Review: Sonic Youth - Sister:

Upon first listen I wasn't impressed until I turned the volume up. Way up. Part of the problem would have to be my admittedly high expectations predicated on the first 10 minutes or so of 1981, The Year Punk Broke in which the band performs Schizophrenia live and it blew me away.

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Review: Sloan - Never Hear The End Of It:

Upon first listen I never thought I was going to hear the end of the 30 tracks presented here, a lot of it filler, most of which owing a great deal to the Beatles and Badfinger.

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Review: Shearwater - Palo Santo:

Upon first listen it's moody and exhilarating if a little tired and overdone.

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Review: New Amsterdams - Worse For The Wear:

Upon first listen it's a really great album if you're not expecting On A Wire, Pt. 2. And even if you are, it's pretty great.

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Review: Lifetime - Lifetime:

Upon first listen it's almost a little forumlaic in its raw-yet-melodic pop/punk style. Until you realize that these guys pretty much invented the style and then it becomes what it is; a natural evolution of the style they created.

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Review: Apples in Stereo - New Magnetic Wonder:

Upon first listen I'm growing a bit tired of all of this great pyschedelic pop out there. Unfortunately, as great as it is there is better.

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Review: Peter Bjorn and John - Falling Out:

Upon first listen there are some good tracks on this Swedish pop album, but I just didn't enjoy the entire thing.

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Review: Luscious Jackson - Greatest Hits:

Upon first listen there is such a melange of different, but oddly similar genres that works only sometimes. All of that is not to say that there aren't some good tracks on here, because there are. But I could have dealt better with a Greatest Hits EP.

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Review: Love of Diagrams - EP:

Upon first listen I love diagrams no more and no less than I did prior to listening to this post-punk EP.

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Review: Sondre Lerche - Phantom Punch:

Upon first listen it seems as though Mr. Lerche's confidence grows exponentially with each album. I grew to really like Two Way Monologue and quite enjoyed Faces Down, but this one may be the best of his young career.

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Review: Kayo Dot - Dowsing Anemone with Copper Tongue:

Upon first listen it's a bit more avant garde than Choirs of the Eye, but there are a lot of rewarding parts to it. Just don't expect to be blown away.

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Review: Hot Cross - Risk Revival:

Upon first listen this is the best punk/hardcore/screamo album of this year, by far. Granted this is among the first that I have listened to, but it's going to take some really great to top this.

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Review: Bloc Party - A Weekend In The City:

Upon first listen I just can't enjoy this album. I loved the EP, enjoyed the first LP but will probably never listen to this one again. It's boring and lacks any of the spontaniety of the aforementioned discs. Its energy is something to be laughed. The best part of that EP was how you felt that the songs were to fall apart at any minute. I just don't feel that way here.

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Review: Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! - Some Loud Thunder:

Upon first listen I can't believe how much I liked this album when I didn't really care for the narcissistic debut. I'm not entirely sure why, but it just works for me this go round. Though it could have been a track or two lighter.

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Review: Shins - Wincing The Night Away:

Upon first listen I absolutely loved Chutes Too Narrow and really liked Oh, Inverted World (perhaps because I listened in that order?) but do not find the same attachment to this new disc. It's less of a pop album and more of an indie-rock album which isn't always a bad thing but I'm certainly going to need some more time with it.

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Review: Ambulance LTD - New English EP:

Upon first listen the best part of this EP is the demo songs from their debut. The new tracks just don't have that same immediacy, shimmer or stick-in-your-head-forever allure.

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Review: The Stranglers - Suite XVI:

Upon first listen it's not all bad, but it certainly is forced and not very organic sounding.

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Review: Roxette - A Collection Of Roxette Hits!:

Upon first listen when people say the '80s suck, I'm pretty sure they're talking about Roxette.

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Review: Diana Ross - I Love You:

Upon first listen I Love You is to romance and love what Andrew WK's I Get Wet is to partying and drunken shenanigans. Where Andrew WK's campiness and overall enthusiasm make his album a winner, Diana's overproduction and underwhelming performances (Not to mention, 15 love songs? You've got to be nuts) make this a disc not worth exploring.

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Review: Monty Python x4

Monty Python - Another Monty Python Record: Upon first listen I'm not a very big Monty Python fan and this album is no exception. Though I did laugh a few times, I won't be revisiting this album soon.

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Monty Python - Monty Python's Previous Record: Upon first listen I didn't laugh once on this record.

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Monty Python - The Life Of Brian: Upon first listen I was the most familiar with The Life of Brian coming into this exercise in patience. I couldn't finish the movie, however, and the album nearly met the same fate.

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Monty Python - The Meaning of Life: Upon first listen I didn't laugh, but I felt as though I could have. I almost want to see this movie now because I felt that if I could better relate to some of these characters, the skits could actually be funny.

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