Music reviews. CD reviews. Critically hip!

During the formative years of American Hardcore few bands stand out as much as D.R.I. They, of the knee raising, elbow flapping imprint, set the pace for the flood of Skater Punk types in the early '80s that served as the starchy alternative to mainstream Metal.  If you need a ...

Daedelus’ live set Live at Low End Theory is equal parts a) fantastic, transporting and b) can do without.I guess things would be different if I had this pumping out of a state-of-the-art surround sound system but, alas, I did not. Things would have been a lot more positive ...

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 ...

It's not imagination that Jurado always seems to get shuffled to the bottom of the deck while other pop songsmiths get their due. Not as uneasy as Ryan Adams, not as pensive as the Eel's Mark Everett, nor as assertive as Dashboard Confessional's Chris Carraba, Jurado's work naturally reflects some ...

One of the first jazz records I can recall hearing was a B3 organ piece titled “I Got A Woman” by Jimmy McGriff. I heard it repeatedly for about three years in the mid-1960s --- it was the theme music for a television program I watched --- ...

Danan Healy, as we are told, has a master’s degree in opera and has been through basic training in the U.S. Army. This seemingly conflicting background is well-exhibited in THE OTHER SIDE, Healy’s first full length CD release (and the follow-up to her debut EP, 2005’s YOU NEED MORE LOVE).Healy ...

Danan Healy takes a humorous yet relaxed approach to Christmas time this year. Her holiday album, Christmas Time Rocks, is her self-released holiday album which is a cute and funny gift idea in which everyone can relate to the lyrics. In the first, self-titled song, Healy replays memories that most ...

This is not a comedy CD! The Dane Cook Tourgasm CD is a sampling of modern rock bands that is sure to make music fans happy, but leave those expecting comedy a little confused.  This is the most important thing to know about this project.  As one of the most popular comics today, ...

These days whenever there’s a rumbling in the underground world of one Glenn Danzig there are merited any number of reactions: suspense, surprise, cynicism…  And while Glenn’s successfully righted his approach down the left hand path, having stumbled and fallen into unforeseen pits of misdirection—let’s face it, we can accept ...

Putting out a collection of rare songs and b-sides is a practice that has been going on for years, and is often viewed as questionable behavior from a band that has given up or is trying to cash in.  These very preconceptions are the reason why Danzig has blown me ...

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 ...

Newcomer to the R&B scene, Darien Brockington showcases his soulful voice on his first full length release, "Somebody to Love."  Although the album can become a bore after the midpoint and is not exactly spell-binding, Brockington proves that he has the potential to become a force to be reckoned with ...

Recorded an mixed at the famed Abyss studios, produced by Peter Tagtgren, drenched in blood curdling screams and demonic attributes, "Diabolis Interium" has all the makings for a state of the art Black Metal release and it delivers-delivers the evil right to your doorstep. While this is Dark Funeral's ...

I think I’ve stated that I hate Christmas music, and generally hate Christmas CDs, with a couple of exceptions. I’ll add Darlene Love’s It's Christmas, Of Course, to my good list, simply because seasonal aspect notwithstanding, you could listen to this bad boy all year long.Love is a relatively unheralded ...

Crap! Another fantastic Jetsons reference crumbles to the earth. The bad news first: these rootsy ramblers have unceremoniously dumped the rambunctious "Rip Rock" off the back end of their name. However, that's not the only alteration to the Southern swill once burped out by these maniacs. ...

One tends to forget that The Beatles, besides being heavily influenced by American soul, were also heavily enamored with country music. Ringo Starr, especially, was a huge fan of the genre, singing lead on the band’s take of “Act Naturally,” Buck Owens tune. Later incarnations of The Byrds and The ...

Although Holland's double bass has anchored just about every musical formation known to man, from overabundant jazz orchestras to antagonist duets, his own groups are purposely unconventional. Or at least they don't make that much sense on paper. Mixing Robin Eubanks' funky 'n boisterous trombone with Chris Potter's mellow and ...

I'm gonna say at the outset that Dave Holt seems to be a pretty good guy. NOW OR NEVER!, the latest release by the Dave Holt Band, is an aural business card, if you will, for a band from the Lancaster County, Pennsylvania area which plays a wide range of ...

By no small stretch, Dave Kerman has become progressive rock's "go-to" drummer. Over the past decade he has often been appointed as the proficient point man for many "new music" projects, sorting through the complexities and obtuse structures among works by Colorado's Thinking Plague, as well ...

Although the title is Busted Stuff, there is certainly nothing busted about Dave Matthew’s latest album.  The record is polished with more profound depth than some earlier works and less mainstream upbeat sounds from Under the Table and Dreaming.  It seems that post-9/11 that artists feel the need to divulge ...

The Dave Matthews band is a band of gypsies if there ever was one. With a following that is quite gypsy-like, caravaning around from city to city to follow what they hail as the greatest band ever, fans eat, sleep and breathe Dave Matthews band. Since its beginnings as an ...

Too Close, Too Far is the University of Pennsylvania freshman Dave Patten’s first album.  The most striking element of this freshman’s, freshman album is its deep, raspy, rough and unrestrained sound.  Another bit of this album that surprised me was its contemporary sound and subtle themes thereof, if anything it ...

While I normally don’t like to play the “sounds like” game, the similarities between Dave Patten and John Mayer are just too hard to ignore. But something about Patten strikes me as odd. It was difficult for me to pinpoint, but I think I figured it out. It seems as ...

While I normally like self-taught musicians, there is just something about Davey T that rubs me the wrong way. I have no problem with his style, as he sounds a lot like one of my favorite groups -- Rascal Flatts. So it's not the sound either... I guess that I ...

Funny. The whole time Bowie was getting ready to plunge off the edge of reality- offering Dow Jones shares of himself, dot.comming his own media corp -- every one was kvetching and moaning about REALLY missing Thin White Duke, or whatever Bowi-eon you may identify with. Now, he puts out ...