By:
On:
In: _CD Reviews 2010, Album Reviews
With: 0 Comments

Blackmarket – “St. Vincent Decor”Zoom-out now3 / 5 Power-pop group from AZ Blackmarket definitely sound like they’re enjoying a rush from beginning to end of their second full-length album. And it’s a good ride, too: there are good songs, good lyrics, good vocals throughout this album. But on a second and third spin, Blackmarket ends up lacking what’s so vital in the crowded music market, which is individuality. They sound like most any other power-chord rock group, and while they’re good at what they do, what they do is not particularly special, in terms of style or flavor. “Blue Lemon” is a perfect example; anRead More →

By:
On:
In: _CD Reviews 2010, Album Reviews
With: 0 Comments

Ben Sollee and Daniel Martin Moore – “Dear Companion”Sub Pop-out now3.5 / 5 It’s bluegrass, Jim. And what more could you expect from Kentuckians Ben Sollee and Daniel Martin Moore on their first collaboration (along with producer Jim James of My Morning Jacket); of course they’re going to pick up a jug, a jig, and start jiving. Meant to put a spotlight on Mountaintop Coal Mining in the Appalachians, Sollee and Moore compose these folk/bluegrass songs with honesty and simplicity, which here, make for good companions. “Only a Song” is the most political of these tracks, yet the basic guitar chords and cello backing aren’tRead More →

By:
On:
In: _CD Reviews 2010, _Four or More 2010, Album Reviews, Recommended
With: 0 Comments

Tift Merrit – “See You on the Moon”Fantasy-out June 1; UK May 244 / 5 It’s strange that such an unusual song as “Mixtape” – with its staggered, clustered vocals and soft, intimate lyrics – would be so effective to open Tift Merritt’s fourth solo studio. In stark contrast to her “Another Country,” which at times plays by the book, the Houston-born singer-songwriter ventures into different musical flavors, darker hues of orchestration, violins, slower tempos, piano and acoustic guitar. Fans here will find a slight shift in color, but will rejoice with the title track and the trembling cover of “Danny’s Song”; those unfamiliar withRead More →

By:
On:
In: _CD Reviews 2010, _Four or More 2010, Album Reviews, Recommended
With: 0 Comments

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 →