It’s not like Tegan and Sara did something wrong, or composed an album of terrible songs, but the twin sisters’ latest effort isn’t quite that good either. Quite frankly, it’s just bland. “Heartthrob” features 10 (12, if you purchase the iTunes deluxe edition) tracks that blend together very easily. A few tracks stand out here and there, but the...
Renowned vocalist Celine Dion once said, “If God could sing, He would sound like Andrea Bocelli.” “Passione,” the latest addition to Bocelli’s internationally recognized repertoire, further proves his complete grasp of classical opera. The 7-years-delayed continuation of “Amore,” this album is scattered with six different languages of love and passion.
Bocelli’s powerful and effortless voice marries with these classical songs...
Shugo Tokumaru is one freakishly gifted multi-instrumental/bedroom-pop composer who is able to magically pile his copious instrumentals on top of each other in an arrangement that looks outrageous on paper, but ultimately works in implementation. His calm, sweet-sounding music evokes a dazzlingly eccentric and meticulously-crafted environment in his latest album, “In Focus?”
Tokumaru’s childlike glee is first introduced and conveyed...
Just close your eyes and listen—actually, don’t close your eyes. You might fall asleep, albeit in the coolest way possible, to legendary indie band Yo La Tengo’s “Fade.” Their latest album—also, their first since “Popular Songs” (2009) and 13th overall—consists of a dreamy set of sometimes catchy, sometimes endearing tracks that leave the listener in a happily-induced daze.
The album...
The troubadour was a figure of lyrical poetry that became very popular during the Middle Ages. Christopher Owens seems to embody this role in the 21st century. After the breakup of his debut band Girls just six short months ago, Owens takes listeners through the journey of his promising musical career with his first solo album “Lysandre,” titled after...
Prior to listening to their 3rd and latest album, “Wretched and Divine: The Story of the Wild Ones,” Black Veil Brides seemed to me like a band whose gimmick heavily relied on an overabundance of guyliner, hairspray and hazardously spiked clothing. They had failed to seize my attention with “Knives and Pens” from their debut EP “Sex & Hollywood,”...
We are back to the ‘90s when it comes to just about everything in today’s pop culture: fashion, makeup and now, music. Never Shout Never’s 4th album “Indigo” seems to bring an abrupt end to the band’s indie days in exchange for a classic pop-rock sound reminiscent of Sonic Youth. The retroactive resonance accentuates the entire band this time...
For the past few years that I’ve been doing this list, I’d been able to identify a certain theme that had permeated the particular year’s music. When taking a look back at music in 2012, the most dominant motif was not necessarily a result of the music recorded, but music played live. Now, I understand that this assessment may...
Chaz Bundick’s—the mastermind behind Toro Y Moi—musical output can be described as amorphic; he helped pioneer the chillwave genre in “Causers of This,” while channeling his inner dance music enthusiast through the side project Les Sins. In a recent interview with Pitchfork, at his album pre-release event, Bundick stated that he “wanted to make a pop album…because really...
Potential. It’s what a lot of your favorite indie bands show glimpses of, but never quite realize. This is the gist of The Winter Sound’s third album “Runner.” It never quite puts you over the top, but it definitely gets you excited for what this band can do in the future. Their musical style might best be described as...