Average Rating: 3.83 Rating Variance: 0.38 Objectivity Score: 62% (Fairly Balanced)
Sort by: Rating | Release Date | Rating Date | Name4.5 superb90 Day Men (It(Is)It) Critical BandArthur Russell Calling Out of ContextThis guy was a genius. It's really that simple ... Listen to Hop On Down, Get Around To It, Calling Out Of Context or any of the other gems on this compilation and you'll see what I mean.Mew And the Glass Handed Kites4.0 excellentBonnie 'Prince' Billy The Letting GoBeing relatively new to Will Oldham's work I was pleasantly surprised by just how accessible his latest release under the Bonnie 'Prince' Billy name actually is. Delicate and crystal clear, Oldham's vocals combine with stunning backing from Dawn McCarthy (of Faun Fables), who's harmonies seem to challenge his own at times, but it works to brilliant effect. As a whole, The Letting Go has a rich, organic feel, and there is real variety in its 13 tracks, which include soft guitar-and-vocal numbers, swelling string arrangements and even sparse deconstructed slow-burners, such as the fantastic secret track Ebb Tide. The Instant Notes and Errata3.5 greatEddy Current Suppression Ring Eddy Current Suppression RingHome Video No Certain Night or MorningMew Frengers2.5 averageDarkel DarkelI've been a fan of Air for a while now. I was hooked when I first heard 1998's Moon Safari - tracks like All I Need and Femme d'Argent still sound just as great today after a million and one rotations. I've stuck by the duo for a good while now, picking up and listening to each new release, all the while trying to ignore the fact that they've never really hit the light-headed heights of their debut. Now, eight years later, Darkel emerges; the solo work of one half of the French duo, Jean Benoit Dunckel. On his self-titled debut I was hoping to hear something familiar but, somehow, different. Sadly, and not particularly surprisingly, Darkel sounds like a collection of Talkie Walkie b-sides (it was apparently put together during the recording of Talkie Walkie), only with something missing - a band-member perhaps? This is by no means a terrible album, but it is impossible to listen to Dunckel's music without comparing it to the main act. Thankfully, there's a new Air album in the works; anyone but the true die-hards would be wise to wait for it.
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
