The album sees the singer-songwriter moving in a different direction.
Mr. Lemons is at least agreeable for Phillips’s lack of pretension and his strong ear for a melodic hook.
Despite the roughened exterior, the songs emphasize MOB’s great secret weapon: an arsenal of irresistible pop hooks.
Dr. John has certainly earned the right to kick back a little.
The album is as likely to please fans of melodic indie-pop and roots-rock as it is fans of the current crop of folk troubadours.
Phoenix is one of those bands that are easily devoured, quietly admired, and chronically overlooked.
Devastating as his cover of Nine Inch Nails’ “Hurt” may have been, Cash has rarely sounded as accessible as does on Personal File.
Depending on who you ask, the Ditty Bops are either eight or 80 years too late.
Sparks is little known outside its circle of devotees, who are die-harder than Bruce Willis.
In this age of glib capsule criticism, creativity is often summed up and shorted its due.
For all of its insular, inscrutable put-ons, the album remains an endlessly fascinating piece of work.
This year might just be The Year Avant Garde Broke.
Scandinavian prog-rock outfit Paatos’s second album proper defies its title and explodes out of the gate.
As he routinely does with other artists’ material, Burnett has outdone himself on the album’s production.
What enjoyment can be culled from The Transit Rider comes from Dawn McCarthy and Nils Frykdahl’s choice of covers.
The songs are augmented with so many musical embellishments that it’s like Ford is compensating for some vital, proverbial missing ingredient.
With nearly 40 contributors to Ships, it is no surprise that this is a loud, elaborate sounding album.
Surprise, Simon’s first album of new material since 2000, bears a subtle undercurrent of political commentary.
St. Elsewhere as not only an audacious accomplishment, but one of the year’s best.
Henry Binns and Sam Hardaker manage to keep things fresh, creating an eclectic but consistent lounge filler.
The final release from Grandaddy suffers a bit for mistaking simple length for thematic scope.