Music Reviews tagged with 10/10
Prince Dirty Mind
Short, sweet, and immortal, a brief look back at an early Prince highlight.
George Booker goes uptown...The Thermals Now We Can See
As the Thermals continue wiggling their way from the stylistic confines of punk, they seem to be closing their mitts all the more firmly around its spiritual core. Now We Can See is a power pop record about vision, death, disease, perspective, and, er, turning into a fish (?) but its great expressive anchor is the elated desperation that gives punk both its wickedness and its promise.
Tom Whalen starts shedding his arms...Beastie Boys Paul's Boutique
Twenty years after it was deemed a commercial failure, Paul's Boutique, second full-length from the Beastie Boys, has proven to be one of the most important albums to emerge in the last century. Now being re-mastered and re-issued in a variety of formats, it's up for discussion. Again.
Sean Caldwell's just chillin' like Bob Dylan...Swervedriver Raise / Mezcal Head (Reissues)
In the post-grunge nadir of the early nineties Swervedriver's first two albums – 1991's Raise and 1993's Mezcal Head – should have sealed their reputation as one of the finest British bands of the era. For a variety of reasons, they didn't. If ever a band deserved a re-appraisal it's Swervedriver.
David Coleman raves down...Gang Gang Dance Saint Dymphna
Slipped out by Warp during the tail end of 2008, the Brooklyn experi-mentalists have struck gold on their most compulsively engaging album yet.
Jody White gets all starrey-eyed...Zero Boys Vicious Circle / History Of (Re-issues)
During hardcore's hey-day, while all eyes were fixated on the coasts, Indiana quartet Zero Boys cracked the country down the middle with their now classic slice of rock n' rage, Vicious Circle. Record label, Secretly Canadian, is putting Vicious Circle back into circulation, along with their unrealized follow-up History Of.
Sean Caldwell knows the big rockstar who made a lot of money...Animal Collective Merriweather Post Pavilion
Merriweather Post Pavilion, Animal Collective's ninth full length album, had aura to burn long before most of us heard it. Can we revel in its myriad treasures without stumbling over the pre-release hubub? Can we weigh its merit in words without quaking in the shadow of its imminent acclaim?
Tom Whalen wonders what we talk about when we talk about Animal Collective...Robert Wyatt Rock Bottom
Robert Wyatt is saved from obscurity.
Sean Caldwell reviews the re-issue of this classic album...Marnie Stern This Is It And I Am It And You Are It And So Is That And He Is It And She Is It And It Is It And That Is That
Roads? Where we're going we don't need roads.
Sean Caldwell reviews...The Bad Plus Prog
This acclaimed avant-garde jazz trio has created yet another fantastic album of innovative originals and well chosen cover versions.
Miguel Morelli reviews...