Pay no attention to the reviews that imply the New Pornographers have “grown up” or “matured” or “drifted away” from the perfect-pop promise of their first three records. For if you throw darts at the songs on Challengers, an ambitious soundscape that had members of the all-star Canadian band recording their parts all over […]
Tweens aren’t often heralded for their good judgment and excellent taste (Heelys–hello), but if any young starlet can redeem them, it’s Hannah Montana. On this, the second soundtrack from the Disney Channel series, Miley Cyrus takes her cues from her TV alter ego, who has an alter ego of her own: Disc 1 features […]
Amy Winehouse’s second album, Back to Black, is one of the finest soul albums, British or otherwise, to come out for years. Frank, her first album, was a sparse and stripped-down affair; Back to Black, meanwhile, is neither of these things. This time around, she’s taken her inspiration from some of the classic 1960’s […]
What fun! This soundtrack of the film adaptation of the Broadway musical overflows with glossy, ol’ fashioned ’60s-style pep. It won’t win any awards for innovation, but it may well be one of the most feel-good releases of the year. While not quite as super-energetic as the original Broadway cast, the new crew ain’t […]
Menacing as they sound, the songs of mass destruction gathered on Annie Lennox’s fifth solo disc don’t manage to so much as nick the gorgeous instrument she’s built her career on. Weaving artfully as ever around the contours of songs that suggest the worst–Lennox is world-wise and therefore maybe inevitably world-weary–she imparts gravity and […]
Fans of High School Musical can breathe easy: Based on this soundtrack, the sequel is just as good, and perhaps even better. Though its trailer asked “Are you ready for the start of something new?” HSM2 isn’t turning the franchise into The Wire, and really is more of the same–which is, of course, totally […]
Garth Brooks may be retired from touring, but he’s not slowing down.
Brooks announced Saturday that a greatest hits package called “The Ultimate Hits,” with four new songs and a DVD full of videos, will be released on Nov. 6.
Brooks, 45, retired in 2001 to be a stay-at-home dad. He said he has no plans to […]
Music China will return to the Shanghai New International Expo Centre this October for its biggest showing yet. The 2007 fair will feature over 1, 000 exhibitors from 22 countries & regions, and will cover 60, 000sqm in five halls. Amongst the confirmed exhibitors are some of the most recognisable brands in the music business […]
Rilo Kiley follows up the success of 2004’s “More Adventurous” with a slickly produced, eclectic batch of songs on “Under the Blacklight.” The 11-track set ranges from bouncy, shimmering disco (”Breakin’ Up”), to hazy shoegaze (”Dreamworld”) and sleazy, Heart-inspired funk (”The Moneymaker”). Lyrically, always-astute frontwoman Jenny Lewis tackles everything from Los Angeles’ porn industry […]
Big-voiced reggae pioneer Toots Hibbert uses “Light Your Light” to powwow with friends, revisit some road staples and pay respect to fellow Jamaican musical giants (Clement “Coxsone” Dodd, the Skatalites). The first two tracks are very much vehicles for Derek Trucks (”Johnny Coolman”) and Bonnie Raitt (”Premature”), and it’s not until a cover of […]
Throughout his career, guitarist Bill Frisell has worn a coat of many colors, ranging from red-seared rock in John Zorn’s mid-’80s “Cobra” game pieces to his earth-toned roots music fascination following his 1997 bluegrass-jazz “Nashville” masterwork. But he’s never participated in the freewheeling kind of creative convergence spotlighted on “Floratone.” Frisell springs loose by […]
On his third album, singer-songwriter Jeremias takes his smart, well-crafted pop and leaves it out in the sun for a while, letting its vintage Beach Boys and Beatles tones come to the surface. Among the many treats are the album’s anthemic title track, a gorgeous blend of strings, organ, psychedelia and even reggae […]
If there’s any criticism to be made of Talib Kweli’s fourth full-length set, it’s the length — 20 tracks crammed to capacity on a single CD, not uncommon in hip-hop but still a stultifying amount of material that does something of an injustice to the best stuff. Much of that is frontloaded, at least, […]
Metalcore star As I Lay Dying explained that the loose theme behind “An Ocean Between Us” addresses the divide between public expectations and the band’s own idea of success. It takes this idea to heart with such titles as “I Never Wanted” and the defining “This Is Who We Are,” and pushes in new […]
