Average Rating: 3.57 Rating Variance: 0.58 Objectivity Score: 74% (Fairly Balanced)
Sort by: Rating | Release Date | Rating Date | Name5.0 classicArcade Fire FuneralCream Disraeli GearsModest Mouse Good News for People Who Love Bad NewsNeko Case Fox Confessor Brings The FloodThe Black Keys ThickfreaknessThe Shins Chutes Too Narrow4.5 superbAnimal Collective Merriweather Post PavilionBeirut The Flying Club CupBloc Party Silent AlarmBonnie 'Prince' Billy The Letting GoBuilt to Spill You in ReverseCalexico Feast of WireCalexico The Black LightCaribou The Milk Of Human KindnessDevendra Banhart Nino RojoDeVotchKa How It EndsDM Stith Heavy GhostJosh Ritter The Animal YearsJosh Ritter The Historical Conquests of Josh RitterM. Ward Post-WarM. Ward Hold TimeMidlake The Trials of Van OccupantherModest Mouse This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think AboutNeko Case Middle CycloneR.E.M. Lifes Rich PageantR.E.M. ReckoningStone Temple Pilots Thank YouSufjan Stevens IllinoisThe Apples in Stereo New Magnetic WonderThe Besnard Lakes The Besnard Lakes Are the Dark HorseThe Black Keys Rubber FactoryThe National BoxerThe Shins Oh, Inverted WorldThin Lizzy JailbreakTom Waits Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers and BastardsWeezer WeezerYo La Tengo I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass4.0 excellentAccept Metal HeartAndrew Bird Armchair ApocryphaAndrew Bird Noble BeastAnimal Collective Strawberry JamAnnuals Be He MeArcade Fire Neon BibleB.B. King Completely WellB.B. King Indianola Mississippi SeedsBand of Horses Everything All the TimeBarenaked Ladies Barenaked Ladies Are MeBlack Mountain In the FutureBon Iver Blood BankBorn Ruffians Red, Yellow and BlueCaribou AndorraCat Power The GreatestCoconut Records DavyActor Jason Schwartzman's band shows up with a sophomore release full of simple indie pop tunes that get stuck in the humming part of your head. Schwartzman's plaintive tenor channels the likes of many smart indie pop vocalists of the last two decades, and lyrical topics remain interesting enough to justify their minimalist production setting. Those in the know will enjoy the reference to Schwartzman's stint as the drummer for underrated power pop outfit Phantom Planet.Comets on Fire Comets on FireComets on Fire Blue CathedralDan Auerbach Keep it HidDanielson Brother Is To SonDanielson ShipsDevendra Banhart Rejoicing in the HandsFigurines SkeletonFrog Eyes Tears of the ValedictorianGrouper Dragging a Dead Deer Up a HillLeonard Cohen Songs of Love and HateLos Campesinos! Hold On Now, Youngster...Los Campesinos! We Are Beautiful, We Are DoomedMedeski, Martin and Wood Last Chance to Dance Trance(perhaps) Best of 91-96Modest Mouse The Lonesome Crowded WestMxPx Let It HappenNeko Case BlacklistedPale Young Gentlemen Pale Young GentlemenSay Hi Impeccable BlahsSt. Vincent Marry MeSufjan Stevens MichiganThe Black Keys ChulahomaThe Black Keys Magic PotionThe Cave Singers Invitation SongsListening to a lot of new music, this spooky throwback really becomes like an island of goodness amidst the dangerously swirling rapids of mediocrity represented in a lot of other crap.The Roots Game TheoryThe Snake The Cross The Crown Mander SalisThin Lizzy Bad ReputationThin Lizzy Black Rose: A Rock LegendThin Lizzy Johnny the FoxWyclef Jean The CarnivalYo La Tengo And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside...Yo La Tengo Electr-O-Pura3.5 great...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead The Century of SelfAl Green I Can't StopAnathallo Floating WorldAnathallo SparrowsAndrew Bird Weather SystemsAndrew Bird The Mysterious Production Of EggsAsobi Seksu HushBald Eagle Hot ShouldersBand of Horses Cease to BeginBarenaked Ladies Barenaked Ladies Are MenBlack Tide Light From AboveBonnie 'Prince' Billy Lie Down in the LightBowerbirds Hymns for a Dark HorseBrendan Canning Something For All of Us...Built to Spill There's Nothing Wrong with LoveBush Razorblade SuitcaseCalexico Carried To DustCalifone Roots and CrownsCat Power JukeboxCities CitiesCity and Colour Bring Me Your LoveCold War Kids Loyalty to LoyaltyCrystal Castles Crystal CastlesCut Copy In Ghost ColoursDanielson Tell Another Joke At The Ol' Chopping BlockDead Meadow Old GrowthDeerhoof Apple O'Dethklok The Dethalbum Devendra Banhart Smokey Rolls Down Thunder CanyonDirty Projectors Rise AboveEvangelista Hello, VoyagerGnarls Barkley St. ElsewhereGoldfrapp Seventh TreeGrand Archives The Grand ArchivesJakob Dylan Seeing ThingsJars Of Clay Jars Of ClayJuana Molina Un DiaJustice †Kathleen Edwards Asking for FlowersLightspeed Champion Falling Off The Lavender BridgeLive Secret SamadhiM. Ward Transistor RadioMedeski, Martin and Wood Out Louder (w/ John Scofield)Midlake Bamnan and SlivercorkModest Mouse We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sankmoe. Sticks and StonesQueens of the Stone Age Lullabies to ParalyzeR.E.M. MonsterR.E.M. Automatic for the PeopleR.E.M. Out of TimeR.E.M. DocumentRadiohead In RainbowsRed Hot Chili Peppers Stadium ArcadiumRetribution Gospel Choir Retribution Gospel ChoirSantigold SantogoldSay Hi The Wishes And The GlitchSera Cahoone Only as the Day Is LongSharon Jones and the Dap-Kings 100 Days, 100 NightsSufjan Stevens The Avalanche: Outtakes and ExtrasSufjan Stevens A Sun CameSufjan Stevens Songs For ChristmasThe Angels of Light We Are HimThe Appleseed Cast PeregrineThe Black Crowes WarpaintThe Black Keys The Big Come UpThe Dears MissilesThe Futureheads News and TributesThe Futureheads The FutureheadsThe Gutter Twins SaturnaliaThe Mars Volta The Bedlam in GoliathThe Rakes KlangThe Verve Forth3.0 goodApollo Sunshine Apollo SunshineBell X1 FlockBob Mould District LineBonnie 'Prince' Billy Ask ForgivenessBush Sixteen StoneEnon Grass Geysers... Carbon CloudsHowlin Rain Magnificent FiendJamiroquai SynkronizedJanet Jackson DisciplineJars Of Clay Good MonstersJenny Lewis with the Watson Twins Rabbit Fur CoatKula Shaker Pilgrim's ProgressLily Allen It's Not Me, It's YouMatt Costa Unfamiliar FacesMidlake Milkmaid Grand ArmyMxPx Life in GeneralNadja Bliss Torn From EmptinessP.O.D. BrownP.O.D. Fundamental Elements of SouthtownSwitchfoot Legend of ChinThe Casanovas All Night LongIt's hard to play big-stage rock on the smalltime. The Casanovas carefully pack as much classic rock n' roll punch as possible into each song, with buzz-saw guitars and boot-heel stomping, driving rhythms. The problem is that the album plays like a lot of pretty good rock songs with very little to distinguish them. There's so much rock posturing, such sterilized stories of generic shame and running away to California, as to make the Casanovas seem like students in the school of rock, rather than profs. Generic rock vocals, generic rock guitar, generic rock drumming, all carefully classic and irrefutable, are surprisingly unexciting, forcing listeners to judge a rock reality show instead of melting their faces off. It's not bad - if you're looking for a solid album full of great rock sound, this is worth the purchase. But it's not any more awesome than that. It's a lot like a collection of Aerosmith, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Kiss B-side rejects played by a proficient cover band.The Frames The CostThe Whigs Mission ControlYip-Yip Two Kings of the Same Kingdom2.5 averageAngra RebirthBloc Party IntimacyBush The Science of ThingsCalexico Garden RuinFranz Ferdinand Tonight: Franz FerdinandIced Earth Horror ShowJack Johnson Sleep Through the StaticJars Of Clay If I Left The ZooModest Mouse Baron von Bullshit Rides AgainMotion City Soundtrack Commit This to MemoryN.E.R.D. Seeing SoundsQueens of the Stone Age Rated RWeezer The Red AlbumWyclef Jean The Carnival Volume II (Memoirs of an Immigrant)The idea of a sequel to the carnival was a great idea, on paper. But about the time it becomes an over-collaborated behemoth, it gets a but clunky. Overproduced, under-impressive. Sure, there's some decent rapping on here, with some interesting world music arrangements, but that doesn't make up for the lack of cleverness. His duet with Shakira is not an answer to their previous collaborations. Norah Jones' vox is always beautiful, but this isn't a Norah album, and she feels like an afterthought, much like Paul Simon. Add Serj Tankian and an even less justified visit from overrated will.i.am, and we wonder whether Wyclef needs as much help as Sanatana does on his albums. He shouldn't; he wouldn't if there were any songs on here like "Gone Till November," or adaptations the caliber of "Guantanamera," or "We Be Tryin' To Stay Alive." The aftertaste: I feel like I just listened to Counting Crows collaborating with POD covering a collection of reggae and island music.2.0 poorHard-Fi Stars Of CCTVOK, this is gonna sound harsh, but bear with me. If the packaging hadn't been so faddish, everyone might have noticed that these guys aren't half a notch above the recently attempted comeback albums of 90's adult alternative bands like Smashmouth or Matchbox 20. Cash machine is such an annoying song, I've often felt deejays were merely playing it as filler while waiting for the real next sound to show up. Seriously, people, it's barely better than boy band music. The fact that someone compared this to Arctic Monkeys is not fair to the cleverness of said chilled primates. Go buy an Arctic Monkeys, Futureheads or Rapture album and forget this.Maroon 5 It Won't Be Soon Before LongP.O.D. Satellite1.5 very poorAFI DecemberundergroundBathory Nordland IBathory Nordland IIP.O.D. Payable on DeathRed Hot Chili Peppers One Hot MinuteShe Wants Revenge She Wants RevengeThese two guys clearly spent forever burying themselves deep in the dramatic mindset that typified goth music in the early 80's. While they've definitely caricatured that genre well, I think they meant this to be a tribute to it and executed it rather poorly. Those who like Joy Division are probably going to listen to Joy Division, and are probably not going to listen to this. Either way, this is perfect fare for wide-eyed adolescents who feel sorry for themselves, are unjustifiably obsessed with social drama, and want to have mindless sex immediately because they've just hit puberty and don't know what else to do. For the rest of us, it was nice to imagine another Interpol on the scene, but after listening to the disc, most of us feel like putting this album on someone else's shelf, having a stiff drink, and going to bed. Get over it, yeah? We have work in the morning. I say friends don't let friends wallow in myspace-era self-pity and isolationist sensuality.Switchfoot New Way to Be HumanSwitchfoot Learning To Breathe1.0 awfulLouis XIV Slick Dogs and Ponies
Bands: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
