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Arturo Sandoval – “A Time for Love”Concord Records-out today!4.5 / 5 It is to Mr. Sandoval’s credit that his style is never forced, his tone always gorgeous, his timing impeccable. His latest album, “A Time for Love,” selects several American classics as well as a handful of classical pieces; the first of these, “Apres un Reve,” shows such a tender side of Sandoval, that it might pull you from the cookers on his magnum opus “Trumpet Evolution.” While our preferences lie just partial to “Evolution,” these love standards here are so well-crafted and honed that it’s difficult not to kick back and pop open aRead More →

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The National – “High Violet”4ad Records-out May 113 / 5 This is a tough cookie for us at the blog: following their breakout 2007 album “Boxer,” the Brooklyn, NY band release their fifth album to anxious indie crowds. The verdict is… well, we’ll get to that in a bit. Here’s what we hear, though: droning, monotone vocal range, excellent backing instrumentals, and similar-sounding, monochromatic songs. Their music is an acquired taste, one that we don’t have yet, and while we don’t want to write off The National, the first 3/4s just don’t pull you in. What we do appreciate is the explosion of sound andRead More →

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The New Pornographers – “Together”Matador– out today!4 / 5 The first thing to notice on the fifth album by Vancouver’s New Pornographers is the heavy, deep cello and guitar providing the opening bassline to what is, for many, a highly anticipated return. To judge that this particular release is more “Together” as the name suggests, is to overlook the groups already gorgeous sense of balance and musical coherence; in fact, “Together” is just slightly less so than their previous (and wonderful) album “Challengers.” While that cello provides satisfying contrast on “Crash Years,” it seems slightly overbalanced on that opener “Moves,” and on “Your Hands (Together),”earningRead More →