JJ Changes Their Name Slightly, But Not How Good They Are

by | Nov 24, 2014 | Music, Reviews

V is full of the polished sounds that have made JJ’s previous albums stunning opuses built on catchy instrumental loops and layered vocals. Tracks like “All White Everything,” “Full,” and “I” are so heavy they threaten to collapse inward, creating a musical...

Autumnal Notes on Newest Bear in Heaven

by | Aug 11, 2014 | Music, Reviews

  Bear in Heaven slip into Time Is Over One Day Old this August with the timely track “Autumn” as though in anticipation of that twilit, in-between season. Forget sun-soaked summer records — the group’s most recent offering is all over that ethereal, half-light...

Alvvays Rock Some Sweet Summer Sounds

by | Aug 7, 2014 | Music, Reviews

Summer is more than half over, but that doesn’t mean there’s no time to discover a fitting summer soundtrack. For next year maybe. Or to round off this one before autumn and winter set in. Either way, Canadian indie rock band Alvvays will still sound good, even in...

Wye Oak: Album of the Week on Treblezine

by | Apr 30, 2014 | Music, Reviews

The new Wye Oak is perfect! Here’s a teaser from my review over at Treblezine: “Tracks like ‘Before,’ ‘Shriek,’ and ‘Sick Talk’ effervesce in pleasant waves of synths and drum loops. Wasner’s vocals carry sunlight and...

Brilliant Musical Landscapes: S. Carey — Range of Light

by | Apr 23, 2014 | Music, Reviews

  One spin from S. Carey’s new offering, Range of Light, and a complex, layered, work of art unfolds that meanders somewhere between shadow and sun. Christened after John Muir’s name for the Sierra Nevada mountain range, Carey’s second album pulls off “sophomore...