Review: Jay-Z - Kingdom Come:

Upon first listen I wasn't as impressed with this disc as I was when The Black Album came out. Come to think of it, most of The Black Album hasn't held up over time (despite the fact that it's been only three years) so maybe this one will.

Stream about half the album and listen to clips from the rest

Purchase for $9.99

Gang Starr - Mass Appeal- The Best of Gang Starr:

Upon first listen I was very suprised at how well most of these tracks hold up. Considering my naievete concerning the group and their output most of these tracks sound fresh and vibrant. The production is great and non-intrusive (a must) while the flow can sound indifferent at times yet still succeeds.

Stream Mass Appeal, Skills and Take It Personal

Purchase for $13.29

Review: Converge - No Hereos:

Upon first listen it's a return to a certain form. Noisy, heavy, visceral. Things that were lacking from You Fail Me are here and present along with a splash of melody and an acoustic guitar. Overall it succeeds for fans of Converge. It's just too bad I'm not a fan of Converge.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $10.29

Review: Clipse - Hell Hath No Fury:

Upon first listen I was disappointed. I never listened to their debut, but did like Grindin' when it hit. The flow seems uninspired and the beats, while non-intrusive (always a plus), aren't anything to write home about. Yet I cannot escape the hyoe that is Clipse, so maybe it's just me. Ok, it's just me.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $10.99

Reviews: Rage Against The Machine x2

Rage Against the Machine - Rage Against The Machine: Upon first listen I can't believe how boring and unimaginative this is. It certainly doesn't hold up well after almost fifteen (!) years.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $11.14

Rage Against the Machine - Evil Empire: Upon first listen I was surprised at how the singles from this disc, which I like when they came out, were lackluster. Almost pedestrian.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $8.44

Review: My Chemical Romance - The Black Parade:

Upon first listen it's not as good as I was hoping (and hearing) but it's certainly as not as bad as 90% of the bands they grouped in with. Certainly near the top of the pop-punk list when it comes to album of the year.

Stream clips from the entire album

Purchase for $12.64

Review: Killswitch Engage - As Daylight Dies:

Upon first listen I have to ask; what happened to the sheer brutality of their previous efforts. Trading in sheer power for melodicism and (presumably) MTV2 acceptance is certainly a lame endeavor in my book. But whatever works for them, just don't expect me to pass this disc along.

Stream clips from the entire album

Purchase for $12.64

The Brother Kite - Waiting For The Time To Be Right:

Upon first listen it's certainly a solid pop-rock with an indie feel type of album. It's not going to see a lot of rotation but it's nice to listen to.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $10.40

Review: Brand New - The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me:

Upon first listen I am disappointed in myself. Sometimes music snobbery gets in the way of good bands and Brand New is that good band. I had always dismissed them without hearing more than a note or two as being whiny, pretentious and everything else wrong with the current crop of 'emo' bands. It's too bad as this is a really solid pop-punk type album that deserves more credit than most of their peers.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $10.90

Review: Blood Brothers - Young Machetes:

Upon first listen I disliked their earlier work all the way until I saw them live. That's when all the pieces of the puzzle called Blood Brothers seemed to fit. So I was moderately excited about a new album that I could evaluate in a better light than previous. What I listened to was a solid album of every kind of music and a lot of noise. And most of it works. Most of it.

Stream clips from the entire album

Purchase for $8.00

Not Dead, Just Busy

What with Christmas, Work and Zelda. I've also been spending some time catching up on my favorite albums this year. Not sure what they were cause I panned them when they came out? Keep up with my last.fm page on the right. Regular updates should resume in the next few days.

Review: The Beatles - Love:

Upon first listen I was expecting more. Every bit of media acknowledgment concerning this release gave me the impression we would be hearing 'new' songs. Instead, we got the same songs, just tweaked which was obviously the intent, just not what I was expecting. It's still hard for me to survey this album when the tracks are still so familiar.

Stream Strawberry Fields, Octopus' Garden, Lady Madonna and While My Guitar

Purchase for $9.72

Ronnie Wood - Anthology: The Essential Crossexion:

Upon first listen this two disc restrospective is an excellent introduction to Ronnie Wood. The first disc is represented by his solo work, including some live performances and peppered with covers. The second disc is a compilation of tracks from the bands he's been a part of. Starting with the Birds to Creation, The Jeff Beck Group, The Faces, Rod Stewart and ending on The Rolling Stones. Is it essential? Probably not. Is it interesting and fun listen? Absolutely.

Purchase for $18.95

Review: The Who - Endless Wire:

Upon first listen they do nothing that tarnishes the legacy they have already left. Nor, however, do they do much to either reinforce it or push it forward. Still, it's a perfectly adequate album full of potential for future greatness.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $9.72

Review: Various - These Are Some Serious Time:

Upon first listen this reggae/hip-hop compilation actually posts some great tracks. It certainly exceeded my expectations even if it did have a couple that didn't really win me over.

Check out the MySpace

Purchase for $14.57

Review: Various - Running With Scissors Motion Picture Soundtrack:

Upon first listen I'm not sure if this is the order of the songs in which they appear (if they do at all) in the movie or if this was put in this order as an afterthought. Either way, it is wonderfully done. The flow is much better than most compilations and Soundtracks.

Purchase for $14.41

Review: Various - Plague Songs:

Upon first listen I am glad I had a little backstory on this album. 10 artists, 10 plagues in the Bibile, 10 songs about said plagues. While most of the songs are great and I can't wait to check out a few of the artists' further work, it certainly doesn't work as an album, bouncing from electronic beats to acoustic guitar to Imogen Heap. It's odd.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $10.75

Review: Various - Paint It Black, The Compilation of The Rolling Stones Cover Tracks:

Upon first listen this disc reinforced my new found enjoyment of The Rolling Stones, despite the butchered songs that are covered here. Except The Flying Pickets' cover of Get Off Of My Cloud. You simply must check it out.

Download Grand Funk Railroad's take on Gimme Shelter (courtesy of Stereogum)

Purchase for $13.49

Review: Pet Shop Boys - PopArt, The Hits:

Upon first listen I can only take so much of that incessant synthesizer. Sadly, that happened at about track 2 of disc 1. But I persevered, finishing both discs but with little respect for a band that's a cross between what would become the Scissor Sisters and Depeche Mode. Though that cover/medley/mash-up of Where The Streets Have No Name/I Can't Take My Eyes Off of You is really good.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $12.74

Review: Various - The World Is Gone:

Upon first listen there was nothing about this band that grabbed my attention. It just kind of plods along, doing its own thing and changing styles on every track. Until the last track, which is quiet, folky and serene.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $11.10

Review: The Prize Fighter Inferno - My Brother's Blood Machine:

Upon first listen this album is only for fans of Coheed and Cambria as it's not likely to convert any new fans. With that said, it's fairly decent. It won't make up for the last Coheed album nor the lack of a new one but it's solid in its own right.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $10.26

Review: Mastodon - Blood Mountain:

Upon first listen this may be the most frustratingly inconsistent album of the year as the band switches between a dozen different genres over the course of 12 tracks. Yes, they are all heavy, but that's where the similarities end.

Stream clips from the album

Purchase for $9.44

Review: Johann Johannsson - IBM 1401, A User's Manual:

Upon first listen I had a vague feeling of what this album would sound like, based on the name of the artist, the name of the manual and the packaging it all came in. And while I wasn't wrong, it still is a mostly instrumental album seemingly about using the IBM 1401, I was misguided in my inital thoughts that I'd not like it. The opposite has happened and I loved it. It hit all the right highs and the lows and didn't bore me to sleep. I haven't enjoyed an instrumental album this much since the last Explosions in the Sky disc.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $9.99

Review: Gomez - Five Men In A Hut, As, Bs and Rarities 1998-2004:

Upon first listen this two disc Best Of/Rarities compilation is certainly not the place the start for this band. It jumps all over the map landing in one genre only to be transported to another. It's catchy only to be mundane and fast only to be slow. Not all is lost, however, as longtime fans of the band (or at least those that were fans for the 6 year period these discs represent) should find adequate amounts of material to continue to be fans.

Stream some of the album

Purchase for $16.95

Review: Jeremy Enigk - World Waits:

Upon first listen Mr. Enigk (of Sunny Day Real Estate fame) has made his solo career based on what I consider to be epic pop music. He's built up such a large sound while he delivers such minimalism. His first solo album is certainly better at everything he does well, but fans will no doubt enjoy this one. Just don't look for it to convert any new fans.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $10.72

Review: Cold War Kids - Robbers and Cowards:

Upon first listen I wonder how I and many other bloggers neglected to make a comparison to Maroon 5. I still think my previous comparisons to the likes of Radiohead, White Stripes and Interpol are valid and I realize these tracks are reworkings of their EPs, which I enjoyed, but I think I missed the boat on the Maroon 5 correlation.

Stream clips from the entire album

Purchase for $9.42

Review: Scissor Sisters - Ta Dah:

Upon first listen most of the campiness of their debut is gone and I just can't get into it. Does it make me want to dance? Sometimes. Does it make me smile? Sometimes. Is it like Andrew WKs The Wolf in relation to I Get Wet? No.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $9.99

Review: REM - And I Feel Fine... [The Best of the IRS Years 1982-1987]:

Upon first listen it's certainly REM. I know I should be more familiar with their material considering their place in history and their effect on indie music, but I'm not. I'm not even sure I've even listened to their last greatest hits album in its entirety. But alas, I have persevered and made it though both discs of this one. Some of the tracks are make the hair on the back of my neck stand up with their charisma and energy. Some of the tracks don't. But at the end of the day there's enough here to make me go explore the rest of their catalog.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $11.99

Review: Joanna Newsom - Ys:

Upon first listen it seems as though Joanna Newsom has gained a lot of confidence since Milk Eyed Mender. That confidence gave way to an album of five tracks, all more than seven minutes long (with the finale hitting sixteen). There are moments in which everything clicks and it is sublime like only Joanna could deliver, but there are others when it just seems like she's whining into the microphone which makes for a very uneven album and its no wonder it has gotten such little press since being released.

Stream Sprout And The Bean

Purchase for $11.89

Review: My Morning Jacket - Okonokos:

Upon first listen this 2 disc live set turns the quiet little rock band that brought is Z into a loud big arena rock band. Does it work? Sometimes.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $14.78

Review: Sean Lennon - Friendly Fire:

Upon first listen Sean's nasally voice takes a few tracks to get used to, but once you do, hunker down because you're in for a treat. Perhaps the best straight up pop records this year with it's wonderful melodies, lush background and sirly atmosphere.

Stream clips from the entire album

Purchase for $15.57

Review: Lemonheads - Lemonheads:

Upon first listen it's a tad formulaic. More of the same guitar-based pop/rock that's been done a thousand times this year (and last year and the year before, etc.) I wish I could compare and contrast to earlier Lemonheads albums but I don't have the requisite frame of reference.

Stream No Backbone and Baby's Home as well as clips of the rest

Purchase for $12.19

Review: Ben Kweller - Ben Kweller:

Upon first listen it seems a little too Adult Contemporary. Where's the passion and directness of Wasted and Ready? Where's the catchiness of Sha Sha?

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $11.17

Review: Elton John - The Captain and the Kid:

Upon first listen I really liked Songs from the West Coast back when it came out in 2001. Not much has changed about the style or delivery. Just don't expect him to deliver another Tumbleweed Connection.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $9.52

Review: Hope Conspiracy - Death Knows Your Name:

Upon first listen I didn't feel the intensity or the passion one should when listening the hardcore/metal. It's loud, yes. It's rough and aggressive, sure. But the passion? Lacking. Though as is the case with most aggressive music, an album doesn't do it any justice and needs to be experienced first hand.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $8.33

Review: Hold Steady - Boys And Girls In America:

Upon first listen I hated their last album, mainly for the way the lyrics were delivered. I didn't complain about the style, just the repetitiveness of the delivery. Well, it seems like that problem's been solved, because they have added the layer of complexity Separation Sunday needed in the first place, making one of the better albums out this year.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $9.32

Review: Merle Haggard - Hag: The Best of Merle Haggard:

Upon first listen I can't speak to wether this actually constitutes the best of Mr. Haggards work. Truth be told, this is the first time I have come in contact with his material (despite being familiar with who he is). I did come away a fan of his 3-minute fireplace-worthy country-infused folk songs. What impressed me more was how I forgot the time as I listened to him sing. Before I knew that the album began, all 26 tracks were complete.

Stream the majority of the album

Purchase for $13.90

Review: Delicate Noise - Diversion:

Upon first listen it's amazing what a few vocals will do to the palatability of electronic music. The other proverbial nail in the coffin is usually it's predilection to fall into a groove or beat and hammer it to death, again narrowly avoided.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $12

Hiatus Over

Apologies for the lack of notice regarding my week-long hiatus as I was given little notice of an impending trip out of town for work. I am now back and normal posts will resume with the completion of this post.

Review: Canada - This Cursed House:

Upon first listen I can't completely disagree with the comparisons to The Arcade Fire and Broken Social Scene, but I can't endorse them either. I think that Canada wants to be held in that great light but never make anything their own, instead relying on a very 'mid-2000s indie-rock' sound that is neither groundbreaking nor unfamiliar.

Stream the majority of the album

Purchase for $8.65

Ahab Rex - Blood on Blonde:

Upon first listen I can't get into this over-produced album. What with the vampire-esquely delivered vocals, the '70s-style backup singers and aforementioned over-production, there's just not much to like.

Stream Ordinary Things, Bye Bye My Baby and The Queen Of Softcore

Pre-order it for $12 (comes out 10.31)

The Who - Live At Leeds (Deluxe Edition):

Upon first listen I'm a bit dissappointed in what has been heralded as the greatest live album of all time. And man does it drag on. By the time Tommy concludes on the seconds disc, I am more-than-ready for something that doesn't have the name "Who" in it. Perhaps I'd more enjoy either the original LPs six tracks or even the Remastered version with fourteen, but this thirty-three song trek wore me out.

Stream the entire album

Purchase the remastered version for $5.41

Purchase the deluxe edition for $19.78

Review: The Who - It's Hard:

Upon first listen it's hard to get through this album knowing how great they were at their peak.

Stream most of the album

Purchase for $8.42

Review: The Who - Face Dances:

Upon first listen this is the album that feels like they are going through the motions. After all of their great albums they've finally been stifled creatively and just want to put out some more music no matter the quality. Not to say that there's no good tracks here, just that they are few and far between.

Stream most of the album

Purchase for $5.87

Review: The Who - Who Are You:

Upon first listen the title track alone is worth price of admission. The rest of the album is no slouch either as the Who try and branch out towards a poppier, more contemporary sound.

Stream most of the album

Purchase for $9.13

Review: The Decemberists - The Crane Wife:

Upon first listen it's way over the top. I enjoy The Decemberists, but this one is going to take some getting used to. It seems as though Mr. Meloy has borrowed some ideas from Neutral Milk Hotel and Sufjan Stevens and Decemberistized them.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $9.99

Review: Verse - From Anger and Rage:

Upon first listen this album is phenomenal. Granted they're trying to jock Bane as much as possible, but they seem to succeed. I can only imagine how much better live this songs would be.

Stream Stolen and Hard To Breathe

Purchase for $10.57

Review: Strike Anywhere - Dead FM:

Upon first listen I'm glad to see that they abandoned the Converge to Fall Out Boy transitional vocal delivery, for the most part. The rest of the album is a very solid poppy punk album akin to latter Dropkick Murphys are even sometimes Flash-era Explosion. Certainly worth your time to check out.

Stream Prisoner Echoes and The Promise

Purchase for $9.95

Review: The Who - The Who By Numbers:

Upon first listen I find it almost impossible to comprehend that they followed up Quadrophenia with such a superb album. It's not as conceptual as the aforementioned album or Tommy, but the songs are undeniable. The Who is quickly becoming one of my favorite artists.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $10.18

Review: The Rolling Stones - Exile on Main Street:

Upon first listen it seems like a transitional album, filled with a dozen or so different styles and techniques, seemingly in an attempt to determine the future of their signature sound. As to be expected, some works and some doesn't, but by track 18, I had heard enough of the Stones for one sitting.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $10.99

Review: Strike Anywhere - To Live in Discontent:

Upon first listen it's good to know that I wasn't misguided back when Chorus of One came out as this disc collects that EP as well as some outtakes and covers. Overall it's pretty uneven but works to tide fans over until their new disc gets released.

Download Chorus of One

Purchase for $9.77

Review: The Who - Odds & Sods:

Upon first listen this is a very aptly titled album, collecting a lot of the extraneous tracks by The Who onto one disc. Most of the tracks work and it almost seems like a competent album all on its own even if you know the source of the material.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $11.14

Review: Rolling Stones - Let It Bleed:

Upon first listen it's a largely hit and miss affair lacking radio-friendly pop singles yet still not very rock 'n' roll or bluesy.

Stream the first and last 2 songs in full and clips of those in the middle

Purchase for $9.72

Review: Strike Anywhere - Exit English:

Upon first listen I can't believe how much I dislike this record over their previous EP and LP. Granted it's been a few years since I listened to either, but when I heard they had a new album out soon I wanted to fill in the gap. What I found was a band that went from balancing the fine line of melodicism mixed with hardcore and punk to a band that had embodied the 'screamo' that became popular after the first record.

Download Infrared

Download To The World

Purchase for $9.77

Review: The Who - Quadrophenia:

Upon first listen I wasn't expecting them to top Who's Next. But they did. Not only did they better themselves, they made what may be the perfect rock and roll record. It's got everything you could want in a rock album and more. The best part is that after 17 tracks and 2 discs, you're not bored with what you just heard.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $11.98 (I've been a member for well over a year now with no complaints)

Purchase for $13.70

Review: The Rolling Stones - Beggar's Banquet:

Upon first listen it is cleary evident that the Stones were (still are?) a singles band. The problem is that 6 or 7 of the 10 tracks here are really good singles.

Stream 5 tracks in full and clips from the other 5

Purchase for $11.98

Review: Matthew Friedberger - Winter Women:

Upon first listen this may be the most traditional thing that the sibling Friedbergers have ever released. Not to say that it's at all traditional, just the most traditional.

Stream clips from the entire album

Purchase for $13.63

Review: Ratatat - Classics:

Upon first listen I wasn't a a very big fan this time around either. Still missing some words or perhaps just a crescendo or two.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $9.89

Review: John Ralston - Needle Bed:

Upon first listen this is a great album of pop that's catchy and not cheesy and heartfelt but not sappy. It's not quite an album per se, but a great collection of solid pop songs.

Stream clips from the entire album

Stream Gone Gone Gone (album standout) and When We Are Cats

Purchase for $7.92

Review: OutKast - Idlewild:

Upon first listen this album is consistently inconsistent. The few standout tracks are surrounded by mediocre-at-best filler and skits. And for the love of all things sacred, can we PLEASE put an end to skits? PLEASE? Moving on, there are a couple of great tracks, usually the ones that aren't rap/hip-hop derivative and are more jazzy outings. While I had wanted to see the film that this disc accompanies, I am now a little hesistant to put down my hard-earned $73 (or something) to see it in the theater.

Stream the majority of the album

Purchase for $11.99

Review: Jennifer O'Connor - Over The Mountain, Across The Valley and Back to the Stars:

Upon first listen it seems a little too glossy. It's certainly not a bad album and some of the tracks are very good, but at the end of it you'll be just a little dissapointed.

Download Today (via I ROCK CLEVELAND)

Purchase for $10.47

Review: The Mountain Goats - Get Lonely:

Upon first listen it's not as immediate
at The Sunset Tree (last year's #2
album), but it just as rewarding lyrically. It has a more somber
tone to it and will take some time to fully get into, but I have little
doubt that it will be worth it.

Download
Get Lonely

Purchase
for $9.20

Review: Mars Volta - Amputechture:

Upon first listen it's either the greatest thing they've done, or the worst. A lot of the songs sound similar and most of it just sounds like the same old Mars Volta. On the other hand, who says there's anything wrong with more of the same from a band like Mars Volta? When I heard Deloused, I had the knee-jerk reaction of joy. When I heard Frances, I had the opposite knee-jerk reaction (though I grew to love it). With Amputechture, however, I'm stuck somewhere in the middle and it's either a good thing or it's not, but only time will tell.

Stream Viscera Eyes (May have full album stream at some point today)

Purchase for $9.99

Review: Matthew Friedberger - Holy Ghost Language School:

Upon first listen it's incredibly fragmented and not in a cohesive way (like when he teams up for the Fiery Furnaces), but instead is frustrating in its ADD-challenging changes and overall lack of continuity.

Stream Seventh Loop Highway and Do You Like Blondes, as well as The Pennysylvania Rock Oil Co. (from Winter Woman, the other half of this release with a review due in the near future)

Stream clips from both discs

Purchase for $13.63

Review: Bel Auburn - Lullabies in A and C:

Upon first listn they steal from requisite Brit-pop influences such as Coldplay (though not as poppy) and Radiohead (not nearly as dense) to come away with a sound that is uniquely theirs. It mostly succeeds in it's teetering-on-electronic-but-still-rock meanderings and has an almost soothing laid back approach to the vocal delivery. All-in-all I'm walking away a fan and someone intrigued further by this not-well-enough-known artist.

Download the entire album (it's certainly worth your time and their bandwidth)

Purchase for $12 (just PayPal it to jared@belauburn.com)

Review: Against Me! - Americans Abroad!!! Against Me!!! Live in London!!!:

Upon first listen I hope that this is not representative of the current live show that Against Me! is putting together, because I would not want to see them. I have seen them (about 3 years ago) and it was certainly one of the best shows I have ever been to, but either they suck live now or they have no business putting out a live CD (hoping the latter is more accurate).

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $9.71

Review: Bob Dylan - Modern Times:

Upon first listen it's a rather enjoyable blend of his previous 2 albums (Time out of Mind and Love and Theft). Though he claims to trilogy, they are stylistically incestual in both their delivery and musicianship. What I haven't seen anyone else mention is how 'real' and 'alive' the production on the album is. At times it really feels like you're in the studio with My. Dylan. Overall Dylan continues to make some of the most compelling music you can find anywhere.

Stream the entire album

Purchase the regular edition for $9.98

Purchase the limited edition with bonus DVD for $16.08

Review: Review: TV On The Radio - Return To Cookie Mountain:

Upon first listen, I never got into their first album and certainly didn't understand all the praise it received, but it all manages to click here. Look out for this one to make a lot of "Best Of" lists.

Stream Wolf Like Me

Purchase for $10.35

Review: The Who - Who's Next:

Upon first listen this is the album that it all comes together for me concerning The Who. It's the most complete without being too long-winded. It's loud when it needs to be, it's soft when it needs to be.

Stream clips from the entire album

Purchase for $5.99 (You must join as a member, but it only costs $5.99/month and you get an album every month)

Review: the pAper chAse - Now You Are One Of Us:

Upon first listen it's not nearly as striking as Kitchen Knives nor does it have the same cohesive feel that BlacK Heart has. In the end it's too overdramatic, overdone and downright cheesy.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $10.47

Review: The Who - Tommy:

Upon first listen its everything I expected and a little more. I had seen the film about 10 years ago, but didn't pay attention to the music. It was helpful because as the music played I could visualize the story. I don't know that it's an album I'm going to pop in every week, but rather will have to "be in the mood" for it.

Stream clips (and a few full songs)

Purchase for $12.65

Review: The Who - The Who Sell Out:

Upon first listen I really like a lot of these songs and can even get over the 'commercials', but 23 is a lot of 3 minute pop songs, if you catch my meaning.

Stream about half the album and clips of the rest

Purchase for $5.92

Review: The Who - A Quick One:

Upon first listen it's evident why no one mentions this album when discussing the greatness of The Who.

Stream most of the album

Purchase for $8.95

Review: The Who - The Who Sings My Generation:

Upon first listen it sounds like quite the Beatles or Stones rip off, but I know better things are to come. It's almost like cheating.

Stream some clips and some full songs

Purchase for $7.54

Review: Verse - Rebuild:

Upon first listen I wonder where I've been. I'm usually up on the kings of hardcore (Mental, et al), but this band managed to pass me by. I recently attended (few months at this point) a Bane show where Verse shirts easily outnumbered every other band (possibly combined). I know I had to follow the lemmings and check it out, I just didn't expect it to deliver so well.

Stream Tear Down These Walls and a couple of tracks from their new album due August 1

Download Tear Down These Walls and What This Means

Purchase for $8.27

Review: Under Byen - Samme Stof Som Stof:

Upon first listen I feel like I fell into a trap. An innocent post over at Stereogum was raving about this Danish band and even linked to a few songs. After quickly skimming through a few I tracked down the release. But it's just as boring as virtually every other post-rockish album out there.

Stream Af Samme Stof Som Stof, Den Her Sang Handle and Pilot

Import for $19.95

Review: Beach Boys - Pet Sounds:

Upon first listen it's a rare record in the fact that it seems to live up to its historical hype without the usual nostalgia that seems to go with it. I admit, this is the first time I have ever listened to Pet Sounds and the first time I have ever heard most of these songs. But I have come away a bigger convert of Brian Wilson than I was prior. This is certainly the best pop album I have ever heard and it's obvious it has influenced thousands of bands since its release 40 years ago.

Stream the original version is both mono and stereo

Check out the Pet Blog, which is celebrating the 40th Anniversary of Pet Sounds with a series of Podcasts.

Review: Supersystem - A Million Microphones:

Upon first listen if this guy had a weird or annoying voice, every blog would love it. But because he's got a fairly normal voice, I'll be in the minority of those who absolutely love this album.

Download White Light

Purchase for $10.47

Review: Pink Floyd - The Piper At The Gates of Dawn:

Upon first listen it's not as cohesive as the rest of the Floyd catalog, but that's to be expected from a debut. It's also a bit more out there, again to be expected via the presence of Syd Barrett. Still, I can see why it (and he) has its fans, but when comparing it to Dark Side, Animals, The Wall, Wish You Were Here it just pales.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $9.95

Review: Tom Petty - Highway Companion:

Upon first listen it seems like Mr. Petty is attempting at rewriting some history, as there are several classic anthems on this disc worthy of addition to his greatest hits collection.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $9.72

Review: Muse - Black Holes and Revelations:

Upon first listen this disc is hit or miss. They hit when they're just ripping off Radiohead, but miss when they try and stray from the proven formula.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $9.72

Idlewild

New album by OutKast (kinda) has leaked.

Review: Jurassic 5 - Feedback:

Upon first listen this disc perpetuates the stereotype that almost every hip-hop/rap album has 3 good tracks, but is unlikely to have more. On said 3 tracks, they attain an almost Kool and the Gang-styled sound, which is old school, yet modern. The rest of the tracks are straight out of "Hip-Hop for the MTV Crowd" school of thought.

Stream clips from the entire album

Purchase for $7.99

Review: Guns Up! - Outlive:

Upon first listen this hardcore band has a nice blend of sing along lyrics and excrutiatingly brutal breakdowns. It takes a lot to impress me when it comes to hardcore and punk as they are both such monotonous genres, but this band did a fairly solid job.

Stream Outlive and You Break

Purchase for $8.49

Review: Guillemots - Through The Windowpane:

Upon first listen lead singer Frfe Dangerfield has a very interesting approach to delivering his lines as they're almost a half step slower than the rest of the song. It works sometimes and doesn't sometimes, but in the end I really liked this record. It's simple, understated and unique.

Stream Madeup Lovesong #43 (as well as a few other non-album tracks)

Purchase for $15.95

Review: Golden Smog - Another Fine Day:

Upon first listen this record is a pretty fun and casual listen. It's not going to become your favorite (or mine) of the year, but this alt-country supergroup of sorts just gets in the studio and has some fun.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $9.49

Review: French Kicks - Two Thousand:

Upon first listen it wrapped me up, forced me to listen to it and made me feel all warm and fuzzy. The production is a breath of fresh air as it sounds polished, but not overdone. The musicianship is talented and tight, not not to the point of monotony. It's one of those records that could fall apart at any time, but manages to stay together, benefiting the listener. Oh, and I didn't like their previous LPs or EPs.

Download So Far We Are

Stream clips from the entire album

Purchase for $9.78

Review: Dr. Octagon - Dr. Octagonecologyst:

Upon first listen there are 20 songs on this album and only 4 or even possibly 5 are worth a damn. Even with Dan the Automator behind the board it still fails to hold my attention. Perhaps it was revolutionary as some have claimed, but ten years on it sounds stale.

Stream clips from the entire album

Purchase for $9.99

Review: Dashboard Confessional - The Places You Have Come To Fear The Most/So Impossible EP:

Upon first listen Mr. Confessional manages to maintain his uber-emoness while still finding room to mature his trademark sound. Specifically, the eventually-reinvented Hands Down off of the EP which is leaps above the rest of his body of work.

Stream The Places' entire album

Stream the So Impossible EP

Purchase The Places for $9.90

Purchase So Impossible for #3.41

Review: Dashboard Confessional - Swiss Army Romance/The Drowning EP:

Upon first listen it becomes apparent just how emotionally persuasive a man and his guitar can be. It's also apparent that I'm late to what could have been a really fun party.

Stream Swiss Army Romance

Purchase Swiss Army Romance for $7.76

Purchase Drowning EP for $8.00 (currently out of stock/out of print)

Review: Coheed and Cambria - Kerrang!/XFM UK Acoustic Session:

Upon first listen it's evident that some of their work succeeds in an acoustic setting, but others, such as the originally-bombastic Welcome Home leave a little more to be desired. Still, it succeeds as a whole, giving you a brand new way to listen to their songs.

Available only on iTunes (for now)

Review: M. Ward - Post-War:

Upon first listen it seems as though it's more of a collection of songs than a cohesive album, which is a bit of a change for M(r). Ward. Still, if you like him, you'll like this, just maybe not as much.

Download To Go Home

Purchase for $9.99

Review: Stella (US) - American Weekend:

Upon first listen it's more atmospheric pop/rock that doesn't do much to separate itself from the already crowded genre.

Stream the entire album

Download NYC

Download Nashville

Download Breakdown

Download New Age Special

Purchase for $15.00

Review: Spoon - Telefono/Soft Effects:

Upon first listen I can't believe how much I liked this album and EP. This is the thrid time I've tried to get into Spoon, but the first successful one. It's so raw, so passionate and all around fun.

Download Idiot Driver

Download Mountain To Sound

Purchase both for $9.99

Review: Shapes and Sizes - Shapes and Sizes:

Upon first listen I wanted to pan this album all the way up until track 7 or so, but all of a sudden, I started to really enjoy it. Can't wait to listen to it again.

Download Wilderness

Purchase for $10.62

Review: Scritti Politti - White Bread Black Bear:

Upon first listen it sounds like some weird mix of Adult Contemporary and a children's album, leaving me scratching my head and questioning a great deal of bloggers and press that I respect.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $9.99

Review: Peaches - Impeach My Bush:

Upon first listen it's obscene, gratuitous, over the top and downright raunchy. Meaning that it's bound to find a devoted cult following but will never appeal to the masses at large.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $9.99

Review: My Brightest Diamond - Bring Me The Workhorse:

Upon first listen I love her voice, but can't seem to get into the album.

Download Disappear

Purchase for $9.99

Review: Lambchop - Damaged:

Upon first listen I found it frustratingly dull. This despite my previous thoughts that an album may be a better way of experiencing the band.

Download Crackers

Purchase for $10.78

Review: I Love You But I've Chose Darkness - Fear Is On Our Side:

Upon first listen I liked it, but was expecting greatness.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $9.99

Review: Centro-Matic - Fort Recovery:

Upon first listen it manages once again to miss its mark. I don't doubt the quality of the songwriting on behalf of Will Johnson, but the delivery of this outfit has never garnered much attention from me.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $10.62

Review: Ani Difranco - Reprieve:

Upon first listen I wasn't as immediately impressed by this album as I was from her Carnegie Hall disc (presumable due to the fact that the Carnegie disc ran more like a greatest hits collection), but still find enough to keep my coming back for more.

Download Millenium Theater

Download 78% H2O

Purchase for $12.98 (out 08.08.06)

Review: Dashboard Confessional - Dusk and Summer:

Upon first listen you can hear the collective shrug of shoulders from the previously ravenous fanbase Mr. Confessional has built up over the years. This is because he fails to deliver anything that resembles (voice aside) his past glories. Instead, we are left with his attempt to sound like U2 while singing of the same broken relationship(s).

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $7.99

Review: Thom Yorke - The Eraser:

Upon first listen it was a bit better than I expected, especially the back half. It'll whet your appetite for a new (and last?) Radiohead album, but it most likely won't see regular rotation.

Stream clips from the entire album

Purchase for $8.99

Review: White Whale - WWI:

Upon first listen I gather that it's a concept album of sorts. Sadly, it didn't grab my attention enough and while it was good, I'll more than likely skip over it when looking for something to listen to.

Stream Nine Good Fingers, What's An Ocean For and The Admiral

Download The Admiral

Purchase for $9.99

Review: Sonic Youth - Rather Ripped:

Upon first listen I was rather suprised. If Mission of Burma hadn't released a new record this year, this would certainly be my favorite post-punk-esque record of the year.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $9.99

Review: Smoosh - Free To Stay:

Upon first listen it's certainly a more refined effort than their debut, but their astonishing age isn't enough to push this album towards greatness.

Stream clips from the entire album

Purchase for $9.34

Review: Red Hot Chili Peppers - Stadium Arcadium:

Upon first listen I was rather impressed by each disc, independent of each other. However, when played back to back, it gets a bit long. Perhaps they should have taken a lesson from System of a Down and released two albums in the same calendar year (and consquently gotten two number one records).

Stream clips from the entire album

Purchase for $11.88

Amputechture

Leaked.

Review: Mojave 3 - Puzzles Like You:

Upon first listen it's pretty decent sunshine-pop. Not going to change the world, but decent enough.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $10.72

Review: Glenn Kotche - Mobile:

Upon first listen I recalled a Tales From The Crypt episode in which there was a rather large Q-Tip became enlodged in a man's ear. I was filled with jealousy.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $10.35

Review: Keane - Under The Iron Sea:

Upon first listen I had a review for this written. Until Pitchfork said it better.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $10.88

Review: Brian Eno and David Byrne - My Life In The Bush Of Ghost:

Upon first listen I was extremely bored.

Download Regiment

Purchase for $13.97

Review: Beirut - Gulag Orkestar:

Upon first listen it's just OK. I can hear the Neutral Milk Hotel influence, but I think it's an album that commands more listens to be judged fairly.

Stream clips from the entire album

Purchase for $8.71

Review: Amadou & Mariam - Dimanche A Bamako:

Upon first listen I usually enjoy music in other languages, but found it difficult to get into an album that is so lyrically based.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $12.30

Review: Tragedy - Nerve Damage:

Upon first listen it's a little underwhelming.

Unable to find mp3s or places to purchase for less than $15, so check out eBay

Review: Stevens, Sufjan - The Avalanche- Outtakes and Extras from the Illinois Album:

Upon first listen some work and some don't, as is the case with most albums of this nature. Odd thing is, the ones that don't work probably would if they were being compared to songs from the Illinois album.

Stream part 2 (of 4) of the entire album Stay tuned to Asthmatic Kitty for the final 2 parts

Purchase for $9.99

Review: Bruce Springsteen - Nebraska:

Upon first listen it's the best Bruce Springsteen album I've ever heard, but it's like he goes out of his way to sound like Dylan at certain points and overall I just can't get into it.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $9.08

Review: Bruce Springsteen - Born To Run:

Upon first listen I have the same complaints I had about Devil and Dust.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $10.70

Review: The Receiving End of Sirens - Between The Synapse and the Heart:

Upon first listen it's rather 'of the times' stylistically speaking, but it's a cut above.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $11.00

Review: Mission of Burma - The Obliterati:

Upon first listen it sure obliterates ONoffON and cements the band as one-of-a-kind.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $9.99

Review: Mission of Burma - ONoffON:

Upon first listen it's exactly what I thought a new Mission of Burma album would sound like.

Stream the last 8 tracks

Purchase for $10.78

Review: The Futureheads - News and Tributes:

Upon first listen it's not as accessible as their debut and the melodies have been toned down, but I get the impression that something special has been created.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $9.79

Review: Everything At Once - Everything At Once:

Upon first listen I was suprised to see that '90s nu-metal wasn't dead.

Stream See You Later, Find My Own Place and Shut You're Face

Purchase for $15.00 (CAD)

Review: Espers - Espers II:

Upon first listen it's another frustrating album that when it works, it's amazing and when it doesn't it's boring.

Download Mansfield and Cyclops via The Perm & The Skullet

Purchase for $11.36

Review: Emulsion - Blue Sky Objective:

Upon first listen I'm not usually one for electronic music (and even less so of the ambient variety) so I didn't really care for this too much. It is, however, the first instance of an electonic album getting stuck in my head, so kudos for that.

Download Left Right Left Right

Download Balloons And Centipedes

Purchase for $13.63

Review: The Eighteenth Day of May - The Eighteenth Day of May:

Upon first listen it's pretty decent pyschadelic-inspired pop.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $10.83

Review: Drive-By Truckers - A Blessing And A Curse:

Upon first listen it seems as though Drive-By Truckers are trying to fill the void of good classic rock type artists. Successfully, I might add.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $11.16

Review: Danielson - Ships:

Upon first listen it becomes apparent that annoying is the new indie.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $11.10

Review: Neil Young - Living With War:

Upon first listen this is my favorite Neil Young album (to be fair, I've only listened to a few), despite the fact that at times it sounds like a '70s musical it manages to be accessible. Doesn't hurt that the content is awesome too.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $11.97

Review: Wolfmother - Wolfmother:

Upon first listen it's exactly as I was led to believe.

Stream the entire album

Purchase or $9.75

Review: Tool - 10,000 Days:

Upon first listen I have the same reaction as I did to Frances The Mute. Some parts are breathtaking and some parts are pretentious and boring. Hopefully, as in the Frances The Mute's case, I can learn to enjoy the boring as part of the breathtaking.

Download Vicarious

Purchase for $9.98

Review: Imaad Wasif - Imaad Wasif:

Upon first listen it's similar to Wovenhand, but less dark and more accessible.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $11.10

Review: Warzone - Open Your Eyes/Don't Forget The Struggle, Don't Forget The Streets:

Upon first listen it was a struggle to get through and considering that it's the quintessential NYHC record, I feel very little need to further explore the genre.

Stream clips from the entire album

Seems to be out of print, so grab it on eBay

Review: Thursday - A City By The Light Divided:

Upon first listen I'm still divided in deciding if I like this band.

Stream clips from the entire album

Purchase for $9.72

Review: Taking Back Sunday - Louder Now:

Upon first listen this is my favorite Taking Back Sunday album. I didn't really care for the first two, but understood why others did, but I actually liked this one. I actually want to listen to this one. For how long, I don't know, but it's a very solid rock (note the lack of a three letter word ending is 'o') album.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $9.44

Review: T.I. - King:

Upon first listen I was surprised by how much I liked it.
It's an equalizer album of sorts, seeming to blur the lines between
legitimate artist and mediocre hip-hop/R&B singer who you see on MTV.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $13.97

Review: Portastatic - Who Loves The Sun (Original Film Score):

Portastatic - Who Loves The Sun (Original Film Score): Upon first listen it's an unnecessary album release as it's not very cohesive. Set to the the backdrop of a film I can see a lot of the tracks working (in fact, I could visualize scenes as the songs were playing), but to listen to in album form just seems wasteful.

Download Lively Chase

Download Just Like A Real Book

Download Last Kiss Music

Purchase for $9.79

Review: Lovely Lads - The Best You've Got:

Upon first listen it's a bit more melodic than their demo, but it's just as good, if not better and has better production.

Download The Battle Will Come

Download In Your Head

Purchase for $12.50

Review: Lovely Lads - Demo:

Upon first listen it sounds a lot like The Explosion with moments of early Dropkick Murphys and The Ducky Boys. In other words, it's an amazing album (10 songs) that's production keeps it from being a proper release.

Download Left Behind

Download Now I Wonder

Purchase, if you can find it

There's Bob Dylan

and then everyone else.

Review: Journey - Greatest Hits:

Upon first listen I can safely say that I won't listen to this album in its entirety ever again. That being said, you can't deny some of the hits that Journey generated and I'm sure to listen to some of the individual songs.

Stream a few songs and clips of the rest

Purchase for $9.72

Review: Gomez - How We Operate:

Upon first listen there's a few good songs, but not enough that should generate the amount of buzz this band has.

Stream How We Operate, girlshapedlovedrug and Homoa Beach

Purchase for $10.49

Review: Gnarls Barkley - St. Elsewhere:

Upon first listen it's a lot more solid than I had anticipated. Despite the excellent first single (Crazy), I was worried it would be the I Get Wet of the hip-hop crowd, but that fear was assuaged as Cee-Lo and DangerMouse put one hell of an album together.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $9.49

Review: Gauze - Equalizing Distort:

Upon first listen it's got some amazing music in there, especially in light of the fact that it came out in '86. Considered one of the best Japanese hardcore records ever, I was expecting a little more, but even still there was more than enough to like.

Stream Track 1, Low Charge, Pressing On (all non-album specific)

Purchase it if you can find it

Review: Foreigner - Complete Greatest Hits:

Upon first listen it's cheesy, but there's nothing endearing about it.

Stream clips from the entire album

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $13.18

Review: Elf Power - Back To The Web:

Upon first listen I was drawn into the web.

Download An Old Familiar Scene

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $10.93

Review: Defiance, Ohio - The Great Depression:

Upon first listen this is as close to another good Against Me! album as you'll likely to get.

Download the entire album in a variety of formats

Purchase for $6

Review: Cold War Kids - With Our Wallets Full/Up In Rags:

Upon first listen you can certainly here the influence of many of today's most beloved bands. White Stripes, Radiohead and Interpol all come to mind.

Download Tell Me In The Morning

Download Hospital Beds

Purchase both for $12 (or $7 each)

Review: The Church - Uninvited, Like The Clouds:

Upon first listen I'm taken aback as I'm not sure what to think. I really liked a lot of it but can't really describe it. I think it's one of those records (and perhaps bands) that you must experience for yourself to pass judgement.

Download Unified Field

Purchase for $9.95

Review: Review: Camera Obscura - Let's Get Out Of This Country:

Upon first listen it's a perfectly adequate indie-pop-esque record. Adequate.

Download Let's Get Out Of This Country

Purchase for $10.49

Review: Avail - 4 AM Friday:

Upon first listen it has less of the cohesiveness a trule great melodic hardcore records typically possesses.

Stream Simple Song

Purchase for $11.94

Review: Avail - Dixie:

Upon first listen it has more of the cohesiveness a truly great melodic hardcore record typically possesses.

Stream Scuffle Town and Clone

Purchase for $11.10

Review: Avail - Satiate:

Upon first listen it lacks the cohesiveness a truly great melodic hardcore record typically possesses.

Stream clips from the entire album

Purchase for $11.88

Review: Arctic Monkeys - Who The Fuck Are The Arctic Monkeys?:

Upon first listen it's got less fire and brimstone than Whatever You Say... which is why it's released as an EP and not on a full length, though it's essentially a single for View From the Afternoon.

Stream the video for The View From The Afternoon

Purchase for $6.74

Review: Streets - The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living:

Upon first listen (and beyond) I didn't really care for A Grand Don't... despite the critical praise it got then (and still gets). I loved Original Pirate Material, however, so I keep coming back for more. The Hardest Way is a blend of the two and had it come out before A Grand I would have been more tolerable.

Stream When You Wasn't Famous

Purchase for $12.17

Review: Raconteurs - Broken Boy Soldiers:

Upon first listen it's not going the change the world, but it's extremely solid rock that takes a few listens to get into.

Stream Steady, As She Goes and Store Bought Bones

Purchase for $11.41

Review: None More Black - This is Satire:

Upon first listen this is the favorite of all the post-Kid Dynamite bands (maybe they'll do a reunion tour soon), but this release has them forgetting most of their punk past in favor of melodic rock leanings. Not that it doesn't work, because it does, just sometimes.

Stream With The Transit Coat On and You Suck! But Your Peanut Butter Is OK

Purchase for $9.35

Review: Maritime - We, The Vehicles:

Upon first listen it's another hit or miss affair. Lots of positives but enough negatives to make it distracting. The biggest negative being their inability to 'rock out' when the moment dictates.

Download Calm

Download Parade of Punk Rock T-Shirts

Purchase for $10.69

Coldplay

A video as cheesy and over-the-top as the music on their latest album.

Review: Lambchop - The Decline of Country and Western Civilization Part 2, The Woodwind Years:

Upon first listen the excellent songwriting doesn't keep the delivery afloat through the variety of styles it attempts. That said, the albums this band puts out (this being a compilation of miscellany) must be better and worth checking out.

Download The Distance From Her And There

Purchase for $10.43

Review: Islands - Return To The Sea:

Upon first listen it's a rather hit and miss affair that when it hits makes you start thinking album of the year and when it misses makes you wonder what the hell you were just thinking about.

Stream Rough Gem, Where There's A Will There's A Whalebone and Jogging Gorgeous Summer

Purchase for $9.99

Review: Heavy Blinkers - The Night And I Are Still So Young:

Upon first listen this band's '60s-styled pyschadelic pop would be a great addition to the Elephant 6 Collective.

Download Try Telling That To My Baby

Purchase for $11.19 (not out until 5/23)

Review: Fiery Furnaces - Bitter Tea;

Upon first listen it's more listenable than Rehearsing My Choir, but doesn't strike the same chords that Gallowsbird's Bark, Blueberry Boat and even EP hit. Still, like Radiohead, it deserves more listens.

Stream part of the album

Purchase for $10

Review: Ani DiFranco - 2002.04.06, Carnegie Hall:

Upon first listen I'm surprised someone so confident in her songs is so nervous (immature?) as a stage presence. This is the first time I've ever heard a DiFranco song (consciously) and while I walked away very impressed, her on-stage banter has a bit of catching up to do.

Download Two Little Girls

Purchase for $12.20

Review: The Black Heart Procession - The Spell:

Upon first listen, you listen to person after person and blog after blog rave about band X. So you listen to band X, but just don't see what all the fuss is for. This was the case with The Black Heart Procession. Was is the key word, as I get it now. Can't wait to back and listen to their old albums again.

Stream The Letter and Not Just Words

Purchase for $10.88

Review: Fiona Apple - Extraordinary Machine (Retail):

Upon first listen, it could be because it's actually finished, but I seem to prefer this incarnation to the previously leaked version. It seems to be quieter (the backing tracks) and interferes less with the lyrics.

Stream Get Him Back and Not About Love

Purchase for $12.88

Review: Band of Horses - Everything All The Time:

Band of Horses - Everything All The Time: Upon first listen, there's not enough hype on this band, as it's easily the best indie/pop/rock album I've heard all year.

Stream The Funeral and The Great Salt Lake

Purchase for $11.18

Review: Age of Rockets - The Drive Home:

Upon first listen, it's very difficult to not make comparisons to The Postal Service.

Download Petales Aiment La Salete, Insmileoutblood and Once, We Were Monsters

Stream The Day The Whole World Died

Purchase for $10

Review: Sparks - Hello Young Lovers:

Upon first listen, Dick Around may be my favorite song of the year. The entire album is filled with songs that sound like some weird blend of Court of the Crimson King, SMiLE and Blind Guardian. I know it's hard to picture, but wow.

Download minute-long clips of a few tracks (including the amazing Dick Around)

Purchase for $8.81

Review: Pretty Girls Make Graves - Elan Vital:

Upon first listen, it's accessible, yet avant garde and free from the punk edges found on their early work. A lot of the songs are good, but I didn't enjoy it as an album.

Download The Nocturnal House

Purchase for $10.49

Review: Marconi Union - Distance:

Upon first listen, it has just enough action and noise to keep you interested with just enough suspense to make you want more.

Download Sleepless

Purchase for $12.99

Review: Ghostface Killah - Fishscale:

Upon first listen, it's easily the best rap/hip-hop album of the year. The production is good, the rhymes are good, the flow is good AND it's got MF Doom. What more can you ask for?

Stream the audio or the video for Back Like That

Purchase for $9.89

Review: Calexico - Garden Ruin:

Upon first listen, I fell in love with the Iron & Wine/Calexico Split from last year, so I assumed I would also love this. I shouldn't have assumed such grandiose desires, as I find this to be rather boring and uninteresting. Perhaps I'll like Iron & Wine better.

Download Cruel

Purchase for $9.99

Review: Delays - You See Colours:

Upon first listen, I hesitate to use the word dense when describing this brit-pop band, so perhaps a fuller sound is what they've developed since their debut. More electronic flourishes are present and a lot of the songs tend to run together. Ultimately, it's a decent follow-up, but one that takes a lot more time to reconcile.

Stream Long Time Coming and Nearer Than Heaven

Purchase for $21.04 (or wait until it's released domestically)

Review: Secret Machines - Ten Silver Drops:

Upon first listen, it starts a bit slow and stiff, but is soon falls into a groove that while, similar enough to Now Here, is certainly more open and more flowing.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $12.99

Review: Dresden Dolls - Yes, Virginia:

Upon first listen, it's overly dramatic, as to be expected. This gets rather tiresome, really fast, and with no 'Girl Anachronism' or 'Coin-Operated Boy' to break it up, means the album becomes stale.

Download Dirty Business and stream Modern Moonlight

Purchase for $9.38

Review: Saves The Day - Sound The Alarm:

Upon first listen, it has a couple of good songs, but it's nothing more than decent rock/pop.

Stream The End and Shattered

Purchase for $9.38

Review: Various - Compounds & Elements:

Upon first listen, it's a compilation of minimalist, ambient and electronic music featuring Brian Eno, among others. Some works, some doesn't. What surprised me was how much I did like, having no previous disposition towards liking the aforementioned genres.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $2.14

Review: Saves The Day - Bug Sessions, Volume 1:

Upon first listen, it really showcases how much his voice has changed, as they cover acoustically (albeit with too much noise and enthusiasm) some older and newer hits. In the end, it's great for fans, but the casual listener just won't get into it.

Tour only EP, go see them live

Review: Playwrights - English Self-Storage:

Upon first listen, it falls somewhere between Fugazi and Franz Ferdinand on the post-punk scale. Leans a little more heavily to Fugazi, but has some of the pop sensibility (but very little of angular guitar attack) of Franz.

Stream some samples of a few tracks

Purchase for $10.43

Review: Hayseed Dixie - A Hot Piece Of Grass:

Upon first listen, it's like Devil Went Down To Georgia-esque country-rock with covers of Led Zeppelin, Motorhead and Green Day, among others and in addition to some originals. Covers are worth the price of admission.

Download Holiday

Purchase for $13.26

Spam Blog

So Blogger thought this was a spam blog and had to investigate it yesterday, which is why there was no post. They've put it on the 'whitelist' so that it won't be investigating again, which means now would be the perfect time to make a spam blog.

Review: Get Up Kids - Something To Write Home About:

Upon first listen I felt as though I cheated, listening to their first and third albums before this, giving me vast amounds of insight into their sound.

Stream clips from the entire album

Purchase for $11.54

Review: Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings The Flood:

It's kind of like Rabbit Fur Coat, only done well.

Download Star Witness

Purchase for $9.72

Review: Voices and Organs - The Orphanage

Voices and Organs - The Orphanage: It still amazes me how some bands call what they make music as opposed to what it really is, boring noise collages.

Download clips for a couple of tracks

Purchase for $11.19

Review: The Promise Ring - 30 Degrees Everywhere

The Promise Ring - 30 Degrees Everywhere: Quintessentially emo, but a bit more rough. I have a feeling they followed it up with a great album, but this one falls a bit short.

Download Red Paint

Purchase for $9.48

Sound The Alarm

Saves The Day's new album, Sound The Alarm, has leaked.

Review: Mogwai - Mr. Beast

Mogwai - Mr. Beast: I've listened to all of their album, but I've never been impressed with Mogwai. Until now. While I liked (a lot) some (if not most) of the songs, I didn't like the entire album, but there's enough to bring me back at least a few more times.

Download Folk Death '95

Purchase for $11.19

Dylan Still Touring

Updated tour dates here, including a 05.05.06 date in Atlanta.

Review: Liar's Drum's Not Dead

Liars - Drum's Not Dead: No rmally, I don't go for the drone-heavy type of music, but the first few tracks of this are 'turn it up to 11' quality. The latter half of the disc wasn't as interesting (or as loud), but I have a feeling I'll end up getting into it.

Download and stream a ton of music and videos

Purchase for $12.99

Review: Janis Ian - Folk Is The New Black

Janis Ian - Folk Is The New Black: "Folk is the new black/cheaper than crack and you don't have to cook/download it and see/first time is free, then you'll be hooked/we'll be singing hootenanny songs/long after rock and roll is gone/better than crack - folk is the new black"

Download The Great Divide

Download Folk Is The New Black

Purchase for $9.99

Review: The Loved Ones - The Loved Ones/Keep Your Heart

The Loved Ones - The Loved Ones/Keep Your Heart: There's plenty of boring rock on commercial radio, so there's no sense in occupying some of the independent music scene.

Stream Suture Self and Breathe In

Purchase the EP for $7

Purcahse Keep Your Heart for $9.76

Kenotia

In preparation for the Week Proposal Reunion Show, I bring forth Kenotia (http://www.myspace.com/kenotia).

Review: Half-Handed Cloud - Halos and Lassos

Half-Handed Cloud - Halos and Lassos: A bit of an annoying voice for an album all about religion makes for a very long listen.

Download Feed Your Sheep A Burning Lamp

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Review: The Get Up Kids - Four Minute Mile

The Get Up Kids - Four Minute Mile: Admittedly, I always judged this band (specifically their first two albums) by the people who liked them. While I fell in love with On A Wire (and took a pass on Guilt Show), I never journeyed to their roots. I wish I had done so sooner. It's more raw than Saves The Day, but poppier than Lifetime, seeming to bridge the gap from a thousand miles away.

Stream clips from the entire album

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Review: Figurines - Skeleton

Figurines - Skeleton: Poppy without being cheesy and artsy without being avante garde, this albums treads a fine line of supersaturation on just about every base it attempts to cover.

Download The Wonder

Download Rivalry

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Review: The Essex Green - Cannibal Sea

The Essex Green - Cannibal Sea: I'm not usually a fan of both a male and a female singer in a band, especially in the same song, but The Essex Green make it happen and deliver another solid batch of pop/rock tunes.

Download Don't Know Why (You Stay)

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Review: Cracker - Greatest Hits Redux

Cracker - Greatest Hits Redux: I can honestly say that I didn't know who Cracker was until the other day. After listening to the album, I of course recognized Low and a few others, but had never put a name to the songs. But anyways, this reworking of some of Cracker's greatest hits (to combat Virgin Records' own release of greatest hits released on the same day and without band input) is a great collection for the new fan. It's traditional rock done right and refreshing to hear in a musical climate of oddness.

Download Low

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Review: Chas Mtn - Hugs

Chas Mtn - Hugs: Of the sixteen tracks, there are about six actual songs. The rest just seem to be foundations for songs yet to be made. Because of so few songs, the album is inconsistent and had to get enjoy.

Stream Fly Over The City, Deep Safety and Leveled Mez

Purchase for $11.19 (out April 25)

Review: Rival Schools - Unreleased Album

Rival Schools - Unreleased Album: With a catalog of unreleased material for Mr. Schriefels it's hard to keep up. That's why I was surprised to find out that there was an unreleased Rival Schools album, and it that it's scheduled to get released this year. The songs represented here are more like demos and difficult to judge, but lack some of the catchiness and firmness on their debut. Still, here's hoping the the finished product lives up to the potential.

Download the entire album

Not for sale...yet

Review: Rilo Kiley - Live At Fingerprints

Rilo Kiley - Live At Fingerprints: The only disappointing part of this album is the lack of crowd noise. For a live album, you'd expect a little bit more, especially at a Rilo Kiley show.

Download some bootlegged live shows

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Review: Quasi - When The Going Gets Dark

Quasi - When The Going Gets Dark: Imagine if Piebald made a darker, artsier album and it was good.

Stream The Rhino

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Review: Ashley MacIsaac - Pride

Ashley MacIsaac - Pride: Sounding like a poppier version of Saul Williams (at times) this album is confusing as it transverses a lot of different terrain. Overall though, the songs are a bit repetitive but it manages to succeed.

Download Bitch

Download Just Because

Download Hey Alright

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Review: Cities - Cities

Cities - Cities: Debut album from this Radiohead sound-alike provides the foundation for what is sure to be future greatness. Not to say that this disc is somehow poor or inferior to future work, just that it's not all that it could be.

Stream A Theme and Cancer

Download A Theme

Album out April 18th on Yep-Roc Records

Review: Belle And Sebastian - Push Barman To Open Old Wounds

Belle And Sebastian - Push Barman To Open Old Wounds: This 2 disc collection of non-album tracks quickly wears thin despite some of its excellent tracks. And it's not as if this is a Belle and Sebastian thing, but 2 discs worth of material is a bit much for most artists to succeed with.

Stream clips from the entire first disc

Stream clips from the entire second disc

Purcahse for $12.14

Review: Man Man - Six Demon Bag

Man Man - Six Demon Bag: Good enough to enjoy, annoying enough to never listen to.

Download Van Helsing Boombox (Media)

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Review: Antlerand - Branches

Antlerand - Branches: The minimally-adorned packaging lends no clue to what lies beneath, which is certainly a good thing as there are no predictions as to the albums sound. So, when the disc is finally inserted, you are blown away by how great it is. The first half, at least, is very strong, poppy, but instrumental like post-rock. The back half is where things begin to falter as it's more of the latter and just didn't live up to what the first half sets up. Overall, it's a good album, but could have been great.

Download Brighter Rays/Goddamn Your Energy

Now It's A Year (Going On Six Years)

Purchase for $10.00

Review: Jesu - Jesu

Jesu - Jesu: My obsession with post-rock a few years ago (wow, it's been a few years already) has ruined the vast majority of future 'post' endeavors, including the cool new post-metal. As such, I find all of these albums to be boring and uninteresting, despite the concept to be exciting and interesting.

Stream Tired Of Me

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Review: Destroyer - Destroyer's Rubies

Destroyer - Destroyer's Rubies: Sparse musical arrangements accentuate Bowie-esque vocals making for an enjoyable and unique album that requires more than just one listen.

Download European Oils

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Review: Coldcut - Sound Mirrors

Coldcut - Sound Mirrors: Essentially, an electronic outfit with guest singers, the electronic aspect of which is unappealing, but there are some tracks on here that are highly enjoyable.

Stream Sound Mirrors

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Review: Belle And Sebastian - The Life Pursuit

Belle And Sebastian - The Life Pursuit: For me, Belle and Sebastian has always been an intimidating band. They have routinely received such grandiose amounts of praise that they surely could not live up to it. So, with hesitation and an open mind, I popped the disc in. Belle and Sebastian proceeded to deliver on every wonderful thing I had ever read or heard. In hindsight, this is allegedly a 'different' album for the band, but it's spectacular. Imagine listening to the Scissor Sisters cover the Shins.

Download Another Sunny Day

Check out the contest to sing with the band on stage in Seattle

Purchase the CD/DVD package for $12.99

Review: Various - London: Original Motion Picture (Featuring Original Score By The Crystal Method)

Various - London- Original Motion Picture (Featuring Original Score By The Crystal Method): The title is a bit misleading, containing mostly Crystal Method tracks, but a few others too. And it's a score, which means it was made to be accompanied by a movie. As a score, it probably succeeds, but as an album, it fails to deliver. Unless you're a Crystal Method fan.

Download Smoked

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