THE MELVINS: NUDE WITH BOOTS (IPECAC) **½ You just don't realize how prettified most hard rock and metal is until you listen to The Melvins. The Melvins strip it all down to muscle and sinew - it ain't pretty, but it's way more functional. ...more

September 12, 2008

CD reviews from The Tampa Tribune ...more

September 5, 2008

SUPERGRASS: DIAMOND HOO HA (ASTRALWERKS) *** On 2005's "Road To Rouen," Supergrass revealed a new maturity, both in its songwriting and in the painstaking production and arrangements. ...more

August 29, 2008

THE WATSON TWINS: FIRE SONGS (VANGUARD) *** "Fire Songs" may not be the first description that comes to mind for this collection of mostly languid, country- and folk-tinged pop. But if The Watson Twins (Chandra and Leigh) don't burst into flame, they generate plenty of warmth with a steady smolder. ...more

August 22, 2008

WOLF PARADE: AT MOUNT ZOOMER (SUB POP) **½ Combine new wave quirks with lo-fi indie rock and you'll get, well, a mess, and not necessarily a hot one. As on loudly praised debut album "Apologies to the Queen Mary" (2005), Wolf Parade misses almost as often as it hits on its sophomore disc. ...more

August 14, 2008

BLACK KIDS: PARTIE TRAUMATIC (COLUMBIA) *** Who knew a local band from Jacksonville would have the masses wanting to hang out with Black Kids - the indie rockers, that is? ...more

August 7, 2008

AL GREEN: LAY IT DOWN (BLUE NOTE) **½ Al Green's previous two albums, 2003's "I Can't Stop" and 2005's "Everything's OK," were faithful recreations of the singer's classic '70s sound. Problem was, they sounded like faithful recreations - the pieces were in place but the songs and performances seemed as if they were tiptoeing to keep the façade from collapsing. ...more

July 31, 2008

AIMEE MANN: @#%&*! SMILERS (SUPEREGO) *** It's not that Aimee Mann lightens up so much on "@#%&*! Smilers" - you wouldn't call them "@#%&*! Smilers" if you were going to become one of them, would you? - but she brings a little more sarcasm and a little less misery to her new album, along with a bit of cautious optimism. ...more

July 24, 2008

BLACK ANGELS DIRECTIONS TO SEE A GHOST (LIGHT IN THE ATTIC) *** Psychedelia doesn't have to be pretty. Austin, Texas' Black Angels break on through with a witches' brew of Velvet Underground drones, Jesus and Mary Chain feedback, some 13th Floor Elevators mayhem (check the jug blowing in "Never/Ever") and a hint of Creedence Clearwater Revival voodoo a la "Run Through the Jungle." ...more

July 17, 2008

SANTOGOLD: SANTOGOLD (Downtown) *** If you're looking for something different yet relevant, "Santogold" is it. ...more

July 14, 2008