Tag: music crit

Review: Neon Indian, ‘Psychic Chasms’

Also part of The A.V. Club’s “stuff we missed” roundup of 2009:

Neon Indian, Psychic Chasms (Lefse)

Neon Indian, 'Psychic Chasms'

While bloggers raced to name the sound of Neon Indian’s Alan Palomo—“hypnagogic pop,” “chillwave,” and “glo-fi” being some of the more creative labels—he was probably resting easy, confident not only because he was being heralded as the tip of a rapidly expanding stylistic iceberg, but because he’d done a far better job at naming his own songs than any critic could ever hope to…

Grade: A (via The Onion / A.V. Club)

Review: Fuck Buttons, ‘Tarot Sport’

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As part of The A.V. Club’s annual “stuff we missed” roundup:

Fuck Buttons, Tarot Sport (ATP)

Fuck Buttons, 'Tarot Sport'

If the duo’s 2008 debut, Street Horrrsing, represents the uncontainable results of the group’s exploratory atom- smashing, the follow-up, Tarot Sport, is an attempt to capture that unwieldy energy and bend it into recognizable shapes.

Grade: A- (via The Onion / A.V. Club)

If the duo’s 2008 debut, Street Horrrsing, represents the uncontainable results of the group’s exploratory atom-smashing, the follow-up, Tarot Sport, is an attempt to capture that unwieldy energy and bend it into recognizable shapes.

LA Weekly’s 10 Best L.A. Albums Of The ’00s

Sure to ruffle a few feathers, LA Weekly‘s “10 Best L.A. Albums Of The ’00s” feature hit the web (and newsstands) today and the list is about as eclectic as the city itself. Alongside solid entries by solid homies like Drew Tewksbury and Jeff Weiss, not to mention music ed Randall Roberts, you’ll find two write-ups by yours truly — on Flying Lotus’ Los Angeles, and Rabbit Fur Coat, by Jenny Lewis And The Watson Twins.

Flying Lotus throws up his city.

Jenny Lewis throws up dessert (later).

INCHES reviews vinyl from Koushik, Avi Buffalo, Nerve City, Psychic Powers (free MP3s)

The latest installment of INCHES is now live on West Coast Sound (via LA Weekly). Click here to read about new vinyl from Long Beach folk-pop crew Avi Buffalo, New Wave revisionists Psychic Powers, scuzz-surf garage “group” Nerve City, and Stones Throw beat etherealist Koushik. Free MP3s and glorious photos accompany each, of course. Dig in!

Avi Buffalo, "What's In It For?"

The Best Albums Of 2009

Everyone’s gotta have a list, right? Well, we critics for The A.V. Club were given the opportunity to write on any of our personal favorites that didn’t make the publication’s official countdown. Despite the presence of Fall Out Boy on said countdown, it was assembled democratically, with each critic having received 100 points to distribute as she/he saw fit on up to 15 records (with no more than 15 points for any single album).

The individual ballots have been published, and this link goes directly to mine, which includes writeups on game-changers like Neon Indian and Fool’s Gold, overlooked moments of greatness from DM Stith, Wallpaper, and Themselves, quieter things like Tiny Vipers, and creepy stuff like Fever Ray (plus a few others).

DM Stith, 'Heavy Ghost'

INCHES reviews ‘Secondhand Sureshots,’ Oxbow, Red Sparowes, Topaz Rags (MP3s)

It’s true. Four more primes slabs of virgin wax from L.A.’s extremely fertile independent music scene. Among this week’s crop are my favorite release of the year, the Dublab super-project Secondhand Sureshots, some rabid avant blues courtesy of Oxbow (Hydra Head’s return to the column!), another dreamy psych offering from the kids at Not Not Fun (Topaz Rags), and some post-rock tastiness from Red Sparowes (on Sargent House).

Oxbow, 'Songs For The French'

Review: Blakroc, ‘Blakroc’

Blakroc, Blakroc (Blakroc / V2)

Blakroc, 'Blakroc'

On paper, the idea of a star-studded project helmed by Roc-A-Fella co-founder Damon Dash and Akron’s indie-blues duo The Black Keys seems like something forged in the fires of late-’90s rap-rock hell…

Grade: A (via The Onion / A.V. Club)

The A.V. Club’s Best Albums Of The Decade

Well, somehow the publishing of this exceptionally compiled and written (heh heh) list eluded me until today. I can’t take too much credit for it, though I did vote, and was given the opportunity to write about one of my top records of all time, TV On The Radio’s Return To Cookie Mountain. That album sneaked in at number 38, but it’s there, right between Grizzly Bear’s Veckatimest and Justin Timberlake’s Justified (both of which made my personal list as well).

TV On The Radio, 'Return To Cookie Mountain'

Read about some of the records that didn’t make the cut here, and I highly recommend perusing the rest of the Club‘s decade coverage here.

INCHES reviews ‘Woodstock’, Charizma & PB Wolf, We Break Cameras, Lilofee (MP3s)

Good people, a brand new installment of L.A.’s favorite (only) weekly vinyl column, INCHES, has arrived. Fresh photos, MP3s and reviews of Southern Cali wax. Not to be slept on — this is your guide to this city’s up-and-coming, not to mention a great source for gift ideas, if you’re into that sort of thing. Check it. My pick of the week? We Break Cameras.

We Break Cameras, 'Jock Jams Vol. 2'