PJ Harvey’s Let England Shake contains numerous songs, full of atmosphere and reverb. Some vocals don’t seem to make it through all the layers of production. The only standout track, to me, is On Battleship Hill, but only because it feels tribal, like something Enya would do. Not really impressed with this album.
PJ Harvey’s Let England Shake contains numerous songs, full of atmosphere and reverb. Some vocals don’t seem to make it through all the layers of production. The only standout track, to me, is On Battleship Hill, but only because it feels tribal, like something Enya would do. Not really impressed with this album.
Cage the Elephant’s Thank You Happy Birthday takes you on a roller coaster ride through an amalgam of 90s rock. In the layers of drums, guitars, bass and slightly nasal vocals, you’ll hear influences of the Pixies who experimented with sonic textures; effect laden guitars, ala Smashing Pumpkins; simple chord structures in the vein of…
Some Kind Of Trouble by James Blunt is offensively bland. Nasal, sugary, signer songer writer pop that all sounds annoyingly similar.
Michael Bierut has challenged students at Yale to perform a “design operation” for 100 days. The only restrictions on the operation you choose is that it must be repeated in some form every day, and that every iteration must be documented for eventual presentation. The medium is open, as is the final form of…
The Cypress House by Michael Koryta blends the supernatural with noir in a southern gothic, depression era binding. Arlen Wagner and Paul Brickhill were headed to the Florida Keys by train to work on Depression era public works projects when Wagner, a weary WWI vet, sees death in the eyes of those on the train.…
Is the album title an allusion to The Smiths’ The Queen is Dead, or a nod to their past album’s, The Hazards of Love, overreach? I don’t know. For the latter, Hazards was an epic indie rock opera, which to some seemed pretentious. The King is Dead, however, is a much simpler album with straight…
Kiss Each Other Clean by Iron & Wine combines Sam Beam’s southern gothic imagery with a more lush pop rock sound. His previous album, The Shepherd’s Dog, showed hints of this change, going from a soft spoken singer song writer to genteel rock ‘n’ roll front man. Tree By the River, Walking Far from Home…
Tao of Photography: Seeing Beyond Seeing by Philippe L. Gross, S.I. Shapiro applies Zen concepts to photography, interspersed with quotes and anecdotes from photographers that were well known for their visionary approach to what they took pictures of. Each section contains principles, applications of the principles and suggested assignments one can do to apply the…
“Ex-Heroes” (Peter Clines) tells of a world overrun by zombies, and individuals with super abilities take on a seemingly powerful zombie horde through the streets of Los Angeles. Led by Stealth, an intelligent and quick female hero, the heroes took shelter within a movie studio compound and provide protection to those they can take in.…
