Stephen
Malkmus > Stephen Malkmus (Matador)
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| Tracks >
Black
Book; Phantasies; Jo Jo's Jacket; Church on White; Hook;
Discretion Grove; Troubbble; Pink India; Trojan Curfew; Vague
Space; Jennifer and the Ess-Dog; Deado |
| |
| Links
> Homepage
at Matador Records Official
Site Pitchfork
Review SonicNet
Review Village
Voice Review MetaCritic
All
Music Review |
| |
| Stephen Malkmus' solo debut is - for the most part - a
refreshing return to the playfulness of Pavement's
masterworks "Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain" and
"Wowee Zowee". From the insanely catchy and
very silly "Phantasies" to the Lou Reed-inspired "Hook" to the Yul
Brynner-name-checked
"Jo Jo's Jacket", this is a strong songwriting
return-to-form after the minor disappointment (thanks in
main to Nigel Godrich's overrated, Radiohead-worshipping
production hand) of
Pavement's swansong "Terror Twilight". Despite losing its way a little towards the end,
Malkmus has displayed here what we all suspected, that
yes, he is frighteningly good! |
Jeff
Mangum > Live at Jittery Joe's (Orange Twin)
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| Tracks
> Introduction;
A Baby for Pree/Glow Into You; Two Headed Boy; I Will
Bury You in Time; Gardenhead; Two Headed Boy Part 2; I
Love How You Love Me; Engine; Naomi; Jesus Christ; Up
and Over We Go; Oh Comely |
| |
| Links > Orange
Twin Page Neutral
Milk Hotel Site Pitchfork
Review Hear/Say Review
Fake
Jazz Review
All
Music Review |
| |
| This album finds the Neutral Milk
Hotel leader in an intimate Athens, Georgia cafe
emotionally bellowing out a dozen-or-so of his
imagery-ridden, psychedelic-folk gems. The audio quality
of Jittery Joe's isn't perfect (people chatter
constantly, baby crying can be heard!), but Mangum's
sheer bravado and remarkable vocal delivery more than
makes up for it. Jeff obviously left the set list at
home, as he endearingly stumbles from song to song,
obliging requests from an obviously small but attentive
audience. An achingly beautiful version of Phil
Spector's "I Love How You Love Me" is just
about the highlight, though his rendering of Neutral
Milk Hotel standards such as "Baby for Pree",
"Two Headed Boy" and "Naomi" is no
less affecting. As the true believers await Mr. Mangum's
next major musical move, Live at Jittery Joe's is
a wonderful little appetizer between main courses. |
Mazarin
> A Tall-Tale Storyline (Spin
Art)
Mercury
Rev > All is Dream (V2 Records)
Roger
McGuinn > Treasures from the Folk Den
(Appleseed)
The
Moldy Peaches > The Moldy Peaches (Rough Trade)
Paul
O'Reilly > First
Thing in the Morning (Vinyl
Junkie-Loose)
Outrageous
Cherry > The Book of Spectral Projections
(Poptones)
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| Tracks >
The Book of Spectral
Projections; Shadow of My Universe; The Unseen
Devourers; Fate's Strange Parade; The Hour Glass; Here
Where the Stars are Cracking Up; Wide Awake in the
Spirit World; My Demon Friend; Through Parallel
Dimensions; It's Only Sorcery; The Astral Transit of
Authority; History Magic; Of Transparent Versions; Is it
Time?; Everything's Back to Normal; When You Emerge;
Always Less Than Changing; Electric Child of Witchcraft
Rising; Spectral Sunrise; It's So Nice to Be Here |
| Links
> Poptones
Page Metro
Times Profile Q
Review SF
Weekly Review |
The
Red House Painters > Old Ramon (Sub Pop)
Alasdair
Roberts > The Crook of My Arm (Secretly Canadian)
Michael
Shelley > I Blame You (Bar None Records)
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| Tracks >
Mix Tape; Face in My
Pocket; Dear Mr. Webster; Don't Fence Me Out; Nine
Lives; Stoop Sale; Little Monkey; Favorite Graduate;
Let's Fall in Hate; Listening to the Band; I Blame You;
Don't Wait Up; Rollo |
| |
| Links
> Michael
Shelley's Own Homepage Michael's
UK Label - Shoeshine Michael's
US Label - Bar-None Launch
Review Shake
it Up!
Review Hip
Online Review All
Music Review |
| |
| New
York singer-songwriter Michael Shelley's brand of wimpy,
little guy pop comes from the school of BMX
Bandits, Jonathan Richman, Daniel Johnston, etc. Imagine
a dweebier Fountains of Wayne and you may get the
picture. His last album "Too Many Movies"
(1998) was a masterpiece of self-effacing, funny and
irreverent pop. It should have made him famous, but it -
of course - didn't. In the face of that artistic peak,
comes his follow-up "I Blame You". Frankly,
mainly due to a sub-standard production, this isn't a
patch on "Too Many Movies" and is a couple of
notches below his debut "Half-Empty" (1997)
and indeed his work with BMX Bandit Francis McDonald on
Cheeky Monkey's "Four Arms to Hold You"
(1998). However, it's still rather nice and still a cut
above most pop releases you'd hear these days. From the
opening track "Mix Tape", which is a
witty ode to audio courtships to "Let's Fall in
Hate", a gorgeous honky tonk duet with good friend
Laura Cantrell (whose "Not the Tremblin' Kind"
was clearly one of the better country albums of 2000)
this is a solid Michael Shelley record as opposed to a
great one. |
The
Shins > Oh, Inverted World (Sub
Pop)
Silver
Jews > Bright Flight (Drag
City)
The
Sixth Great Lake > Up the Country
(Kindercore)
Sloan
> Pretty Together (Murder
Records)
Smog
> Rain on Lens
(Drag City)
The
Strokes > Is This It (Rough Trade-RCA Records)
Various
> Timeless: Hank Williams Tribute
(Lost Highway)
| |
| Tracks
>
I Can't Get You Off My Mind (Bob
Dylan); Long Gone Lonesome Blues ( Sheryl Crow); I'm So
Lonesome I Could Cry (Keb' Mo'); Your Cheatin' Heart
(Beck); Lost on the River (Mark Knopfler/Emmylou
Harris); You're Gonna Change (Or I'm Gonna Leave) (Tom
Petty); You Win Again (Keith Richards); Alone and
Forsaken (Emmylou Harris/Mark Knopfler); I'm a Long Gone
Daddy (Hank Williams III); Lovesick Blues (Ryan Adams);
Cold, Cold Heart (Lucinda Williams); I Dreamed About
Mama Last Night (Johnny Cash) |
| Links
> The Timeless Homepage
Lost Highway
Records Billboard
Review Jam!
Review BBC
Review All
Music Review |
The
Tyde > Once (Dionysus-Orange Sky
Records)
Gillian
Welch > Time (The Revelator) (Acony)
Whiskeytown
> Pneumonia (Lost Highway-Universal)
The
White Stripes > White Blood Cells (Sympathy
for the Record Industry)
Lucinda
Williams > Essence (Lost Highway-Universal)
