September 24, 1996 / DGC 10 (December 30, 2016) After thinking to myself for a few minutes on one random evening, sitting in my dorm room, listening to Total Trash from Daydream Nation finishing up its run on the record player, and looking at some random acclaim statistics that really should have been the essay I had … Continue reading Weezer – Pinkerton →

February 18, 2011 / Ticker Tape Ltd. 9.5 (December 29, 2016) Back in late 2012, Stereogum made their long-awaited list ranking the then-eight Radiohead studio albums from best to last. This was well over a year after The King of Limbs had been released, but a good many people were still scratching their heads over … Continue reading Radiohead – The King of Limbs →

February 26, 2001 / Tugboat 9.4 (December 27, 2016) This whole trend of talented vocalists and well-versed and organized lyrics gets sort of dull, don’t it? I mean, anyone can write some nice, meaningful lyrics, but how about we try and make LISTENING to the vocals fun? Where’s the public sense of experimentalism and excitement? … Continue reading Life Without Buildings – Any Other City →

September 30, 2016 / Jagjaguwar 9.0 (October 28, 2016) It's been nine years since Justin Vernon released For Emma, Forever Ago, his first album under the name Bon Iver, a concise, quiet album, mainly acoustic and recorded as a solo project in a cabin in rural Wisconsin. Four years after that there was a second, self-titled album recorded … Continue reading Bon Iver – 22, A Million →

September 9, 2016 / Bad Seeds Ltd 7.4 (September 11, 2016) God damn. There have been some heartbreaking stories behind albums in the past, but this one fucking takes the cake. The end of the first recording sessions is near, and then Nick Cave's son dies. He's taken away, just like that, still young and … Continue reading Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Skeleton Tree →

April 8, 2016 / Rough Trade 8.6 (September 9, 2016) Parquet Courts, I've found, are one of those bands that, for every album, you come away from your first listen thinking something along the lines of, "eh, that was alright, I guess". There's something about the music; I guess you could consider it as being … Continue reading Parquet Courts – Human Performance →

September 2, 2016 / Jagjaguwar 9.1 (September 2, 2016) Being a successful musician on the non-classical side of the spectrum has got to be one of the most stressful positions you can be in. For starters let's say you manage to release a good debut album. Cool. Critics like it, and it gets you a … Continue reading Angel Olsen – My Woman →

July 22, 2016 / Orange Mountain 9.5 (September 1, 2016) To the outside listener, the music of Philip Glass probably seems nice in smaller doses; it's usually in a minor key, plays some beautiful chords and melodies, and then proceeds to play them for about ten times as long as is needed, for some reason, … Continue reading Cluster Ensemble – Plays Phillip Glass →

August 26, 2016 / Domino 8.2 (August 30, 2016) I've seen a few people (Pitchfork included) calling this a vaporwave album. I've seen others that have been vehemently against that label. Now, I'm no expert, but the way I see it, if you really dig deep you will find that it DOES have some of the … Continue reading Motion Graphics – Motion Graphics →

September 27, 2005 / Sub Pop 10 Canada in the fall or winter is something I have on my bucket list to visit. I've been there in the spring and summer, but Toronto in May is literally the exact same as Sheboygan or Milwaukee at the same time, just more skyscrapers and people. I don't … Continue reading Wolf Parade – Apologies to the Queen Mary →