Alex Ebert -- Alexander

  A kinda weird tribute to the Folk Rock pioneers of the 60's and 70's, the songs range from really great to very bad to f*cking annoying!  Stick to, and save your hits for, your other bands buddy!

Blake Mills -- Break Mirrors

  Totally geeky delicate genius guitar virtuoso Blake Mills's debut effort.  His sound is a kind of Indie Folk drenched in lazy 70's Soft Rock, but with an awkward truth to his music.

The Budos Band -- III

  There I was, at a local downtown watering hole, gulping down copious amounts of beer and whiskey.  The owner pulls out this Ethio-esque Afro beat'd Jazzy Soul album by The Budos Band.  Needless to say my evening wasn't as successful as this killer record.  I made it home ok but totally puked in my sink, which left a barftastic odor in my apartment, luckily I cleaned 'er all up and have kept a great memory of this album!

Deer Tick -- War Elephant

  Deer Tick made me think of an updated, Indie Folk Rock version of the Mountain Goats with the extra nasally, rough, louder notes of Billy Corgan.  I like how it's part cute, part tough and part backwoods shit kicker, but it's never uneven or awkward, the album has good a flow in its changes, I can't help but admire their Band-esque air of wastecase musicianship!

Beastie Boys -- The In Sound From Way Out!

  So ... if you are getting wasted on a school night, or at my age a work night, with your buddy, and want something to play dueling djembes to, look no further than The Beastie Boys The In Sound From Way Out!  This Booker T and The Mg's-esque Soul/ Jazz instrumental compilation has tracks that range from very good, pretty ok and f*cking shit, but albums like these show their diversity and talent, who else could jump from Hip Hop to Hardcore Punk to mellow instrumentals in one fatal swoop!

Sharon Jones And the Dap-Kings -- 100 Days, 100 Nights

  I'd like to say that these guys are throwback Soul/ Funk revivalists, but goddamn their shtick is so real that they are rewriting R & B music, undoing all the damage that Disco had made over the years.  Sharon Jones And The Dap-kings definitely know how to throw it down with sweet Soul and deep Funk!

William Onyeabor -- Who Is ...

  Who Is William Onyeabor acts like a best of from 77-85.  This Nigerian oddity is like a Funky version of Kraftwerk.  Little is known about the artist but it'd be even less if David Byrne weren't scouring the African countryside discovering what he can! 

Hip Club Groove -- Trailer Park Hip Hop

  Man I can't believe I never put two and two together.  I've been a huge Trailer Park Boys fan for years and knew Sloan had put out a Hip Hop album on Murderecords, pre-show, but never realized, until now, it was Cory Bowles from Cory and Trevor fame ... I mean c'mon a Halifax Rap group associated with Indie guys with an album called Trailer Park Hip Hop, "WHAT IN THE F*CK", how did I not know this?!?  At first glance I assumed it would be funny and sound like a joke but the music has a cool Beastie Boys edge with an element of humor, of course, but mixed with real talent and a funky groove!

Rick White -- Memoreaper

  Goddamn if I had any musical talent whatsoever this is exactly the kind of tunes I'd wanna be pumping out ... I never got how White's Psychedelic Folk Punk never got mega popular, his f*cking band is stellar, playing symbiotically frantic acoustic non-abrasive notes, while mixing in lush vocals, and some soft but Death Metal style drum beats ... Jesus, where does this stuff come from, it's unlike anything else, but still is simple in it's sound and instrumentation, I wish Rock 'n' Roll were paying better attention to what's out there, good thing I am!

The Louvin' Brothers -- Satan Is Real

  Gospel twinged Country music dealing with Christianity's darker side -- SATAN.  Although the music and lyrics are actually pretty good and very influential with the 70's hipster country artists, the cover is what you really can't help but write home about, how can you not love the bad collage art with the thin south park devil in the background as these two happy weirdos sing their tales of woe in hell! 

Fuck Montreal -- Saturn Return

  Funny that a friend recommended this to be reviewed cause not only am I shortly moving to Halifax, where these guys are from, but I always had Montreal as my fall back plan, lately I've been feeling like f*ck Montreal, cause the city isn't even close to being as cool as it used to be.

  This complied, from 7"s, cassettes and demos, compilation of  Noisy Sludge Bikini Kill-ed type of Raveonettes music is loud, cool and interesting but unfortunately for me they moved out of Hali to Ontario, starting their own organic farm where they naturally ferment many products and let's face it, that makes them even cooler!!!


The Band : http://fuckmontreal.bandcamp.com/album/fuck-montreal-saturn-return

The Pyramid Farm and Ferments : https://www.pyramidfarmandferments.com/

 

Elmore James -- The Sky Is Crying: The History Of ...

  Elmore James's I don't give a sh*t, loud and unforgiving version of the Blues was definitely the Punk Rock of that day, everyone labels Elvis as the major bad ass 'cause he shook his hips on American television, which is cute and all, but James was swiggin' a bottle of moonshine, cranking the slide and playing with the likes of Ike Turner.  Elmore is a true legends legend influencing musicians for decades, even up to this day!

The Avett Brothers -- I And Love And You

  A kinda cutesy Bluegrass tinged version of Hipster Indie Folk.  For the most part their tunes are passably pretty good, but I preferred their Americana infused minimalist tracks rather then their full tilt everyone at once numbers.

Karen Dalton -- It's So Hard To Tell Who's Going To Love You The Best

  A deadly talented, troubled victim from her own boundless gift ... you know drugs, alcohol, kidnapping her own daughter and divorce ... as well as dying of aids in the early 90's, Dalton was truly a tragic figure.  Her style was a Jazzy Folk Blues lead by her Billie Holiday-esque vocals with a 12-string guitar and a long neck banjo, you've never heard anything like nor will you ever again.

Beyonce

  A friend requested me to review this album, I told her I would also sit and attempt to listen to the entire release, and then to go on to write a sarcastic review on how great it is, well let's just say I barely made it past the first couple minutes of the opening track ... all I can think is am I missing something?  I can't stand this f*cking sh*t, where did Pop music go so so wrong?  I blame Disco, up until then Pop was pretty good, obviously there was still crap coming out, just not on the grand scale of nowadays.  Sometimes I wonder why God, the Universe or whatever put me on this earth at this time, everything I do even down to my job is old fashioned, I completely dwell in the dead arts living off what remains of the old world unable to succumb to this modern tripe that surrounds us all the time ... damn you world!!!

Boards Of Canada -- Tomorrow's Harvest

  I like this type of Ambient music but I can't say I'm too bat-sh*t crazy about it, I enjoyed the fact that this release is influenced by 1970's film scores, but like the album's theme it could be better used as a movie soundtrack than a full length record. 

Wilco -- Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

  Highly acclaimed and most likely their masterwork ... but is it me or does it sound like Beck is singing for Pavement?  I get it ... It's good, what you've got is 90's style Indie Rock done later and well put together, otherwise I really have nothing more to say ...

Real Estate -- Days

  Definitely a throwback to the 60's-esque Jangle Rock of the 80's, but not a homage, there's too much Spacey Surf too their music to make them a ripoff band.  They are more like the natural progression of the Paisley Underground, updating a genre that was great and keeping the sound alive!  

Babymetal

  Holy sheep sh*t batman I cannot believe this is for real, Asian kiddie Pop Death Metal ... sometimes you think the world is weird enough, then this sorta thing happens and you are left bewilderingly confused as to why it exists, my only conclusion is that it's a marketed towards all those kids with Cannibal Corpse loving parents, growing up to grunts and death moans of Metal's heaviest genre and as they get a little older, cute things like Sharon, Lois and Bram just won't cut the mustard ... and that's why Babymetal is present in our world!  

Jeff Buckley -- Grace

  I don't give a flying f*ck that this dude is considered a sacred cow since he might of committed suicide, this piece of sh*t recording was bad enough to make my ears bleed ... yeah yeah I know I'm being harsh and insensitive, but for god sakes it's like Pearl Jam and U2 were brutally raping Elliot Smith, a kind of suicidal jock Rock with the vocal stylings of a Alternative Mariah Carey ... the only good part is when it was finally over -- Hallelujah!

N.W.A. -- Straight Outta Compton

  The mega bad ass birth of gangster Rap!  Although I normally would negatively judge this genre harshly, but Straight Outta Compton is brutally honest, deadly funky and very f*cking real!  Too bad this marked the beginning of the end of Rap, overnight everyone became a gangster and quickly turned into a record company's fat bloated unoriginal greedy monster lobotomizing the masses with washed up ideas and lame-brain music! 

Tracy Lalonde -- Little Letters

  Man I've known of Tracy for years, I've watched her grow from the girl who had these cute DIY Indie Pop tunes on youtube, playing in art shows I used to put on with some buddies, to a full blown singer/ songwriter woman with a finely produced Ep of Feist-esque Canadiana.  I'd run into Trace often enough at the library while she was writing and recording her debut effort, catching her in various emotional states from the taxing process, on any given day you'd could find her excited, frustrated, nervous, stoked and everything else in-between, always with her witty sass ... but Tracy's writing shows her vulnerable side filled with love and longing, laced with emotion and feeling, something that was pleasantly unexpected and kept her EP fresh and unique!   

For sale: http://tracylalonde.com/store/

Solid Space -- Space Museum

  Mega obscure, cassette only, minimalistic Synth masterpiece and only release by Solid Space, mixing Psych, Folk with spacy keyboards.  This brilliant oddity was almost lost and buried from music forever.  Luckily with the power of the internet and youtube these esoteric recordings are no longer unheard and can finally get the recognition they deserve.

Jimi Hendrix

  I have no clue why this compilation exists, maybe it's just a label cash grab, it features a bunch of random numbers from Hendrix's career, from big hits to obscure tunes.  As much as he's a marvelous talent and the greatest guitarist of all-time, this album is way too laced with Jimi's heavier tracks, which are nice and all, but the continuous wild guitar solos can get taxing on the brain.  I personally prefer Hendrix's softer soulful side, which only came out from time to time, but I wish it were the focus of his career ... anyway this album seems to be pointless and I don't understand it's purpose!