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When considered without any contextual information, it’s difficult to group Fleet Foxes immediately within the tumultuous Seattle music scene from which they’ve emerged. With their long beards, country guitar sound, and tale-telling lyrics, one imagines rather that their self-titled debut is the result of its members spending several months strumming strings ‘round a camp fire. [...]

8. Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?Yes I am. No, but seriously, this jubilant yet immensely depressing album really did something big for Of Montreal this year. Never before has intense personal drama been so much damn fun to witness, and it seems lots of ravey youngsters have discovered this truth, as [...]

9. In a Sentimental MoodThat woman is thinking naughty thoughts. Also, as a sometime fan of They Might Be Giants, I appreciate knowing what the Longines Symphonette means.8. I Like BeethovenA musical tribute to the hero of non-conformists everywhere. You can see the record company executives just aching to get a piece of [...]

1. Hats Off to Pennsylvania Polka (Stanky and his Coal Miners Polka Band)For one thing, it’s by the band that gets my award for best name, the Stanky and his Coal Miners Polka Band. For another thing, the patriotic theme makes you think you’re about to be listening to some nice drum and fife [...]

  As a longtime fan of Radiohead who’s well aware that their albums take a number of listens to really come together in my mind, I’ll admit that writing a review three days after getting the new album isn’t an easy thing. I know it’ll be a while before I can really form an opinion, but [...]

With each release, Sam Beam, the man and beard behind Iron & Wine, does theoretically what every lasting musician should: he expands the breadth of the sounds, instruments, and recording options available to him in order to allow that much more discovery and possibility. This is in one sense due to his simply being allowed [...]

Just because something turns out to be not quite what you’d expected, does this mean it’s no good? Of course the answer is “certainly not,” but often in these cases one’s surprise can come with a slight tinge of disappointment, if not for the overall result, for what you had hoped to be getting into. [...]

Those lovable chaps Ween have been tinkering around in the studio for a while now in preparation for their upcoming album, recently reported to be called La Cucaracha (ew!). It’s unclear whether or not the five track The Friends EP represents a sampling of what we can expect from their much anticipated new tunage, or [...]

Anybody who still holds a grudge against Yoko Ono because of all that Beatles shit is just an idiot.  She has clearly proven herself a thousand times over as a wonderful artist and humanitarian, and it’s ridiculous that a romantic relationship she had over twenty years ago should still affect her career as much as [...]

Some Loud Thunder stands inevitably up against the hype surrounding Clap Your Hands Say Yeah’s self-titled debut, a following based on that helpful friend word-of-mouth, and the wonder that is the Internet. As such, their sophomore album falls upon the eager ears of many ready to be grabbed by the throat and flung into the dreamy, strange [...]