HELIUM LEADER CRAFTS ‘RADIO-FRIENDLY’ RECORD WITH EX HEX
By Nick McGaw A common complaint leveled at left-field bands is that they never just settle down and write a great album. Experimentation is fine for courting critical acclaim and probably for stay...
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PRINCE’S 3RDEYEGIRL HITS AND MISSES ON DEBUT
By Emily Votaw Playing as Prince’s backing band is no small task. Over the past couple of years, 3rdeyegirl has served as Prince’s three-lady backing ensemble with an apparently encyclopedic knowle...
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PRINCE’S ZANY and CAPTIVATING RETURN WITH ‘ART OFFICIAL AGE’
Emily Votaw “Art Official Age” is the 33rd album that Prince (Rogers Nelson, of course) has released over the course of his almost four-decade-long recording career – but who’s counting? The record...
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ROBERT PLANT’S BREATHTAKING, GLOBE-TREKKING ‘ROAR’
Of course it was Mick Jagger, not Robert Plant, who famously sang, “You can’t always get what you want/ But if you try sometime you find/ You get what you need.” But the Rolling Stones lyric is a fitt...
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RYAN ADAMS IS HIMSELF ON SELF-TITLED ALBUM – FOR BETTER OR WORSE
By Emily Votaw Ryan Adams has finally put out a self-titled record, which, from a fan’s perspective, seems like nothing but a beam of hope. After years of incredibly prolific releases – some hit, som...
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HALF JAPANESE GET HAPPY WITH ‘OVERJOYED’
By Emily Votaw Half Japanese is doing just fine. Months after finishing up a number of dates with Neutral Milk Hotel in late 2013 and a little more than a year after the re-release of “Half Gentlemen...
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PHISH’S “FUEGO” MIGHT BE BAND’S BEST ALBUM
By Michael Lello One of the most unfortunate results of the constant comparisons of Phish to the Grateful Dead is the assumption that the band is only worth paying attention to in the live setting. ...
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CONOR OBERST SHOWS MATURITY ON “UPSIDE DOWN MOUNTAIN”
By Max McKeon Boy genius. The next Bob Dylan. Conor Oberst has dealt with these claims head-on in his lengthy career, and rightfully so. Since performing and recording at the ripe age of 13, Oberst h...
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BLACK KEYS CHANGE DIRECTION WITH TRANSITIONAL ALBUM
By Max McKeon Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney are at the cross roads. The two core members of the Black Keys have developed a defining sound that listeners instantly recognize. Stumbling out of the...
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HOWLIN’ RAIN CONJURES ’70s ROCK HEROES ON LIVE ALBUM
By Michael Lello What if your classic rock station started playing new songs one day? Raw, bluesy, ballsy stuff in the tradition of Led Zeppelin, Free and Mountain? Well, don’t hold your breath. B...
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