Music reviews. CD reviews. Critically hip!

I love the Suburban Noize label. I am as far from the label politically as you can get, but I love their finger-in-your-eye attitude. Nobody does what they do quite as well, though that’s probably a good thing. That’s why (hed) p.e. is on its roster. (hed) p.e. has been ...

Craving an honest expression that transcends the superficiality we hear on the radio everyday? Well your in luck because Portland based Adrian Orange and Her Band are about to release a self titled album that will end your search. Orange's voice is not what most vocal coaches would consider beautiful. ...

It pains me to say this, it really does, but STATION by Alan Vega blows. STATION is Vega’s METAL MACHINE MUSIC, and it is sonic fingernails on a digital blackboard. I mean, look, I can accept musicians going through stylistic changes. Jerry Lee Lewis switched styles; Neil Young has been ...

1) "All Out War pretty much invented the metalcore subgenre back in the mid-90s, and with, Assassins in the House of God, they reclaim the crown from the legions of imitators peddling whiny watered down, emo-laden versions, many of whom can be found among the band’s labelmates.”2) “All Out War ...

Moo, You Bloody Choir, the third album for the Australian indie band Augie March, lays down a lush sound of mellow rock rich in poetry. Led by singer-songwriter Glenn Richards, who croons like an operatic razor blade, the band also includes Edmondo Ammendola on bass, Adam Donovan playing both guitars ...

The songs on Street Gospels infuse reggae with enough indie pop character to allow each song to stand out from the others while staying true to their reggae base. Canada’s Bedouin Soundclash take what the English Beat started a few decades back and rejuvenate it with thoughtful pop hooks and ...

Big Brother and the Holding Company —for those who don’t immediately recognize the name— is the group that helped launch Janis Joplin into the stratosphere. But that was a long time ago. Forty years, to be precise, during the fabled Summer of Love. No doubt modern music could use a ...

Big Shug has been around awhile. He’s a core member of The Gang Starr Foundation, appearing on such tracks as 1994’s “F.A.L.A.,” and 2003’s “Capture (Militia Pt. 3).” STREET CHAMP is the follow up to Big Shug’s 2005 “WHO’S HARD,” and while STREET CHAMP doesn’t necessarily break any new ground, ...

I’ve been watching the music industry implode under the weight of its own b.s. for awhile now, amazing how the playing field has been leveled in some ways and is more uneven than ever in others. There’s a band out of Brooklyn, Bishop Allen, that is doing some very interesting ...

Aptly titled The Remix Game, the latest release from West Hollywood duo (singer Shana Halligan and producer Kiran Shahani) is an outstanding compilation mix CD of their debut album, The Mating Game.  While featuring various DJ’s and producers, The Remix Game stays true to the ...

A long time ago --- 30 years, to be exact --- when commercial cable television as we now know it was in its infancy, there was no MTV, no BET, no CMT, no VH1. There was, however, SNN, which stood for Satellite News Network. SNN was like a campus radio ...

Karaoke singer gets hold of recording equipment so that she can self-harmonize, and put the thoughts rambling around her head down on tape. And that’s pretty much what Carol Martini’s The Rose in the Boxcar sounds like. The lyrics are trite, clichéd, the vocals are wavering and probably better suited ...

Chuckanut Drive takes its name from a scenic highway near Bellingham, Washington, not exactly what you would expect from a country rock band, but there you go. Of course, Chuckanut Drive doesn’t conform to preconceived stereotypes. For but one example, the band lists the Rolling Stones as an influence. Good ...

Disclaimer: All opinions and lyrics expressed by Cilvaringz do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of guest appearing artists. All artists involved with this project were unaware of the lyrical and audio content written and composed by Cilvaringz. Now (as I clear my throat) whenever you have ...

Artistically, the band is a 10 in perfection and quality. From the first listen, you can tell that Circa Survive poured every bit of creativity they could muster, producing something lasting that would communicate beauty in all forms... from the sleeve art right down to the lyrics.. “And infinite silence/And we fall asleep ...

This is a Robert Pollard project. Do I need to say anything else? Okay, I will. Circus Devils is a side project of Robert Pollard’s which has been going on since 2001, well before the plug was amicably pulled on Guided By Voices. Circus Devils is similar to GbV, only ...

I’m one of those people who always have music playing, no matter what I’m doing. I usually try to find something that sets the mood, meshing with whatever I’m up to. But some music stops me in my tracks, and forces me to slow down.Coco is one of ...

First I must admit, I don’t really care for Techno except when I working out. So my review of this album is simply from that point of view, would I pump this while I’m pumping iron? The answer is yes. Tribalism 2.0 is a double disc set with loads of ...

It is often noted that the leader of the band Down To the Bone, Stuart Wade, is not a musician, he’s a producer.  He doesn’t sing.  He doesn’t play an instrument. Instead he hums tunes into a Dictaphone and later has those tunes recorded by instrumentalists.  His creative tunes and ...

Every once in a while, I get to thinking that reviews would be better if done a couple months after a disc is released, especially when the band in question is one of your favorites, and you’re past the initial, “Holy wow! New disc from a fave band!” stage. The ...

As the first few seconds of the album begin to decimate your stereo, it is clearly evident that Droid are not robots.  They play with the force and power that only come with the human emotions of anger and hatred, and the brutal honesty to let it all show.  Their ...

THE CAT, BEAVER, BEE is the debut EP by Texas country singer-songwriter Emily Herring, a companion to her first proper full length disc, MY TEARS WILL BE RELIEVED. Herring’s music is infused with Appalachian inflections and instrumentations, music is readily available, whether one needs an imitation of it, even an ...

There’s an Outback Steakhouse advertisement in which the spokesman states Australia is a day ahead of the United States. He then reasons that’s why the food is so good, it’s from the future. That spokesman, Jermaine Clement, is one half of the self proclaimed “fourth most popular guitar-based digi-bongo acapella ...

Githead is a band headed by Wire’s Colin Newman and Minimal Compact’s Malka Spigel. The group’s third album, Art Pop is exactly as it is named. It is pop music with a touch of artful edge that keeps it interesting. The songs range from almost straight-up pop, such as On your Own, ...

Glen Reynolds has been around the Texas music scene for a bit, and he is no stranger to the recording process, having created a couple of projects with the band Chomsky and one with Liquid 3. IN BETWEEN DAYS is Reynold’s first solo project, recorded over a period of roughly ...