Music reviews. CD reviews. Critically hip!

Pop-rockers A Cursive Memory have been around and under the radar for the past couple of years, but they’re finally attempting to breakout with their full-length debut Changes. A laid-back Southern Cali feel permeates the entire album, which is no surprise given the bands South Bay origins. Changes is pleasant ...

Even though you may not recognize his name you may very well be familiar with the music of Adam Green. Green, a co-founder of the Moldy Peaches, most recently of Juno fame, is also an accomplished and profound solo artist.His new album, Sixes & Sevens, runs the gamut of popular ...

I like Aisha Raine’s voice; it reminds me of Evanescence’s Amy Lee, only a little deeper and richer. I did not care for the mixing of all kind of styles to form something “new.” I guess I come from the philosophy of 'simple is better.' The instrumentals have an industrial ...

There are some CDs that, for one reason or another, you try to like but just can’t. Then there are CDs that have their own charm, like a little (or a big) schoolkid, so full of mischief and humor that you just have to let them into the ...

Allene Rohrer's sonorous voice grows on the listener as she takes them on a somnolent journey traversing musical styles and decades in her latest release, Alchemy.  Rohrer's songwriting skills save the album from her powerful voice which, at times, seems overbearing and occasionally sounds pitchy. Her strong voice sounds best ...

An enduring trend in the progressive/power metal genre has been the all-star effort, where one musician writes up an album’s worth of material and invites all his friends to perform on it. Some of these albums have been duds, but usually it’s a win-win situation for the fans – people ...

Welcome to a world of interesting and carefree melodies topped with a warm voice that draws you in like you've just met your new best friend.  Oh, My Darling, the new album by Canadian singer Basia Bulat, is this world I speak of.  The album is THAT engrossing; it's as ...

I first popped this CD into the player in my car when I was driving to Atlanta, and I had to take it out after the first two tracks because I was drifting off to sleep. Blowing Trees’ debut album is as relaxing and mellow as lying down under blowing ...

We are given the definition of Afterparty Babies by Cadence Weapon a few minutes into Do I Miss My Friends?, the opening track of his brilliant sophomore effort. Weapon, it turns out, is an afterparty baby, the end product of a conception occasioned by a drug and/or ...

Places by Canoe was initially a real conundrum for me. I didn’t like it at first (it’s not the type of thing I regularly listen to) yet I was so impressed with how well it was done --- conceptualized, written, played, produced --- that I have had ...

I don’t know what it is, but I can hardly ever give an unbiased review for a country album.  There’s just something about getting some earnest rock sent my way amidst a sea of pretense and hip-ness that I just can’t deny babying.  Is it always deserved; the warm approach ...

City and Colour released their sophomore album, Bring Me Your Love, on February 12, 2008. This album features twelve acoustic tracks from the genius Dallas Green of the band, Alexisonfire. City and Colour is Green’s personal side project. He has been featured on Myspace.com and will soon be touring Canada. ...

Berlin’s own Clara Hill has graced us with her newest project, Sideways. Self-proclaimed as an “electro-soul-folk-jazz” artist, Hill has definitely brought a unique sound to the table. Her smorgasbord of musical genres have somehow cumulated in the most perfect way, providing listeners with a mellow delicacy.Hill joined her first jazz ...

If I had to sum this one up in one word... "Wow!"Prior to this review I had heard of Cloud Cult before (see our review of The Meaning of 8 in the August 2007 issue of music-reviewer.com), but I hadn't actually heard them play.  To be honest, I was attracted ...

If there happens to be a stack of country music 45s in your attic it is more than likely that the name Dallas Frazier is listed on the label as the writer of at least one of the songs thereon. Frazier, while not a perennial recorder of ...

Chances are, you won’t remember anything about this review after you read it. That’s exactly how I feel about this artist, David Martin. The world of music is so competitive these days, especially in the pop genre, and an artist has to give listeners a reason to want to listen ...

I didn’t know how to feel about the first song on Dreaming Isabelle’s new EP Awake. On one hand, Not Missing You starts with an intoxicating guitar solo making you eager to see what follows and I was sure I was going to love it, but when the vocals enter, ...

Let us first examine of what the “Deluxe Edition” of The Meanest of Times by Dropkick Murphys consists. You got your original CD of The Meanest of Times, with five bonus tracks --- Jailbreak (yep, the Thin Lizzy classic); Thick Skin of Defiance, Forever 2007, Breakdown (NOT ...

Weighing in at a hefty 46 minutes and 51 seconds, Eric Byrd and his trio (plus 4 horns) come out swinging on their latest release aptly titled, brother ray. Citing Ray Charles as, “The Genius of Soul” to whom Byrd owes “his musical life,” he pays his dues to the ...

The latest album Reach by Eyes Set To Kill bleeds with emotion as the music paints haunting imagery that is occasionally creativce but at times quite cliché. It moves at a good clip but it is evident Eyes Set To Kill gave certain tunes on ReachReach more thought than others. ...

I can’t say that I was blown away by Reflections of a Lost Reality. The CD is divided in half; the first being more singles-oriented and the second, a four part concept.  I hate to admit that the concept was lost on me because I had a hard time hearing ...

I came to this album with a certain amount of trepedation.  The artist has been among my favorites for more than twenty-five years, but the last decade has been unkind to the man's voice -- so much so that I was actually more than a bit surprised when first heard ...

Simply put, this is an album that is a joke but plays like a hardcore entry in to the N.W.A music catalogue.  This collection of songs is based on a mockumentary (think This is Spinal Tap)  about a fictitious gangsta rap group.  The film, so I’ve been told, is of ...

To refute the stub at Pitchfork:  this is an album of solid song craft.  Robotique Majestique is a little more dank than Ghostland Observatory’s first two albums, but burns brightly as an aggressive electro-rock album.Ghostland Observatory is comprised of two men:  Aaron Behrens (the singer/dancing shaman) and Thomas Ross Turner ...

This is a CD that I would have to listen to with my eyes closed and my wide open. I had to read the lyrics and think about them some in order to understand the message of the song. The songs are lovely and leave you in a pleasant mood.  ...