Tag Archives: chamber pop

Album Review: Belle & Sebastian, “Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance”

Growing up, I considered myself a thoroughgoing introvert. And why shouldn’t I be? I was bookish, shy, with a strong intellectual and artistic bent and a revulsion of loud parties. Most of my adolescence was spent reading classic novels, listening … Continue reading

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Tom’s Top 10’s: Most Anticipated Albums of 2015

Any year that kicks off with Kanye West and Paul McCartney collaborating on a Stevie Wonder-esque ballad is going to be a year of surprises. A mere week into the new year, it’s tough to say what curve balls 2015 … Continue reading

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Album Review: The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger, “Midnight Sun”

Being a Beatle Kid is a decidedly double-edged sword. On the one hand, you start your musical career with name recognition the likes of which most artists—even the successful ones—can only dream of, giving you an instant audience. On the … Continue reading

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Album Review: The New Mendicants, “Into the Lime”

Power pop is a genre where innovation isn’t necessarily the name of the game. Badfinger and Big Star laid down the general parameters of the genre back in the 70s, and since then success has been a matter not so … Continue reading

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Tom’s Top 5’s: Albums of 2010

As the first decade of the third millennium comes to a close, you may have noticed that, when I like a band, I really like a band, to the point that their releases tend to dominate my Top 5’s. So … Continue reading

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Tom’s Top 5’s: Albums of 2009

2009 is a surprisingly thin year for me. The following albums completely deserve their Top 5 rankings on objective merits. But as I was putting the list together, I came to the realization that I didn’t actually own that many … Continue reading

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Tom’s Top 5’s: Albums of 2007

If you’ve been keeping track of these lists, you’ve probably ascertained I’m a big Paul McCartney fan – apart from dominating with the Beatles during the 60s, of course, he made a strong showing on my lists for 1973, 1982, … Continue reading

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Tom’s Top 5’s: Albums of 2006

I have little to say about 2006, except that it’s a year from which I own an awful lot of albums and subsequently a year for whose Top 5 I had to be especially choosy. So, let’s nod to some … Continue reading

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Tom’s Top 5’s: Albums of 2005

As I’ve been revisiting albums for this project, I’ve become happily reacquainted with a lot of music I thought I knew. For the 2005 list, though, Sufjan Stevens’ Illinois is the big comeback story. I’ve known it and liked it … Continue reading

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Tom’s Top 5’s: Albums of 2004

2004 was a full decade ago. Weird, huh? As I reflect on the last decade in music, I’m moved to an observation about my own tastes. Musically speaking, there are few things I find more frustrating than when everybody loves … Continue reading

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