This two-disc set collects thirty-three Queen videos, featuring the British rockers’ best-loved songs. Having guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor on hand via commentary is worth the price of admission.
With an appealing blend of classic and alternative styles, Eclectric earns comparisons to crafty pop provocateurs like Tears for Fears, Eurythmics, and Level 42.
They spill blood on the land when the audience commands; our love survives because they’ve done their job well.
Seventeen studio albums into its career, this is clearly a band that is not bored or running a treadmill. Some of the usual comparisons tangentially apply, including Genesis, Radiohead, and Pink Floyd. With “Sounds,” Marillion both challenges and entertains.
Although Queen are constantly on the periphery, this film explores Freddie Mercury individually. His ambitions as a solo artist extended beyond “Mr. Bad Guy” or even rock and roll. This tribute connects most deeply at a personal level, rather than relying solely upon Mercury’s stadium-sized fame.
While the guitar/drums duo thing is tired, passé and generally a bore, Pairs, comprised of drummer/vocalist Xiao Zhong, aka Rhys, and guitarist F have somehow hit the nail on the head.
Originally released last August, this Nashville foursome’s 2012 self-titled EP has recently been remastered and sounds as wonderful as it did when I first heard it.
The girl’s got pipes. I mean, she can really sing.
Masterful experimental artist David Grubbs turns in a lovely little new album, a little poppy, a little instrumental, and a whole lotta enjoyable.
Oriented squarely at devotees of the noise/improv scene, The Jazzfakers Here Is Now culls from a mercifully diverse sonic bag of tricks so the ear never quite gets worn out by one set of elements stretched to the point of over-endurance.
Veteran electronica composer Ellen Allien offers up her soundtrack from a commissioned ballet, reworked into a single 45-minute track, resulting in an interesting listening experience.
Summoning the spirit GLITCH is serious business, as it takes patience, precision and perfection to perform such a feat.
One of the biggest surprises of 2013 is the sudden return of Big Country, with The Alarm’s Mike Peters taking the place of the late Stuart Adamson. Peters superbly fits and he reinvigorates the band, resulting in one of the best records in the Big Country discography.
On her third LP, Alison Chesley emphasizes the low end of her instrument’s range, creating her own vision of ambient metal.
This sophomore effort combines 2010 debut Memento Mori’s melodic depth and multi-faceted songwriting with a harder-edged bite.
By stripping things down and laying bare her soul, Boyce knocks one way out of the park on this follow-up to her 2010 self-titled debut.
Seattle-based troubadour Norsworthy shifts direction on his sixth album, veering into traditional, old-timey blues.
Berkeley, CA-based Lowe’s pretty songs and soothing voice go down easy, like a cup of herbal tea on a Spring morning.
The music of Faz Waltz is firmly rooted in early ’70s glitter.
New Orleans-based duo Generationals return with their third album and finds the band soldiering on with their always enjoyable, catchy upbeat pop songwriting style.
For their ninth album, Mudhoney offers absolutely nothing new, and thank goodness for that!
The New Mendicants is the new project of Joe Pernice and Norman Blake.
Like most everything else on Truth & Soul, the record sounds like it was recorded in the early 70s, with horn-laced, synth-free arrangements that nurture the melodies as much as the grooves.
Billy Bragg’s first album since 2008’s Mr. Love and Justice is a mesmerizing masterwork from one of the finest songwriters of the best three decades.
Benoit Pioulard’s fourth album for Kranky finds mastermind Thomas Meluch carrying on in his psychedelic folk tradition, while blending in the styles of his more experimental releases of the last few years.
This young Cardiff-based indiepop quintet’s music lives up to its clever name.
While there is a sailing motif to the band, it doesn’t impact the music which is firmly rooted in the road rock of Radio Birdman.
Douglas McCombs’ resurrects his solo Brokeback moniker after a decade-long hiatus, and the album is an enjoyable—but too brief—return to form.
After releasing the excellent No Future, Oakland-based Wax Idols’ second album eschews that album’s punk-rock sound in favor of some of the best post-punk inspired music you’re likely to hear this year.
Oakland duo Bam will remind you of very good things, whilst charming you with this four-song EP.
Veteran Montreal pop rockers return with a sparkling new collection of sweaty tunes.
Nineties-inspired heroics with a sludgy veneer, Vancouver’s Cascadia hits a timeless sweet spot where punk and shoegaze collide.
Q: When is a saxophone not a saxophone?
A: When it’s handled by John Butcher.
The beauty of good shoegaze rests in how it hits you, and this one bowls me over.
So what about the actual music? Well, if you’ve never heard The Big Boys, this might be a good place to start.
Oh no, I’ve said too much. I haven’t said enough.
Slouching sideways out of the backwater town of Valleyfield, just west of Montreal, Crabe is a fantastically unpredictable duo of dudes laying down some of the freshest tunes that defy any attempts at categorization
Despite the liberal genre-hopping, this is a cohesive effort that really works and there’s little confusing it for anyone else’s vision.
Though she’s released music for the past few years, Ripely Pine is the debut proper for Aly Spaltro, and it’s a stunner.
The superb and prolific Bristol-based indiepop band The Brilliant Corners finally gets the comprehensive singles collection it has long deserved, and is an essential compilation for both longtime fans and newcomer.
Don’t be scared by the title: No previous knowledge required. I’ll be your test subject.
This brilliant four disc box set compiles all of Zs’ releases through their first five years as a sextet consisting of saxophonists Sam Hillmer and Alex Mincek, percussionists Alex Hoskins and Brad Wentworth and electric guitarists Charlie Looker and Matthew Hough.
Texas bar-rock legend Wayne Hancock releases another fine slab of his masterful blend of Texas swing, country, and roots rock.
Brooklyn-based Pearl Necklace’s debut is an enjoyable introduction to a young, talented duo.
Dawn McCarthy and Will Oldham team up for a tribute to the Everly Brothers, and in turn, they turn in one of the year’s best records.
The Yips’ first EP is already a triumph, managing to infuse older sounds with new attitude and succeeding fiercely while achieving the rare feat of being a party band with depth and complexity.
The perils and pleasures of an artist’s profound consistency.
