_Top CDs of 2013

You must’ve been expecting it. We definitely went out of our way to make these guys and gals feel comfortable on our blog (which is no mean feat, considering there are this many: Riders on the hill. Sun to their backs: strategic positioning. of them). We absolutely love the 11-piece’s orchestra rock, brilliantly written, full and vast. And writing is the strength of White Lighter, Typhoon’s debut full-length: it is dense and mercurial, it is writing for musicians, it is writing that bursts like a wave’s crest upon the sea, it challenges and envelops. It’s the reason why we gave the Portland, OR outfit ourRead More →

Lovely as stained glass: Patty Griffin’s voice is nothing short of beautiful. You know us: sometimes we jostle around the numbers and fudge them in all kinds of ways. Well, we couldn’t feel good about ourselves if we gave Beware of Darkness (a 4.5/5) a higher slot than Patty Griffin’s American Kid, which is just so replete with beautiful, home-spun harmonies (with Robert Plant no less) and dinner-evening storytelling that it would be criminal to go just by the numbers. Besides, maybe we could’ve gone a little higher on American Kid – an homage to her late Irish father – but better late than never.Read More →

Next it’s these LA’ers that we tip our hat off to. New to the scene, with just one full-length under their belts, we’re still gaga we mean crazy over their classic-rock inspired, no-holds-barred debut. Without further ado, Palm trees in a cemetery. How very LA of you. we present Beware of Darkness. The best way we can describe Orthodox is perhaps this: remember when you read Kafka and channeled Poe’s depression while blasting an emo Robert Plant while Christian Bale (who’s just intense, always intense) tells you about the time between Batman movies that he went for a drink and fought off half a dozenRead More →

Sexy sexy. Yes. Twice. It’s a stunning retro-throwback to disco / funky R&B sexytimes that Sean Tilman, aka Har Mar Superstar, brings on his fifth full-length, Bye Bye 17. If you couldn’t tell, Mr. Tilman doesn’t take himself too seriously, but we certainly have to: he’s got great rhythm, good pipes and a great ear for songwriting. Check out choruses like “Restless Leg” and “Rhythm Bruises”; “Leg” is too fun to keep you from smiling, and “Bruises” hits the opposite end of the spectrum, the kind of melody that you have to sing along to and realize you’re just no good at it. Oh well,Read More →