A Perfect Murder
A Perfect Murder War Of Aggression [3/5] Given the glut of metalcore merchants, just being heavier than everyone else isn’t good enough. Apparently, A Perfect Murder didn’t get the memo-or, more likely, ripped it into pieces upon receipt. Which is fine because like a slow-footed, dim-witted boxer, the Canadian quintet go into the fight content...
Pelican
Pelican City Of Echoes [4/5] There are two kinds of Pelican fans: 1) Diehards who will hotly argue that the rougher demos from 2005’s The Fire In Our Throats Will Beckon The Thaw kicked that album’s ass; and 2) casual true believers who think every song sounds pretty much the same (and therein lies the...
Wooden Wand
Wooden Wand James And The Quiet [3/5] Although James Jackson Toth (codename: Wooden Wand)’s reputation as a psych-folkster proceeds him like a far out, humming, Technicolor wave, Toth has stepped away from the wah-wah pedal to deliver 11 tracks of rather straightforward ballads. A wry, often dark humor surfaces from time to time as Toth...
Voxtrot
Voxtrot Voxtrot [3.5/5] Majestic Austin, Texas, indie-shufflers Voxtrot became blog darlings in the past few years based on the strength of several tantalizing EPs, and they mostly manage to live up to the internet buzz on their self-titled full-length debut. The band maintain their dedication to literate lyrics and dainty pop songs that are well-suited...
Robbers On High Street
Robbers On High Street Grand Animals [3/5] These New York indie rockers are a tough lot to pin down. First, they get everyone hot and bothered by sounding all Strokes-like on their debut EP, only to expose their love of pop with the ensuing full-length, Tree City. Now they change it up further, enlisting Italian...
The National
The National Boxer [4/5] Brooklyn, New York, may be best known for Pitchfork-approved acts like TV On The Radio and Yeah Yeah Yeahs-and anyone whose paid a visit to Williamsburg can confirm that aesthetic is still going strong, even if the media has largely moved on. However, throughout this musical explosion, the National have been...
Waking Ashland
Waking Ashland The Well [2.5/5] Waking Ashland’s 2005 debut on Tooth & Nail, Composure, quickly launched the band to the top of the extremely cluttered piano-infused emo-pop scene. After some lineup retooling, founding members Jonathan Jones and Ryan Lallier today find themselves part of the new youth movement at Immortal Records-a label still struggling for...
Handsome Furs
Handsome Furs Plague Park [4/5] One needs a flow-chart to keep track of all the bands started by today’s Canadian creative class, with the chief offshoots populated by members of Broken Social Scene, Metric and Stars. But consider Handsome Furs (aka Wolf Parade vocalist/guitarist Dan Boeckner and his fiancée Alexei Perry) a strong new contender...
Fields
Fields Everything Last Winter [4/5] Don’t confuse Fields with fellow across-the-pond rockers Field Music-especially since the former are a co-ed U.K. quintet who conjure Muse huddled around a campfire, with plenty of Doves’ grandeur and Ash-like sass thrown in for good measure. Unsurprisingly, one needs to spin Fields’ full-length debut, Everything Last Winter, multiple times...