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Typhoon – Offerings Roll Call Records -out Jan. 12 3.5 / 5   We’ve thought greatly about this double-album fresh from Portland, OR’s Typhoon. There is one word that circles about our head like a persistent muse: Ambitious. There is no doubt here that Offerings, the third full-length studio offering (and the band’s first double-album) is the most ambitious album we’ve reviewed in our ten years of reviewing. This is exactly what we wanted to see from Typhoon, fresh off their brilliant White Lighter in 2013, one of our two 5 of 5 reviews on here. It’s a double album in three movements that plays off of aRead More →

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Various Artists – 7″ for Planned Parenthood  A Dizzying Array of Artists -out now digitally, Nov. 17 for vinyl box set Can we state how important this is / 5 ?   First things first: 100% of the proceeds of sales go to Planned Parenthood. If you’re not aware of what Planned Parenthood is, they’re the most important provider of sexual health care in the US. They serve 2.4 million people a year, many and many of them in difficult financial situations (ie broke and working at Wal-Mart); and it’s estimated 1 in 5 women have visited a Planned Parenthood clinic in their lives. Planned ParenthoodRead More →

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The New Pornographers – Whiteout Conditions Concord Records – out now 3.5 / 5 To understand our frustrations with the New Pornographers’ latest album, we’re going to have to summon two older ones of theirs. So, frustration: Whiteout Conditions, while perhaps one of their best albums in terms of performances, and in terms of musical ability, feels cluttered with too many sounds. Literally. It’s a fun album, yes, but perhaps one of the weakest in their 17-year repertoire. And while we tend to appreciate layering and depth of sound, we find a lot of these extra sonic bits to be extraneous. Let’s bring in that earlier albumRead More →

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RG Lowe – Slow Time Western Vinyl – out now 4.5 / 5 This Austin, Texan pianist/guitarist, who is the fountainhead for the instrumental group Balmorhea, decided to take a trip through the 70s and 80s. Citing Prince, Paul Simon and Stevie Wonder, his previous ten years of work came through the vocal-less, introspective, quiet Balmorhea. Thus, one would assume RG Lowe would be entirely out of his element on a pop-rock album. But you know the saying about assumptions: turns out Slow Time, Lowe’s debut solo LP, is pure, unadulterated bliss. Coming seemingly out of nowhere, Lowe’s nine tracks here are some of the least self-conscious,Read More →