October 31st, 2023
‘1989 (Taylor’s Version)’ Searches For A Sound We’ve Heard Before New re-recording of Taylor Swift’s most important album falls shortBy: Malachi Lui
In 2022, one in every 25 vinyl LPs sold in the US was a Taylor Swift record. That’s 1.7 million LP sales across her catalog last year, almost 945,000 of which came from her latest album, Midnights. Swift’s vinyl success not only represents her continuing fame, but also her smart marketing tactics and ability to still sell albums. Midnights comes in four cover variants, which with the associated wall mount forms, on the back, a clock. To many artists and consumers,... Read More
September 3rd, 2023
Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks' 'Orange Crate Art' "Hold(s) Back Time" From the archives: Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks release a misty eyed, warm hearted song cycle of California nostalgiaBy: Michael Fremer
(This review originally appeared in Issue 5/6, Winter 1995/96. A 25th Anniversary double vinyl LP issued by Omnivore with new liner notes and three previously unissued outtakes is currently available—see clickthrough at page bottom).When I was a child, I had a middle-aged second cousin Sophie who lived in far away California. She came to visit one cold New York winter in the late 1950s, bearing crates of tissue wrapped oranges, and jellies and jams from a place with a... Read More
August 11th, 2023
Charli XCX’s Futurism From The Past Reissued five years later, ‘Pop 2’ plays like a celebration of the pop future that never happenedBy: Malachi Lui
What is pop music? A never-ending cycle of repackaging the past? Or a portal to infinite possibilities? High art, or insipid, assembly-line bubblegum confections? What if it’s all of the above?Charli XCX’s 2017 mixtape Pop 2 decides that pop music can be anything and everything—or at least, that’s the meaning that many have assigned to it. After her prospective third studio album proved too much a logistical hurdle to release (only for all the tracks to leak), within... Read More
August 7th, 2023
Sparks Provides a Musical Melting Pot with “The Girl is Crying in Her Latte” with their 26th studio album the art pop duo continues to evolveBy: Dylan Peggin
Sparks, the duo of brothers Russell and Ron Mael is a true chameleons in the world of art-pop. Over decades, Sparks has musically shape-shifted through the realms of glam rock, disco, new wave, electronic music and chamber pop. Refusing to stick to one singular musical identity, Sparks kept a brave artistic face as music trends came and went. Thanks to Edgar Wright's documentary, a fresh demographic exposed to The Sparks Brothers are now beginning to appreciate... Read More
July 16th, 2023
A Serge Gainsbourg Essential, Remixed & Ruined Poussin’s new remix of ‘L’Homme à tête de chou’ is an absolute disasterBy: Malachi Lui
In 2023, Serge Gainsbourg is possibly more controversial than he’s been since his 1991 death from a second heart attack at age 62. The upcoming museum opening of the artist’s Paris home, at 5 bis rue de Verneuil, sparked more than a few debates: can we still listen to the album about pedophilia made by a 42-year-old man with appearances by his 24-year-old girlfriend? Is it alright that he made a song with his then-12-year-old daughter about incest? Does anyone even... Read More
July 4th, 2023
Doing It Her Way: Streisand Live at Bon Soir Finally Drops 1962 recording considered technically "problematic" gets a "fix"By: Paul Seydor
Barbra Streisand has garnered virtually every accolade, tribute, award, and honor it’s possible for a great popular artist to get: ten Grammys, nine Golden Globes, five Emmys, two Oscars, and a Tony, not to mention four Peabody Awards, the American Film Institute Lifetime Achievement Award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the National Medal of Arts, and France’s Légion d'honneur. Her albums have been reshuffled, remastered, and reconfigured with almost... Read More
July 2nd, 2023
Living in a Haze by Milky Chance The German Duo Release an Addictively Enjoyable AlbumBy: Evan Toth
What do you get when you combine acoustic singer-songwriter qualities with the electronic and infectious beat of the dancefloor? You might find something similar to the German duo of childhood friends, Clemens Rehbein and Phillipp Dausch who go by the moniker Milky Chance. This review may be your introduction to the band—if so, then Willkommen!—but Milky Chance have existed for about a decade and have just released their seventh full-length, Living in a Haze on their... Read More
June 1st, 2023
The Dare's Borrowed Nostalgia For The Hardly-Remembered 2000s 'The Sex EP' is hedonism manifested in its dumbest form, taken to its absolute dumbest conclusionBy: Malachi Lui
“I’m losing my edge…to the art school Brooklynites in little jackets… and borrowed nostalgia for the unremembered 80s.”When a then-32-year-old James Murphy uttered that line on LCD Soundsystem’s 2002 debut single “Losing My Edge,” it was about the millennial hipsters taking over New York City, recycling culture and fashion from a quarter-century before. Unlike their aesthetic predecessors, they didn’t have to work hard to find anything; they were “internet seekers who... Read More
May 14th, 2023
Daft Punk’s Newly Expanded ‘Random Access Memories’ Leaves You Wanting More The original album? Great as ever. The bonus disc? Unessential.By: Malachi Lui
As post-pandemic supply chain issues continue and the vinyl market shifts towards younger buyers with tighter budgets, slightly expanded $50-60 commemorative packages have taken focus over the elaborate anniversary box set. The 10th anniversary edition of Daft Punk's inescapable Random Access Memories, retailing at $50, includes a newer lacquer cut of the original album plus a new bonus disc with 35 minutes of “unreleased demos and outtakes.”
Read MoreMarch 31st, 2023
More Monkey Business From Gorillaz Cartoon Pop Heroes Kick Off New PhaseBy: JoE Silva
After a failed Netflix deal to put Gorillaz cartoon band members into a full length film, Damon Albarn and illustrator Jamie Hewlett regroup under a slick pop banner to deliver album number eight with the help of mega-producer Greg Kurstin.
Read MoreMarch 10th, 2023
A Box Set That Delivers Well Beyond the Expected Enhanced Version of the Classic Collaboration A video review of a brilliantly curated and executed compilationBy: Michael Fremer
Rather than writing the usual written review of this extensive, well-produced and brilliantly curated set, I chose a video review to better show the box and associated records. The set includes a double LP containing the Painted From Memory collaboration spread to 3 sides. Side 4 contains selected songs from the never fully realized Bacharach/Costello musical Taken From Life performed by various artists including Cassandra Wilson and Bill Frisell, Audra Mae and of... Read More
February 27th, 2023
METAFIVE’s Last Stand The Japanese supergroup’s second album 'METAATEM' is unfortunately inconsistentBy: Malachi Lui
It’s been over a month since drummer and pop songwriter extraordinaire Yukihiro Takahashi passed away at age 70, though acknowledging it still feels weird. It wasn’t unexpected—he was treated for brain tumors, and related pneumonia caught him in the end—but for 50 years, Takahashi never really slowed down and always seemed focus on what was next. Between his solo material, his work in Yellow Magic Orchestra and Sketch Show, other gigs like the Sadistic Mika Band, or... Read More
December 7th, 2022
Standards And Originals Take Flight on Lori Lieberman's Newest Album truly her finest vocal performances on recordBy: Michael Fremer
Lori Lieberman performs this set of standards without a "net"—no reverb bath, or any kind of cover. Singing directly and closely "on mic" where there's no room for error she delivers her finest vocal performances on record backed by Matt Rollings on keyboards (piano and B3), Lyle Workman on guitars, David Piltch on upright bass and Victor Indrizzo on drums.Lieberman produced the record with Rollings, a player in Lyle Lovett's Large Band... Read More