Metal-heads, brace yourselves: The first shockwave of the new year is quite a doozy. By now, Korn fans have heard about the band’s MTV “Unplugged” special and resulting LP. Pre-empting that session is “Freak on a Leash,” one of the band’s most popular singles. The pensive, seething “Freak” has been converted into a dark lounge […]
Country’s penchant for pop is no more evident than in the eminence of the Wreckers — Michelle Branch and buddy Jessica Harp — who topped Hot Country Singles with “Leave the Pieces” last fall (and now are riding the top 10 with “My, Oh My”). Given Branch’s mainstream rep with “All I Wanted” and Santana […]
MIMS is the latest rookie kicking on hip-hop’s door, donning Harlem fashion, swagger and flow and hoping to bring the coveted East Coast crown back to New York. In debut single “This Is Why I’m Hot,” he rhymes with a smooth Southern flow, enlisting Miami-based producer the Blackout Movement (along with perhaps a record-breaking 13 […]
The fact that Disney’s “High School Musical” soundtrack finished at No. 2 for 2006 delivers the unmistakable message that today’s youth are ravenous for the next generation of straight-ahead pop music. Ashley Tisdale, the 21-year-old who starred in “High School Musical” as well as Disney TV’s “The Suite Life of Zack & Cody,” already has […]
Mika, a 23-year-old male Beirut-born jack-of-all-musical trades, puts a jaw-dropping, wild-eyed Scissors Sisters-meets-Freddie Mercury four-octave vocal imprint on “Grace Kelly,” which topped U.K. singles in January — based solely on digital sales. From its audacious howling-into-a-squeal falsetto opening verse — “Do I attract you? Do I repulse you with my queasy smile?/Am I too dirty? […]
Whistling, maracas and a playful boy/girl duet made “Young Folks” one of the catchiest singles of 2006, and on “Writer’s Block,” the latest set from Swedish trio Peter Bjorn & John, there’s plenty more finely crafted pop splendor where that came from. The album is laced with spacey, distorted guitar fuzz, delicate ’60s pop […]
The title of this Mexico-born, Milwaukee-bred hip-hop trio’s fourth album translates as “Children of the Corn,” but the horror story goes back to the time of the conquistadores. A relentlessly militant call to reclaim the pride of Aztec roots and fight for immigrants’ rights wouldn’t work as well in the hands of less skillful […]
Mark Kozelek’s triumphant 2003 debut as Sun Kil Moon gets a second look with this new edition, rereleased on his own Caldo Verde label. Whereas “Ghosts” glows with ragged, Crazy Horse-style rockers (”Salvador Sanchez,” “Lily and Parrots”) and the gripping epic “Duk Koo Kim,” the six-song bonus disc that accompanies this new version spotlights […]
Vieux Farka Touré, the son of world music icon and Malian legend Ali Farka Touré, has taken up where his father left off with the release of this sublime debut album. Vieux plays guitar, calabash, sings and wrote seven of the 10 tracks on the record. His guitar work cannot but bring to mind […]
In a trio setting, the Hammond B-3 organ usually dominates the musical pace with its penchant for groove. Gary Versace certainly fulfills that role on guitarist Brad Shepik’s latest CD, “Places You Go,” especially on the uptempo opener “Témoin.” But Versace also colors, textures, riffs, muses and blasts with such a variety of sensibilities […]
While it’s been nearly a decade since gospel great Armstrong graced the top 10, she long ago reached that rarefied place where numbers alone are insufficient to convey her significance. Still, her latest offers all the markings of both an artistic and commercial triumph. Heavy-duty hitmakers (among them Rodney Jerkins, Freddie Jerkins and Smokie […]
Best-known for her starring role as Lucy on the TV series “7th Heaven” and for her role in such films as “Saw II,” Mitchell adds to her creative résumé with this engaging new CD. Being worked to the Christian and country markets, the material will appeal to both audiences, though lyrically it does lean […]
“Ricky Jay Plays Poker” is a stacked deck, a royal flush, a full house — heck, you pick the poker analogy and as long as it’s not about a losing hand, it will describe this utterly enjoyable box set.
Card-trick purveyor/magician Ricky Jay knows how to put together a crowd-pleasing show — and a […]
Smashing Pumpkins have announced the title and release date of their new album. Billy Corgan’s reformed rock heroes will release the follow-up to MACHINA/The Machines Of God in July.
The band’s first album in seven years is called Zeitgeist, according to a posting on the Pumpkins’ MySpace page.
There is still some confusion around the make-up of […]
