spent one too many… Continue reading »

Sep
23

Beirut’s The Flying Club Cup Triumphs Over the Sophomore Slump

Beirut’s balkan flavored Gulag Orkestrar arrived last year swept up in a maelstrom of blog-hype, a buzz so deafening and feverish that it seemed almost irresponsible. And indeed, the band’s first live performances were met with a withering criticism that failed to take into account the fact that not only was Beirut front-man/master-mind Zach Condon… Continue reading »

Sep
14

The Go Team’s Proof of Youth

When the Go! Team emerged in late 2004, it finally became clear what the Avalanches had been doing for the last half decade: taking gravity bong rips, staying up all night eating Lucky Charms, and watching Season 1 of “ChiPs” and “Magnum P.I.” At least, that was the impression you got from their debut, Thunder,… Continue reading »

Sep
12

Madlib the Beat Konducta-Vol. 3 Live in India

Madlib sounds better when you’re stoned. This is a pretty widely known fact, one that I have personally verified over several years of dedicated empiricism. Sure, there have been detours over the course of his eight years of rapping/producing/DJing. In particular, the Shades of Blue jazz record only sounded better if you were high and… Continue reading »