_CD Reviews 2013 (Page 10)

Swallow Key – “Ghost Dancer”White Wulf Records-out now2 / 5 In true San Fran tradition Swallow Key (the work of one Robert Eujene Ogden) is an eclectic, unusual electronica band part world music and part groove beats. The sophomore album, Ghost Dancer, employs everything from the sitar to the xylophone to samples from George W. Bush. It’s ambitious music, yes, the kind that attempts to invade your cerebellum and still get you to boogie coolly to it, but in the end, we’re left a bit cold; the music comes off too art bratty, too over-the-top and out-of-the-ballpark for our tastes. It’s one of those albumsRead More →

Ivan & Alyosha – “All the Times We Had”Dualtone Music Group-out Feb. 263.5 / 5 Of all the times that this Seattle quartet has had, this is the most important one: the debut of their highly anticipated full-length. Ivan & Alyosha hit the NPR circuit and gained recognition for their pleasing harmonies; they’ve even been featured on other illustrious blogs of note. For all the press and ballyhoo and our own adoration of their two EPs aside, we’re going to be the first to say All the Times We Had came off something as a buzzkill: yes, it has “Fathers Be Kind,” but it’s alsoRead More →

Starfucker – “Miracle Mile”Polyvinyl Records– out Feb. 193.5 / 5 It’s pounding, dance bass. Catchy synth and guitar licks. Whispy, dream-pop vocals. It’s the return of Starfucker, which, after 2011’s bursting with hep-ness Reptilians, is much welcome. Now enter Miracle Mile, the third full-length by the Portland, OR quartet; expect the same groove-on-down m.o., the same pop catchiness, except tuned to a slower, more confident beat. In fact, the foursome takes much of the Reptilians pop-formula and just slows it down, takes it in slower sips instead of chugging it down feverishly. So this is the stuff we don’t like about Miracle Mile: just becauseRead More →