Album Review: good kid, mAAd city by Kendrick Lamar
Posted on October 30, 2012 by Sam Hill in Album Reviews, Arts & Culture
With the West Coast on his back and the open support of rap veterans, Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar has dropped his major-label debut album, good kid, mAAd city, and is instantly being hailed across the industry as “the new king of West Coast rap.” The album is subtitled “A short film by [...]
National Album Review: Glass Swords by Rustie
Posted on October 22, 2012 by Samuel Haiden in Album Reviews, Arts & Culture
Unless you’ve completely closed your mind to the dubby whomps of dubstep, it’s truly hard not to love those grimy British beats like this trap-influenced album, Glass Swords. These beats borne out of Glasgow, U.K. are too precise: a cutting glass prism of musical and synaesthetic sensation. The producer, Russell Whyte, known as Rustie, has [...]
National Review: EP No. 01 by Smoke and Jackal
Posted on October 22, 2012 by Sam Hill in Album Reviews, Arts & Culture
EP No. 01 is the debut release of the alternative, southern rock group Smoke and Jackal, which consists of already accomplished musicians Nick Brown, guitarist and vocalist for Mona, and Kings of Leon bassist, Jared Followill. The seven-track EP was recorded within a week at Brown’s home studio in Nashville, Tenn. Bringing two accomplished musicians [...]
National Album Review: Numbers by Mellowhype
Posted on October 15, 2012 by Sam Hill in Album Reviews, Arts & Culture
Mellowhype has made it to the big leagues with the release of their major label debut album, Numbers, but need a little practice before they’ll be considered a top player. The alternative hip hop duo, consisting of rapper Hodgy Beats and producer Left Brain, brings a more traditional rap performance to the table, for the [...]
Local Album Review: Whip Hands
Posted on October 09, 2012 by Sam Hill in Album Reviews, Arts & Culture
The Whip Hands have been bouncing around the Portland music scene for quite a while now, playing live shows all over the city, from SPACE, Matthew’s and Geno’s Rock Club, to Casablanca Cruises, and even USM. This past summer they were finally able to record their first full-length album. The album as a whole is [...]
Spiritualized gets inspirational on ‘Sweet Heart Sweet Light’
Posted on April 22, 2012 by Ryan Cutler in Album Reviews
Jason Pierce, founding member and front-man for alt-rock band Spiritualized, contracted a life-threatening liver disease while recording his newest album, Sweet Heart Sweet Light. Being forced to take experimental medicinal drugs to cure his sickness, Pierce — the only constant member of the group for over 20 years — produced the record under the induced [...]
Jeff Beam steps away from the Union for ‘Be Your Own Mirror’
Posted on March 30, 2012 by Ryan Cutler in Album Reviews, Arts & Culture
Jeff Beam is one of those Portland staples who is difficult to not notice. You have seen him walking down Congress Street with the lanky stride of John Lennon crossing Abbey Road, perhaps you have even caught him pulling off a Hendrix-influenced solo at various bars around town. Chiseling away for years at his own artistic vision, [...]
Somewhere between Sonic Youth genius and Xtina, Lee Ranaldo falls short
Posted on March 28, 2012 by Ryan Cutler in Album Reviews, Arts & Culture
For fans of Sonic Youth, Lee Ranaldo’s ninth studio album Between the Times and the Tides will be very familiar territory. Don’t look here for an ultra-modern update of the hyper-loud and noise-ridden experimentation of the Daydream Nation days. Instead what you will find is Ranaldo wandering through his comfort zones with ten assemblages of hazy noise and sappy love-rock standards. [...]
Springsteen comes to the frontline the 17th time around
Posted on March 17, 2012 by Ryan Cutler in Album Reviews, Arts & Culture
Bruce Springsteen has always spoken for America’s unheard voices, from the love-torn rock operas in 1975′s Born to Run, to the American Dream-turned-broken nightmare of 1984′s Born in the U.S.A. After witnessing and retelling the effects of a wayward nation for decades, The Boss now assumes the roles of judge and jury to accuse “all them fat cats” with [...]
Of midwest moonshine in Great Western Plain’s ‘Mustache Eye Patch’
Posted on March 09, 2012 by Ryan Cutler in Album Reviews, Arts & Culture
Despite their residency in the Pine Tree State, Great Western Plain encapsulates those expansive west-of-Mississippi flats that stretch from Texas to Canada in sublime isolation. With their sophomore release Mustache Eye Patch, the Portland trio lets their frustrations loose like a drunken twister in Kansas. Mustache Eye Patch is a recipe for the perfect cowboy garage rock record, [...]
