Monthly Archives: December 2013

Album Review: Surfer Blood, “Pythons”

Posted on December 31, 2013 by Tom Emanuel

I first heard Florida-based Surfer Blood playing in the background of an Omaha record store several months ago. I later YouTubed a few of their tracks, liked what I heard, and promptly forgot they existed. Then recently, I found myself … Continue reading →

Posted in Album Reviews | Tagged Albums of 2013, Blair Witch, Brian Wilson, Demon Dance, Foo Fighters, Gil Norton, Gravity, I Was Wrong, indie pop, John Paul Pitts, Needles & Pins, Prom Song, Pythons, Say Yes To Me, surf rock, Surfer Blood, Thomas Fettke, Vampire Weekend, Weezer | 2 Comments

Album Review: The Electric Soft Parade, “IDIOTS”

Posted on December 30, 2013 by Tom Emanuel

Trawling through the “Best of 2013” lists that proliferate this time of year is a great way to discover new and interesting music. However, it also means that you’re going to be discovering mostly the kind of music that rock … Continue reading →

Posted in Album Reviews | Tagged 10cc, Adam Schlesinger, Albums of 2013, Alex White, Badfinger, Beach Boys, Beatles, Beatlesesque, Brother You Must Walk Your Path Alone, Chris Collingwood, Crowded House, Electric Light Orchestra, Electric Soft Parade, Fountains of Wayne, George Harrison, Hey Jude, Isn't It a Pity, Mr. Mitchell, music criticism, pop-rock, pop/rock, Queen, Summertime in My Heart, Teenage Fanclub, The Corner of Highdown & Montefiore, Thomas White, Welcome to the Weirdness | 2 Comments

Album Review: Steven Wilson, “The Raven That Refused to Sing (& Other Stories)”

Posted on December 29, 2013 by Tom Emanuel

In 1976, producer/engineer Alan Parsons and songwriter Eric Woolfson entered the studio to record a concept album based on the short stories of Edgar Allen Poe. The resultant Tales of Mystery & Imagination gave birth to the Alan Parson Project. … Continue reading →

Posted in Album Reviews | Tagged Alan Parsons, Alan Parsons Project, Albums of 2013, Drive Home, Edgar Allen Poe, Emerson Lake & Palmer, Eric Woolfson, Genesis, King Crimson, Luminol, Music Radar, Porcupine Tree, Premiata Forneria Marconi, progressive rock, Steven Wilson, symphonic prog, Tales of Mystery & Imagination, The Holy Drinker, The Pin Drop, The Raven That Refused to Sing, The Watchmaker | 4 Comments

Album Review: Vampire Weekend, “Modern Vampires of the City”

Posted on December 29, 2013 by Tom Emanuel

When Vampire Weekend’s third record, Modern Vampires of the City (2013), opens with a hymn to the Millennial Generation (“Obvious Bicycle”), it might not seem like the logical place to kick off an album-length wrestling match with lyricist/singer Ezra Koenig’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Album Reviews | Tagged Afrobeat, Albums of 2013, Don't Lie, Ezra Koenig, Graceland, Hannah Hunt, Hudson, indie pop, Jacob, Jewish, Judaism, mortality, New York City, Obvious Bicycle, Paul Simon, Step, Unbelievers, Vampire Weekend, Worship You, Ya Hey, Yahweh, Young Lion | 3 Comments

Album Review: Josh Ritter, “The Beast In Its Tracks”

Posted on December 27, 2013 by Tom Emanuel

As a songwriter, it’s tough to step out from the shadow of Bob Dylan, no matter which genre you inhabit. If you make your living with literate folk music, however, your entire professional career is spent in Mr. Zimmerman’s penumbra. … Continue reading →

Posted in Album Reviews | Tagged Albums of 2013, Blood on the Tracks, Bob Dylan, Bonfire, Dawn Landes, Haley Tanner, Hopeful, In Your Arms Again, Josh Ritter, Joy to You Baby, New Lover, Nightmares, The Beast In Its Tracks | 2 Comments

Album Review: Janelle Monáe, “The Electric Lady”

Posted on December 27, 2013 by Tom Emanuel

When Janelle Monáe’s debut LP The ArchAndroid dropped in 2010, it introduced the world to a consummate artist with little time for labels. Her tuxedoed stage persona and omnipresent pompadour challenged norms for female self-presentation in the world of popular … Continue reading →

Posted in Album Reviews | Tagged afro-futurism, Albums of 2013, ArchAndroid, Dance Apocalyptic, Erykah Badu, Esperanza Spalding, feminism, It's Code, Janelle Monáe, jazz, Metropolis, Miguel, Prince, Q.U.E.E.N., R&B, Solange Knowles, soul, Stevie Wonder, The Electric Lady, Victory, We Were Rock & Roll, What an Experience | 1 Comment

Album Review: Daft Punk, “Random Access Memories”

Posted on December 25, 2013 by Tom Emanuel

I first came across Daft Punk in high school, where a classmate used them as incidental music to their end-of-semester project. In thrall to the Classic Rock back catalog at the time, I had little truck with French duo’s dance … Continue reading →

Posted in Album Reviews | Tagged 2001: A Space Odyssey, Albums of 2013, Beyond, C.S. Lewis, Daft Punk, disco, electronica, Georgio by Moroder, Get Lucky, Giorgio Moroder, Give Life Back to Music, Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, HAL, house, Instant Crush, Julian Casablancas, Lose Yourself to Dance, Nile Rodgers, Panda Bear, Paul Williams, Pharrell Williams, Stanley Kubrick, The Game of Love, Thomas Bangalter, Touch | 6 Comments

Album Review: David Bowie, “The Next Day”

Posted on December 24, 2013 by Tom Emanuel

“We can be heroes,” David Bowie sang almost forty years ago. The problem with being a hero, however, is that you become larger than life. You are no longer your own; you belong to everyone. And everyone has their own … Continue reading →

Posted in Album Reviews | Tagged (You Will) Set the World on Fire, Albums of 2013, Berlin, Berlin Trilogy, Dancing Out in Space, David Bowie, Heat, Heroes, How Does the Grass Grow?, The Next Day, The Stars (Are Out Tonight), Thin White Duke, Where Are We Now?, You Feel So Lonely You Could Die, Ziggy Stardust | Leave a comment

Album Review: Unknown Mortal Orchestra, “II”

Posted on December 23, 2013 by Tom Emanuel

I just cannot comprehend modern music production values. If artists aren’t compressing their records into oblivion or fighting yet another loudness war, they’re obscuring perfectly good music behind a self-consciously lo-fi haze. This is my biggest beef with New Zealand-via-Portland … Continue reading →

Posted in Album Reviews | Tagged Albums of 2013, From the Sun, funk, II (Album), Low fidelity, Monki, Motown, No Need For a Leader, Psychedelic rock, Ruben Nielson, Shins, So Good At Being In Trouble, Swim And Sleep (Like a Shark), The Opposite of Afternoon, Unknown Mortal Orchestra | Leave a comment

Album Review: Fuzz, “Fuzz”

Posted on December 22, 2013 by Tom Emanuel

You can often guess something about a band’s sound from its name. Noah & the Whale has “indie rock” written all over it; Amon Amarth just screams (literally) Viking metal; the Rolling Stones give away their debt to Muddy Waters. … Continue reading →

Posted in Album Reviews | Tagged Albums of 2013, Black Sabbath, Blue Cheer, blues rock, Charles Moothart, Dazed and Confused, Earthen Gate, Geezer Butler, hard rock, Hazemaze, heavy metal, Loose Sutures, Preacher, Roland Cosio, San Francisco, Ty Segall, What's In My Head | Leave a comment

Monthly Archives: December 2013

Archives

Meta