June 22, 2007

Abandoned Language [4/5] It would have been tough for Dälek to out-skronk 2004’s Absence, a collection of sonic terrorism that hopped up its hip-hop with enough feedback to satisfy Lou Reed, Glenn Branca and My Bloody Valentine’s Kevin Shields all at once. So yes, the New Jersey duo’s fourth album is a strategic retreat from...

Swallowed A Star [2.5/5] Daníel Ágúst, co-founder of Icelandic people-movers GusGus, uses his solo debut to shed the “life of the dance floor” dandy and embrace the intimate singer-songwriter within, replete with the requisite string orchestration and a hushed vocal delivery. And while the veneer of class and sophistication is consistent throughout-and downright elegant on...

!!! Myth Takes [4.5/5] !!! have long been major catalysts for unlocking hipsters’ hips, and they’re not about to stop doing so now. On their third album proper, Myth Takes, the Brooklyn octet haven’t lost an iota of edginess, funk or raucousness. In fact, !!! have crafted their most accessible and uncompromising album. They banish...

RJD2 The Third Hand [4.5/5] On his first release after leaving Definitive Jux, the powerhouse hip-hop label that catapulted him to fame, producer-turned-frontman RJD2 comes at us with a mellow, more structured pop opus that’s overflowing with his own vocals on The Third Hand. Everyone’s abuzz about RJ’s musical transformation; sure, it’s definitely different from...

The Stooges The Weirdness [0.5/5] Before we get into it, Iggy, let me just say that your influence on rock ’n’ roll cannot be underestimated. The original Stooges trilogy? Untouchable. Lust For Life? Genius. And Bowie totally owes you a solid for the shit he pulled on Raw Power and The Idiot. But Iggy, Iggy,...

Southern Culture On The Skids Countrypolitan Favorites [3/5] For more than two decades, the appeal of Southern Culture On The Skids has been that you couldn’t dress ’em up and take ’em anywhere. So what are we to make of the Chapel Hill trio’s latest, which dandies up a set of pop and country standards...

Son Volt The Search [2.5/5] This much we know: From his work in Uncle Tupelo to his tenure in Son Volt and his respectable solo career, Jay Farrar has probably done more for the alt-country tag than anyone else on Earth. However, while The Search, the fifth album from Son Volt-and their second since reforming...

RTX Western Xterminator [3.5/5] Jennifer Herrema’s post-Royal Trux unit, RTX, bowed with 2004’s Transmaniacon, whose idiosyncratic bubble-gum boogie baffled some diehard Trux fans. The follow-up, Western Xterminator, could well baffle fans of RTX’s debut. After a red-herring opening (a beautifully morose ballad with flowery folk-prog touches), Herrema and her band of shaggy, skinny white boys...

Kingfield Letters Post Mortem [2.5/5] Throughout history, band members have gravitated to their natural spot in the line-up: The singer and guitarists are the show-offs, the bassist is the stiff one (or the girl), and the drummer is the shirtless slut. And when one attempts to disrupt nature, it doesn’t always go so well. Case...