Review: Morrissey - Years Of Refusal:

Upon first listen I've never been much of a Moz fan (nor of The Smiths) and this lounge-singer effort has done little to make me want to investigate further.

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Review: Make Do and Mend - Bodies of Water:

Upon first listen it fails to live up to the promise of their debut. Not bad, but rather mediocre with potential.

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Review: Major Organ and the Adding Machine - Major Organ and the Adding Machine:

Upon first listen this giant-sized band of Elephant 6 members (including Jeff Mangum) makes a scizophrenically psychedelic mish-mash of music and concepts. As expected, the tracks are hit-or-miss in quality.

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Review: Kathy McCarty - Dead Dog's Eyeball (Songs of Daniel Johnston):

Upon first listen it lacks the desperation and immediacy that Johnston portrays. There are a couple of good tracks, however (Like A Monkey In A Zoo and Oh No!).

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Review: Love - Forever Changes:

Upon first listen it's mostly forgettable pop/rock from the '60s. Or so I thought, because it's been named the sixth best album of all time by NME (among others). Obviously I've missed something.

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Review: Lifter Puller - Soft Rock:

Upon first listen there's no mistaking Craig Finn for anyone. While grating at times, there's certainly an album's worth of songs represented on these two discs - especially for fans of The Hold Steady.

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Review: Leaves - B-Side Collection:

Upon first listen this is a really solid set of songs - almost enough to make a really good album.

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Review: The Lawrence Arms - Oh! Calcutta!:

Upon first listen it's easily their best album - but that's not saying too much.

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Review: The Lawrence Arms - Cocktails and Dreams:

Upon first listen it's a frustrating compilation album in which the band can't decide if it wants to be this cool, melodic rock band or a snotty pop-punk one - and neither wins out.

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Review: The Lawrence Arms - The Greatest Story Ever Told:

Upon first listen it's certainly not the greatest story ever told.

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Review: The Lawrence Arms - Apathy and Exhaustion:

Upon first listen this seems to be their "grown up" album - a little less snotty, a little more melodic. It's no surprise, then, that this is my favorite of their albums thus far.

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Review: The Lawrence Arms - Ghost Stories:

Upon first listen it seems to have a harder edge to it this time around - a welcome addition.

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Review: The Lawrence Arms - A Guided Tour of Chicago:

Upon first listen it's more smoke-induced street punk that I'm sure is a blast in a live setting but never really transfers to CD.

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Review: Jaydiohead:

Upon first listen this may be my favorite Jay-Z mashup. The production is minimal, but beneficial to the original tracks. My only complain is Fall In Step which has the volume a little too loud on the 15 Step sample, drowning out the vocals.

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Review: Gza - Liquid Swords:

Upon first listen it's another excellent hip-hop album from a Wu-Tang alum, even if it does run a track or two long.

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Review: Ghostface Killah and MF Doom:

Upon first listen I was very excited at the prospects of this collaboration, but very disappointed in its execution. Mediocre at best is the only way to describe this collection of what I can assume is demos.

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Review: Ghostface Killah - Hidden Darts:

Upon first listen it's, like most collections, is a hit-or-miss affair. Mainly misses.

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Review: Ghostface Killah - Supreme Clientele:

Upon first listen I found it difficult to listen to with the introduction of skits as well as some very distracting production work.

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Review: Ghostface Killah - Ironman:

Upon first listen the movie quotes are a little overdone, but other than that, this is how hip-hop should sound.

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Review: Liam Finn - I'll Be Lightning:

Upon first listen I'm still not sure if I like him or not. It certainly doesn't appear to be terribly special, but it's also not poor. I'll be confused.

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Review: For Squirrels:

Baypath Rd: Upon first listen the easiest comparison to make (and thus the laziest) is to the Pixies.

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Example: Upon first listen this actually precedes Baypath Rd and is a bit poppier, but easily less refined.

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Review: Future of the Left - Curses:

Upon first listen it was so gratingly repetitive I turned it off after the third track and have yet to revisit.

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Review: Fleet Foxes - Sun Giant:

Upon first listen it's certainly not as fleshed out as their LP, but it's hard to not like it.

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Review: Fire Deuce - Children Of The Deuce:

Upon first listen this faux-metal outing from Travis Stever is more of a stop-gap before finding his truer, more refined sound in Davenport Cabinet.

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Review: The English Panther - The English Panther:

Upon first listen this comes across as a collection of Demos from Coheed-guitarist Travis Stever. Acoustic and certainly interesting, just lacking in direction.

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Review: Elbow - B-Side Collection:

Upon first listen this marathon of a collection, at 55 tracks, needs some pairing down. Perhaps breaking it into three different collections - true B-sides, remixes, demos/acoustic - would make it a little easier to digest.

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Review: Department of Eagles - In Ear Park:

Upon first listen some albums require a more active listen. This being one of them, I did not give it the proper attention.

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Review: Crass - Penis Envy:

Upon first listen this is an absolute classic punk rock album and I can't believe it's taken me so long to listen to it.

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Review: The Buzzcocks - Singles Going Steady:

Upon first listen it's refreshing, though a little daunting, knowing that pop-punk has barely changed in thirty years.

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Review: Buffalo Springfield - Again:

Upon first listen I'm not sure I'd be all that interested if Neil Young weren't involved. There's certainly some good songs here (Mr. Soul), but not enough of them.

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Review: Mick Boogie and Terry Urban - Viva La Hova:

Upon first listen I'm almost always disappointed in these mashups - despite the cool concepts they usually provide.

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Review: Bon Iver - Blood Bank:

Upon first listen I had one foot on the bandwagon, but it had taken many listens to get there. This EP does nothing to get that second foot on there as well, almost causing the first foot to fall off.

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Review: Andrew Bird - Noble Beast:

Upon first listen it's just not as cohesive as his past few releases and seems a bit more sparse. It's still good, but not Andrew Bird good.

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Review: Big Star - Radio City:

Upon first listen I just wasn't that interested in what they had to offer.

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Review: Doug Benson - Professional Humoredian:

Upon first listen one of his final jokes on the CD is about people who "lol" at their own jokes. It's ironic because that's exactly what he does for the entire CD - mostly before the punchline is given. There's a couple of really good lines here and there, but most of it is arrogant and childish.

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Review: The Band - The Complete Last Waltz:

Upon first listen I'd like to thank Croz.fm for this excellent four-disc set. I was never a big fan of The Band, but this has made me see the light.

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Review: Antony and the Johnsons - The Crying Light:

Upon first listen I seem to remember really liking his last album, so I was a bit disappointed when I didn't like this one.

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Review: Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion:

Upon first listen I've never been a big fan of the Collective, but with such nauseatingly universal praise for this disc, I tried to approach it with a more open mind. It's certainly very avant garde, more so than their previous releases, but parts of it are far too grating - especially the middle of Brother Sport. I'll need to revisit it soon to figure out why I'm the only one that doesn't seem to get it.

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Review: Neil Young - Sugar Mountain: Live At Canterbury House 1968:

Upon first listen it's not as good as Massey Hall, but it's another nice addition to Young's collection.

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Review: Woven Hand - Ten Stones:

Upon first listen I always really like listening to Woven Hand, but never revisit between albums.

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Review: Why? - Alopecia:

Upon first listen it's........interesting.

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Review: Chad VanGaalen - Soft Airplane:

Upon first listen I'm surprised at how much I didn't like this. I've been doing a much better job at screening artists to ensure some level of enjoyability, but this one flew a little under that radar.

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Review: Sun Kil Moon - April:

Upon first listen it's a perfect rainy day album.

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Review: Spiritualized - Songs In A & E:

Upon first listen I never was able to get into Spiritualized during my infatuation with post-rock. Their name came up all over the place, but it never struck a chord with me. Well, I'm paying attention now.

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Review: Red Eyed Legends - Wake Up, Legend:

Upon first listen it's garage rock that fails to translate to disc.

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Review: Ra Ra Riot - The Rhumb Line:

Upon first listen I'm just inundated with really great music from last year. Will it ever cease?

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Review: Polar Bear Club - Sometime Things Just Disappear:

Upon first listen I'm not even sure how to describe this excellent punk-inspired, but entirely-unique album.

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Review: Paint It Black - New Lexicon:

Upon first listen there seems to exist a disconnect between the vocals and the music. Live, I'm sure this is one killer set of songs.

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Review: New Radiant Storm King - Drinking In The Moonlight:

Upon first listen it's another solid album, aside from the sometimes distracting production.

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Review: Kaiser Chiefs - Off With Their Heads:

Upon first listen let's just call them a guilty pleasure.

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Review: My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges:

Upon first listen it's perfectly fine arena rock - and I'm sure it's awesome live - but it's also a little schizophrenic. I mean, Highly Suspicious is a long-lost Talking Heads track and has no business on the album.

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Review: The Mountain Goats - Satanic Messiah:

Upon first listen I was expecting something a little heavier, with a bit more crunch. Instead, I got some more awesome songs from Mr. Darnielle.

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Review: Ida Maria - Fortress 'round My Heart:

Upon first listen I love the quirky songwriting and odd-timed deliveries, but much like the Dresden Dolls, she takes it a bit too far at times.

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Review: Keane - Perfect Symmetry:

Upon first listen it's perfectly boring.

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Review: The (International) Noise Conspiracy - The Cross Of My Calling:

Upon first listen it would be negligent to say that fans of Ted Leo would enjoy this and vice versa.

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Review: Guns 'n' Roses - Chinese Democracy:

Upon first listen the expectations for this album were so varied, it's no wonder the reviews were as well. I rather enjoyed it - sure it gets a little too grandiose at times, but it's still a pretty good rock album. Of course, I was never a big GnR fan, so that probably helps.

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Review: The Gaslight Anthem - Senor and the Queen:

Upon first listen I'm not surprised these tracks didn't make their latest album. Not that they're bad, just not as good as some of the other work.

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Review: Frightened Rabbit - The Midnight Organ Fight:

Upon first listen I was sure, 30 seconds in, that I was going to love this album. While I did like it quite a bit, it didn't live up to those premature expectations.

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Review: The Fireman - Electric Arrangements:

Upon first listen I think I'd like this a lot more (though I did like it quite a bit) if McCartney weren't attached. Some truly wonderful, inspiring tracks and a few clunkers.

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Review: Fear Before - Fear Before:

Upon first listen it comes across as cheesy and not genuine. Can we please induce a moratorium on screaming and singing softly within the same song for a while?

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Review: The Fall of Troy - Phantom on the Horizon:

Upon first listen you've likely already made up your mind on these guys. I certainly have and can do without them.

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Review: Bob Dylan - The Bootleg Series, Volume 8: Tell Tale Signs:

Upon first listen it's amazing that Dylan has such quality stuff never released. I look forward to his Bootleg Series releases more than I do his new albums.

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Review: Dillinger Four - Civil War:

Upon first listen it's pretty good pop-punk. I was expecting better based on reviews, but was not turned off by it either.

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Review: Deerhunter - Microcastle:

Upon first listen it's the best Sonic Youth album they've yet to release.

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Review: Dear And The Headlights - Drunk Like Bible Times:

Upon first listen they sound just like a dozen indie-rock bands (not that that's inherently a bad thing), but for whatever reason I found Ian Metzger's voice to be distracting.

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Review: Davenport Cabinet - Nostalgia In Stereo:

Upon first listen I've gathered one of two conclusions from this: 1) Claudio isn't as much of a megalomaniac as I assumed he was and Travis is the driving force behind the sound of Coheed and Cambria or 2) Travis is an excellent student and has learned greatly from Claudio as many of the tracks here could easily be the basis for a Coheed track.

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Review: Common - Universal Mind Control:

Upon first listen I'm going to give up on Common for a while. His promise and potential have been unfulfilled for far too long.

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Review: Coldplay - Prospekt's March:

Upon first listen there's certainly some throwaway stuff here (Glass of Water), but some songs should have ended up on Viva La Vida (Life In Technicolor II should have opened the album).

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Review: Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago:

Upon first listen if this album wasn't buried under a pile of adulation bigger that Bono's ego, I'd have already dismissed it. It's not, however, so I'll have to go back and see what all the fuss is aboug.

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Review: Blitzen Trapper - Furr:

Upon first listen I'm still not sure how to categorize these guys, but I don't remember them being so upbeat. Still, they don't make an entirely-cohesive album, but with enough good tracks worth listening to again.

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Review: Black Keys - Attack & Release:

Upon first listen I've been ignoring the hipster hype on these guys for years now, assuming it was just more of the same. Had I known there was an extremely solid blues-rock band hiding beneath the hype, I wouldn't have hesitated so much.

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Review: Brian Wilson - That Lucky Old Sun:

Upon first listen it's not as epic (or storied as) SMiLE, but if you're still looking for that early-'60s California pop feel, you could do worse.

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Review: Tom Gabel - Heart Burns:

Upon first listen it's no the return to anarcho-acoustic punk many were hoping for from the Against Me! frontman's debut, but it serves his namesake well. There's a couple of questionable decisions (electric drums?) and some really good songs (Anna, which blows away the live versions). At the end of the day it's an interesting experiment - one that I hope is repeated.

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Review: The Walkmen - You & Me:

Upon first listen this is what I would expect Bob Dylan and The Band to sound like if he tried to make an Indie Rock album.

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Review: Verse - Aggression:

Upon first listen it's lacking something I can't quite put my finger on. Something that their previous albums had that made me fall in love with the band in the first place.

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Review: Various - Tarantulas Records' Summer Is Here:

Upon first listen this sampler brings no new artist onto my radar, as it this compilation was designed to do.

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Review: Various - Masked And Anonymous:

Upon first listen it's another collection of Dylan covers surrounded by songs from Dylan himself. Unsurprisingly it's rather hit-or-miss when it comes to the covers (Grateful Dead's Baby Blue a highlight and Articolo 31's Rolling Stonea a lowlight).

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Review: United Nations - United Nations:

Upon first listen this supergroup of heavy hitters in the emo/post-punk scene make one of the best pure screamo albums in recent memory. It's not likely to replace the classics, but that's not what they're going for anyway.

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Review: TV On The Radio - Dear Science:

Upon first listen it's a suspiciously subdued album, lacking any of the grandiose moments present on Cookie Mountain. Still, it's undeniably catchy and upbeat (most of the time) and a solid, if underwhelming, follow-up.

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Review: The Streets - Everything Is Borrowed:

Upon first listen Mike Skinner keeps getting wierder and further away from his Original Pirate Material roots. Some of the melodies are really well done (especially the first two tracks), if unconventional, but it's a very difficult listen.

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Review: Stars - Sad Robots EP:

Upon first listen it's a very subdued affair that is the perfect amount of tracks. Anymore and it'd be tiresome. Any less and you'd feel cheated.

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Review: Snapcase - End Transmission:

Upon first listen it's a very weird album for the band. Poor ordering of the tracks make for an uneven listen. In the end it certainly won't replace lookinglasself or Progression as de facto standards.

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Review: Secret Machines - Secret Machines:

Upon first listen it's another adequate album that fails to live up to the potential they displayed on their debut.

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Review: Portugal. The Man - Censored Colors:

Upon first listen it's way out in left field. The attention it has received by sites like AbsolutePunk and the label its on (Equal Vision) do not prepare you for the avant garde experience contained within. As such, it's disorienting to listen to the first time and I will be adding it to my rotating playlist for the forseeable future, if only to figure out if it's any good.

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Review: Amanda Palmer - Who Killer Amanda Palmer:

Upon first listen it's hard to sustain the appeal of overly-dramatic songs for an entire album - and the former Dresden Dolls is no exception. Still, there's a couple of really great songs on here (Astronaut, Runs In The Family and Oasis) worthy of a Palmer-related mixtape.

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Review: Of Montreal - Skeletal Lamping:

Upon first listen it sometimes takes an adequate follow-up to reveal how great an album is. In this case, Skeletal Lamping is merely adequate, overshadowed by the much better Hissing Fauna.

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Review: Oasis - Dig Out Your Soul:

Upon first listen I've always admired Oasis' singles, but never cared too much for their albums, but I think they've got themselves a winner with this one.

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Review: No Age - Nouns:

Upon first listen it took me a long time to get into the first No Age record. I expect similar things from the second, as they're a difficult band to get upon first listen.

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Review: Music Tapes - For Clouds And Tornadoes:

Upon first listen I liked it much better than First Symphony as it had more of a Daniel Johnston feel to it. Still, by the end, it does get a little grating.

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Review: Mogwai - The Hawk Is Howling:

Upon first listen they never were one of those post-rock bands that went for the grandiose peaks, a trend that continues here. It's not bad, but I think it's a poor follow-up to Mr. Beast. Of course, it really is difficult to pass judgement on a piece of instrumental music upon first listen.

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Review: Martin Rev - Les Nymphes:

Upon first listen it's sleep-inducing electronic music.

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Reviews: Immortal Technique x3

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Revolutionary, Vol 1: Upon first listen unobscene production coupled with interesting, thought-provoking lyrics in a surefire winner in the hip-hop arena. Still, it feels like he's either rapping a half beat too slow or his production is a half beat too fast which is distracting only until you're used to it.

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Revolutionary, Vol 2: Upon first listen it seems like he got his timing back on track, to accompany his even more politically-charged lyrics. There are a couple of moments and a few tracks that I wish didn't make the cut, but by-and-large it's a much more solid album than Vol 1 - and the first one was really good.

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3rd World: Upon first listen he realizes he can repeat a line a few times and have a "chorus" which works sometimes, but not always. It's certainly a more stylized, more polished, record, which isn't inherently bad.

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Review: I Am Kloot x2

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Gods And Monster: Upon first listen nothing I Am Kloot does is noteworthy. Which is why I can't figure out why I consistently drawn to their work. Somehow I missed this release a few years ago, something I know regret.

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Play Moolah Rouge: Upon first listen it's a little more repetitive than Gods and Monsters (and their self titled and Natural History before that), but still oddly compelling.

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Reviews: Hatebreed x4

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Under The Knife: Upon first listen the production's a little muddy (it is, after all, an independent hardcore/metal release), but there's not doubting it's ferocity, intensity and overall heaviness.

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Satisfaction Is The Death Of Desire: Upon first listen I came to Hatebreed a bit late (Perseverance), so it's taken me a long while to get back to what most consider their masterpiece. Now I can see why. Heavy, catchy, brutal - it's all here and less refined than later albums.

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The Rise Of Brutality: Upon first listen it's a bit more polished than their earlier works, but still just as heavy. But between Satisfaction and Perseverance, I'm not sure how much more you could need.

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Live Dominance: Upon first listen the prominence of the vocals makes it feel like less of a live album of hardcore/metal. At least, if my experience is any indication. Still, it's a wonderfull, one-stop shop for Hatebreed fans, covering all of their albums and giving further creedence to the idea that in the dictionary, next to the word for "breakdown" should be an audio clip of Hatebreed.

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Review: Make Do And Mend - We're All Just Living:

Upon first listen I have no idea how to descrbie these guys. I guess Brand New-esque? Whatever it is, I really liked it.

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Review: Jenny Lewis - Acid Tongue:

Upon first listen it's a very retro-'70s singer-songwriter album. Her last solo album did not hold up on repeated listens and I don't anticipate this one to either. Still, there are a couple of tracks I really like (Carpetbaggers with Costello, especially).

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Review: Last Lights - Last Lights:

Upon first listen this band had the unfortunate experience of showing up on my playlist right after American Nightmare's Background Music, all but ensuring I wouldn't be able to appreciate it. That being said, this was one of those bands that I listened to one track on their MySpace profile and immediately went to their website to purchase their record. Normally I do more research, listen to a few more tracks - maybe even the entire album - before making a purchase, but not this time.

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Review: Kings of Leon - Only By The Night:

Upon first listen I can only come to one of two conclusions: A) Kings of Leon got exponentially better since the last time I listened to them or B) I've never properly listened to Kings of Leon.

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Review: Dustin Kensrue - Please Come Home:

Upon first listen it's a perfectly adequate folk record. I'm sure if you were a big Thrice fan, this would be amazing, but as a more passive fan, it comes off as less than that. Not to say it's not worth listening to now and again.

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Review: Hostage Calm - Lens:

Upon first listen I instantly began comparing it to Highwire Days. Melodic hardcore punk at its finest. Not too deep, but completely adequate.

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