Review: The Poison Arrows - Straight Into The Drift:

Upon first listen the album feels very detached from its surroundings, giving way to a an extremely isolated post-rock meets electronic pop outing.

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Review: Talib Kweli and Madlib - Liberation:

Upon first listen some of the tracks here are some of the best that Kweli has released since Black Star. Others, not so much.

Stream Funny Money

Purchase for $14.95 (or invent time travel to go back a few months and download it for free from Stones Throw)

Review: Various - Endless Highway- The Music of The Band:

Upon first listen it's hit or miss, as expected, but ultimately makes me want to go listen to my copy of Big Pink.

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Review: Maria Taylor - Lynn Teeter Flower:

Upon first listen I'm finding it very difficult to not make a comparison to a chorus-less Rilo Kiley.

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Review: Shabutie - Plan to Take Over the World:

Upon first listen this is exactly what it is; early Coheed and Cambria.

Stream Strung Short, Disciple's Anthem, Star Cecil and Goodnight

Purchase, if you can find it

Review: Low - Drums and Guns:

Upon first listen it's a rather disappointing follow-up to The Great Destroyer.

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Purchase for $9.71

Review: Ted Leo and Pharmacists - Living with the Living:

Upon first listen I think Mr. Leo and drug-pushing counterparts should stick to live performance and mainstream pop covers as their studio output never seems to hold a candle to either of those.

Stream BombRepeatBomb and The Sons of Cain

Purchase for $11.98

Review: 3/20 Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha:

Upon first listen, wow!

Upon further consideration, wow!

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Review: The Police - Zenyatta Mondatta:

Upon first listen it's reggae-based music that I really like. Go figure. And it (mostly) holds up the test of time.

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Purchase for $4.34

Review: Peter Bjorn and John - Writer's Block:

Upon first listen I think I want to cut this up with Falling Out and make one good LP.

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Purchase for $8.72

Review: Comeback Kid - Broadcasting:

Upon first listen this is leaps and bounds better than Wake the Dead. It's still formulaic and predictable but it's so much more raw. The change of singers has definetly served them well (though not for live shows, yet).

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Purchase for $9.97

Review: The Besnard Lakes - Are The Dark Horse:

Upon first listen it has its moments in a brooding, potential-filled way, but fails to deliver entirely.

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Purchase for $10.75

Review: Andrew WK - Close Calls With Brick Walls:

Upon first listen this pretty much severs my relationship with Mr. WK as I will no longer be investing time into his future endeavors in a vein hope of preserving I Get Wet in all its quirky, unrelenting glory.

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Purchase for $19.78 (it's an import)

Review: Various - William Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet Music From The Motion Picture (10th Anniversary Edition):

Upon first listen this movie was so iconic when it came out, but the soundtrack does not hold the test of time.

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Review: Van Morrison - At The Movies- Soundtrack Hits:

Upon first listen it's only necessary for Van Morrison fans and only if they don't have these songs elsewhere.

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Purchase for $11.99

Review: The Good, The Bad & The Queen - The Good, The Bad & The Queen:

Upon first listen it's exactle what you were expecting from Mr. Blur; downtempo, guitar-based rock that sometimes works and sometimes doesn't.

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Purchase for $10.89

Review: Calla - Strength In Numbers:

Upon first listen this follow-up to the solid Collisions is a more complex, more textured effort that I found even more rewarding. If you were a fan of Collisions, or even Elbow (not that they sound similar) you should be checking this out.

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Purchase for $9.75

Review: Apostle of Hustle - National Anthem of Nowhere:

Upon first listen this is a case of the pre-released media hyping an album that inevitably will fail to deliver. I was so stoked on this album after the pre-release of My Sword Hand's Anger and the album title track (the best 2 tracks on the album), but was slightly underwhelming. Hopefully, it will grow on me.

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Purchase for $10.85

Review: Arcade Fire - Neon Bible:

Upon first listen it lacks the immediacy present on Funeral, but still manages to be compelling. A lot of the tracks are good (No Cars Go, Intervention), but it's not the album that Funeral is.

Stream Keep The Car Running

Purchase for $8.95

Review: Explosions in the Sky - All Of the Sudden, I Miss Everyone:

Upon first listen EITS is certainly the most consistent post-rock band and they do little to tarnish their own legacy. It's everything you're expecting and maybe a little you're not.

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Review: Talking Heads - 77:

Upon first listen this is the blueprint for nearly all of the indie rock albums in at least the past 7 years. And I loved every minute of it.

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Purchase for $6.48

Review: Ron Sexsmith - Time Being:

Upon first listen the songwriter's songwriter
strikes again. Great songs, wonderful arrangements and no acclaim or
record sales to show for it.

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Purchase for $13.49