Music reviews. CD reviews. Critically hip!

Mississippi natives 3 Doors Down are a band who emerged in 2000 with the chart topping single, "Kryptonite" and went on to sell more then six million copies of their debut album, The Better Life. The foursome returns this year with their sophomore effort, “Away From The Sun.” Produced by ...

I really wanted to like KING KONG SERENADE more than I did. Allen Shadow is a pseudonym of Allen Kovler, a poet and performance artist who left New York City in the 1980s and sought fame and fortune in Nashville as a songwriter.  Tiring of playing the songwriting plugging game ...

Quality is very important when trying to make good music. Everything has to be it's absolute best to impress listeners and really make them want to go out and buy an album. I know this and you know this but I think that someone forgot to inform American Popular. The ...

When Awol One says "you call her J-Lo, I call her Fur-Pants", in that I-just-woke-up voice you wonder if he might know something Affleck doesn"t. Over the spirited and distinctively indirect production of Daddy Kev "Slanguage" tick-tocks comfortably like an afternoon spent with the local jazz enthusiast in his den. ...

"Phoenix" commences with a coarse, almost emo-core disposition (Worst Part), and shifts into stringent, militaristic riffing by track three (Closer). The mantra-like ending of Closer recalls Garrison, and the mini album ends with phrasing that makes you think of Cave In on their own Tides of Tomorrow EP.  Some of ...

After listening to Brooke Ramel's most recent album, Be, and absolutely loving it. I was excited and curious when I found that I was going to be reviewing the album that preceded it. It's also a great experience to see an artist grow and learn with each album to see ...

The title doesn't quite fit the intensity within. Sure, they're said to have "cleaned" it up a little since the early EP's but that says nothing about the show of instrumental force taking place here - nothing short of an off the dial outburst of propulsive percussion, pit riffs and ...

The blockbuster action flick for February gets a twenty-song soundtrack of equal value featuring a bevy of today's biggest Rock artists serving up the perfect compliment to a little crime fighting drama. With the exception of Evanescence, a female fronted electronimation newbie that's getting an extra ounce of pressure from ...

Latin rap is steadily on the rise and every year, it seems to get better and stronger. Delinquent Habits is a latino rap band from California looking to make their mark and impress the world. And if they keep putting out albums like this one, they're sure to hit their ...

ULTRAVIOLET is a remix project by Nicolas Matar. Those who thought that Disco, dance, or whatever you want to call it would be a dead genre will be surprised to note that Matar is a second generation mixer; his father was an original member of Studio 54 (now, alas, used ...

Frederic Galliano is a Paris-based DJ/producer/musician who definitely has his head somewhere the rest of us haven't gotten to as yet. His African Diva project combines a host of musicians and singers that makes Sun Ra's Arkestra look like an unplugged project and mixes American electronica with traditional African tribal ...

Holocaust's ninth album sees mainman John Mortimer (guitar and vocals) bring in new band members for this return to their HEAVY roots. These are fellow Scot John McCullim on guitar and two Yanks: Ron Levine (drums) and Bryan Bartly (bass). The album was recorded in both the States and Scotland. ...

Metal evolves, and we're left with the consequences. I write this review with a mouth full of salt water (seriously) so I can accurately convey the mood. If I swallow the water I'll puke, and these songs make me feel similar -- in a good way. The darkest riffs lay beneath ...

Going solo is always a monumental move. It can either prove to be very successful or disastrous. Immature has been around for as long as I can remember. I sang their songs and watched every single video they had. So when I saw Marques Houston's video and heard he had ...

The Mullet, also known as"10-90," "Beaver Paddle," "Ape Drape," "Camaro Pelt," and… Canadian Passport?" These, among many others, are just a few of the amazing discoveries you'll make on this latest 35-track trip through ol' school dreams and adult life damnation. "Kentucky Waterfall?" The list is endless and is a ...

I'll come right out and say I admire them for sticking to the no bullshit standard Rock - guitar, bass, drums, vox - formula without yielding to hype-driven thematics and in-studio plagiarism for the sake of in step crowd pleasing. At first glance, the "Emo" tag is easily employed, and ...

The title doesn't quite fit the intensity within. Sure, they're said to have "cleaned" it up a little since the early EP's but that says nothing about the show of instrumental force taking place here - nothing short of an off the dial outburst of propulsive percussion, pit riffs and ...

"We Sing The Body Electric" holds significance as their debut full-length release for this Milwaukee maelstrom of metal-core mayhem seekers with the melodic guitar trills and aural air of tranquility.  It's rare a young up and comer comes across this seasoned, but right from the opening notes of track two, ...

First thing I'm thinking by the title and rather grotesque cartoonery surrounding their self-titled breakthrough is the rebirth of Iron Monkey. Six years since starting out and selling out their self-released "The Legend Of…" EP, the mighty Hedgehog, no relation to Sonic, I believe, come straight for the soul on ...

Outsider music has been around for along time and has made quite an impact believe it or not. It's not as commonly heard as "regular" music but it has the same objective, to present the listener with a fun, and sometimes meaningful, song. This album is full of songs that ...

I normally consider a tribute project to be a somewhat dicey proposition. If the artist isn't quite a household name (Richard Thompson, Nick Drake) there aren't going to be many people who even care if the artist being toasted is well-known (Nirvana, Bob Dylan) the listener is more often than ...