(This is a review of the new Cunninlynguists’ album Dirty Acres. It seems no one wants to listen to this band because of their name, but don’t let that stop you! I haven’t written a review in a while, but lemme know what you think.)
My first review for the silhouette this year.. I whipped it up while waiting for the internet to arrive last afternoon without actually getting the CD out of the shrinkwrap. That’s how hardcore I am.
Idlewild – Warnings/Promises
Oh, copy control. Thanks to you this CD might “encounter playback problems” on my CD player. […]
The first track on Poorfolk’s self titled debut made one thing
painfully apparent: naming a CD after another genre and adding some
swishy guitars isn’t always enough to distinguish an album from that
burgeoning heap of mostly uniform, pleasantly mediocre indie bands,
especially when Jonathan Pearce’s voice sounds exactly like half the
lead vocalists already going. But unfortunately for […]
After just 2 or 3 listens Keren Ann Zeidel’s English debut had
snuggled up against my subconscious. The songs all sounded familiar
and I already delighted in each one while anticipating the next.
Keren’s style is light, easygoing and very difficult to dislike. Her
gentle voice caresses your ears as the dreamy but catchy melodies
float over sparkling […]
When listening to Beneath Augusta’s debut, it’s easy to think of Muse with the bombast knob cranked down, combined with a bit of the laudable aimlessness of Elbow-or, more appropriately, to the sound of Bends-era Radiohead B-sides. In fact track nine sounds absurdly similar to “the Trickster,” and while that’s not bad in itself, it […]
It’s easy to think this album is a little silly, or even stupid. On first listen, I was noted to raise my eyebrow in confusion and disbelief when I heard the striking couplet “Did you take tram #7 to heaven? / Did you eat your banana from 7/11?”
Eventually, my incredulity was eroded away by the […]
Despite Clann Zú being being credited with writing all the music here
as a band, moreso than other groups, the driving force seems to be the
singer and lyricist, Declan DeBarra. He wears his ragged heart
unabashedly on his sleeve, and his distinctive voice is at the centre
of every song: at times plaintive, shrieking, delicate, or intense.
The […]
Flogging Molly basically sound like The Pogues with a punk band and more predictibility. That is to say, rollicking Celtic tunes mostly on the traditional instruments (squeezebox, fiddle, pipes) with strong rock underpinnings in the rhythm section.
The fiery spirit of Celtic music suits a marriage with punk, but I find the distorted guitars don’t really […]
In the tradition of the Bob Dylans and Leonard Cohens of yesteryear, Josh Ritter is an unashamed balladeer. His deep, enchanting voice flows over folky acoustic guitar, Hammond organ and percussion. The sound is clean, rich, and maybe you’ve heard it before. It really would be a bit silly to say he’s crossing musical borders, […]
Clarence “Citizen Cope” Greenwood’s descriptively titled sophomore disc is an unfortunate step-down, or at least sideways, from his promising but not spectacular self-titled debut. Greenwood’s music is an interesting hybrid between downtempo, hip hop, and reggae. He croons and half raps lyrics about our troubled times, but they are too specific to carry universal import […]
The Sadies like to defy easy categorization. Their sound takes on elements of bluegrass, country rock, surf, and psychedelia, but it’s not such a strange combination: all these allegedly disparate styles sound natural together.
Favourite Colours is a wash of deep bass, clear-ringing picked steel and good old fashioned country twang. The melodies themselves are straightforward […]
I’ve had this album for a while. Last year I listened to it once, was impressed, listened to it again, thought ‘this has good chance of becoming a contender for top 10 albums of 2003 or some such silly nonsense like that’. And then I promptly forgot about it completely.
Enter late August 2004, stage right. […]
Canadian songstress Kate Rogers is probably best known for her collaborations with artists Aim and Rae&Christian. Her work on Aim’s truly monumental “Sail” got her some attention, and proved beyond a doubt that her voice is among the leaders in the biz. Haunting, delicate, beautiful, and on that track slightly unintelligible. Now she releases St. […]