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My Brightest Diamond – This Is My HandAsthmatic Kitty Records -out tomorrow4 / 5 Shara Worden returns with a (drum roll please) drum roll. Marching band drum roll, to be more specific (care of the Detroit Party Band). Her fourth album as My Brightest Diamond has us reminiscing of St. Vincent’s Strange Mercy, in that both ladies take counter-intuitive routes to accessible poppiness. And that’s the way we like to get there: the road less traveled. The anchor to these songs is, of course, Worden’s vocals – strong, feminine – but to say that’s why we like this album is to deny the underlying impetusRead More →

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Roadkill Ghost Choir – In TonguesGreatest Hiss Records-out today 2.5 / 5 We invariably find albums like Roadkill Ghost Choir’s debut the toughest to judge. In Tongues is not particularly weak (it’s got good drive and direction) nor all that strong (not especially compelling, not brilliant), and the Floridian rock quintet certainly have their moments. But we always have to consider this: that we’re getting the album gratis, for review consideration, and you, dear readers, will either head out to buy this album or spend it on something else. In this case, certainly, save that ten bucks and spend it on something like White LighterRead More →

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Sleeper Agent – About Last NightRCA-out now4 / 5 Sleeper Agent (with The ‘Mericans)Aug 1, 7pmWaterplace Park, Providence, RI(Free – all ages) There are few things we appreciate more than a burning beat that soothes our hungry dance-heart. And Sleeper Agent’s (hailing from Bowler Green, KY) pop-centricity pulls us right in, gets us singing through their sophomore. It’s not bass-heavy electronica (think *ahem* Chain Gang of 1974) or pure saccharine pop (a la Sondre Lerche), or lightning-storm-cloud electro-buzz (St. Vincent, we look at you) but it strikes a pleasant, palatable medium: easy to get into, easy to get through, and somehow, pure blissful joy. WeRead More →

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Simone Felice – StrangersDualtone Music Group -out now3.5 / 5 Make no mistake: we are very biased toward Simone Felice. If you caught us in 2009 with The Duke and the King’s Nothing Gold Can Stay, then you’d understand. Personally, we consider that album a classic. Already. So if we come off over-appreciative of Felice’s post-Duke output, well, there’s a good reason for it. But let us say that his latest solo album, Strangers, gets there, but not much else. Alas. There are fantastic songs. Notably, the anthemic “Our Lady of the Gun” and “Running Through My Head.” Felice is a master at two things:Read More →