Electric Six - Electric Six

aving crafted a distinct niche for themselves over the course of six albums in as many years, Electric Six don't stray far from their trademark brand of groove-heavy, ironic cock rock on Kill. Whether any one of the band's albums succeeds largely hinges on whether or not the lyrics bring the funny and whether or not the hooks are strong, and Kill hits both of those marks reliably. That's the thing about Electric Six: The joke would've worn thin long ago if frontman Dick Valentine weren't able to execute his songs with such a consistent balance of absurd humor and...

Basement Jaxx - Review: Basement Jaxx Scars (Ultra)

Sound: A return to the up-tempo, club-friendly, big-sounding, electro dance tracks that launched their career a decade ago. Elements of jazz, reggae, dub, acoustic indie rock and r&b work their way into the production, and the wide array of vocal performances introduce everything from blue-eyed soul, bluesy soul and Auto-Tuned soul to rap, grime, pop and exotic spoken word.

Heavy Rotation tracks: “Gimme Somethin’ True” featuring Jose Names; “Twerk” featuring Yo Majesty

Medium Rotation tracks: “Saga” featuring Santigold; “She’s No Good” featuring Eli “Paperboy” Reed; “Raindrops”; “What’s A Girl Gotta Do?” featuring Paloma Faith; Day of the Sunflowers (We March On)” featuring...

Calvin Harris - Calvin Harris - Flashback

Calvin Harris continues his take over of the charts with his latest release from his 'Ready for The Weekend' album.

'Flashback' seems to take its lead from Armand van Heldon with a powerful opening leading into another commercial hands-in-the-air dance track that sounds great on the radio, but seamlessly migrates across to the dancefloor. Ayah provides the female vocals on the chorus to give the track an extra lift

It's huge in the production area with multi layers creating a near wall of sound feel.

Beck - Beastie Boys and Beck Remix Norah Jones

Norah Jones is going for a new sound with her new music. Beck, Beastie Boys and Santigold have done remixes.

She told Entertainment Weekly that the different versions of the songs are to give the album the widest possible exposure. "With the way things are now in the record business, every outlet wants extra content," she told EW. "Beasties Boys did one, and Beck, and Santigold; I love Santigold. There are elements in her record that inspired me to try little things. Some of her songs are great pop songs, but they have all these cool instruments on them and sound...

The Flaming Lips - The Flaming Lips - Embryonic (2009)

I guess I'm just going to have to face it, gone are the days when you could rely on the Flaming Lips to provide you with quirky, humorous pop songs. The new double album, Embryonic, may be the final nail in that coffin.This latest expansion of the Oklahoma group's use of electronics and programming has sucked the life out of a band whose music had once been simultaneously catchy and elegant. In it's place we get unstructured clatter ("Worm Mountain", "Convinced of the Hex") with a healthy side dish of drone ("See the Leaves", "The Sparrow Looks Up At the...

Annie - Annie

here was a bittersweet undercurrent to Annie's Anniemal, largely due to the fact that her boyfriend�DJ Tore "Erot" Kroknes, who co-wrote and produced Annie's debut single, "Greatest Hit"�died of a heart defect two years before she signed her first record deal, but also because of the Norwegian pop singer's often melancholic lyrics (you know, when she wasn't singing songs about chewing gum and chocolate). That juxtaposition of sadness and electro-pop ecstasy is reprised on Annie's sophomore effort, Don't Stop: "The loneliness reminds you that everything fades," she sings atop the new-wave sheen of "Bad Times"; later, on the big-bottomed...

Yo La Tengo - Yo La Tengo - Popular Songs (2009)

After a quarter century and more than 14 albums, it's difficult for any band to remain relevant. That's the challenge that faces Yo La Tengo as the critical darlings get set to release Popular Songs on September 8th.For the most part YLT rise admirably to the challenge. While we get familiar sounds like the "Sugarcube"-esque indie pop/rock of "Nothing To Hide" and the twee of the Georgia Hubley-led "Avalon Or Someone Very Similar", the band do manage to weave in just enough new tricks to make the album interesting. The opener "Here To Fall" is a startling blend of ambient...

Massive Attack - Massive Attack - Splitting The Atom EP

It's been six years since their last studio album '100th Window' was released to a muted critical response, and aside from a solitary new track which appeared on their Greatest Hits collection, this is the first fresh material to appear since then.

Opener 'Splitting The Atom' features the distinctive tones of Horace Andy who shares space on the microphone with 3D, Daddy G and a barely audible Damon Albarn. Its sound is reminiscent of their 'Blue Lines' period but it smacks of an unedited stoned-out jam session devoid of flair or focus. Next up it's the turn of Tunde from TV...

The Black Heart Procession - The Black Heart Procession

ainted a particularly severe shade of black, Six, despite the season and its sinister atmosphere, is not a Halloween album. The Black Heart Procession is not a novelty act. This fact, however, seems harder and harder to discern, as the band's descent into self-parody finds them precariously spinning in an open grave of affected baroque moodiness. A good portion of the band's appeal has always been based on personal taste, relying on your capacity to tolerate sullen fatalism in exchange for the atmospheric jolt they provided. The band works exclusively in dirges�albeit sweeping, often impressive ones, where cellos growl and...

Asobi Seksu - Asobi Seksu

espite an irreverent name that roughly translates to "casual sex" in Japanese, Asobi Seksu is hardly some flip indie-pop outfit. Fortunate enough to be led by the near-mystical, weightless voice of Yuki Chikudate, the New York-based quartet's music is an unapologetic throwback to the star-gazing art rock of the '90s: ghostly, resonant, and beautifully aloof, with equal tips of the hat to Smashing Pumpkins, Sunny Day Real Estate, and the Cranberries. To that end, Chikudate is undoubtedly the Asian Dolores O' Riordan, ruling over the cavernous beauty of her accompaniments with a dominant but effeminate presence. Thus, on an effort...