PunchBook

Grade - C-

R.E.M. is arguably one of the most influential alternative rock bands of 80’s, 90’s, and today. However, in my humble opinion, these guys have lost the energy that made people fall in love with their music. This is their 14th album and after 14 albums most artists are just pumping out new stuff and going through the motions. In R.E.M’s last few albums they’ve strayed away from what worked for them in the 80’s and 90’s, partially because of the loss of drummer Bill Berry. However, this album does echo shades of [Read more →]

Grade - A-

Does everything Arctic Monkeys front man Alex Turner touch turn to gold. Not only is this guy fronting one of the most cutting edge bands out there, now he has this side project called The Last Shadow Puppets which sounds fucking great. His influence from Favourite Worst Nightmare pretty much drives the tone of The Age of the Understatement. It’s got that haunted house rhythm and tone mixed with a little bit of 80’s TV daytime drama theme song. It’s not a duplication of something he’s already created, it’s one hell of a reinvention. In this side project Turner has paired up with Miles Kane (The Rascals) and James Ford who produced the album and plays drums.

The first track of the album, Black Plant, should be studied very closely. This is how great musicians draw listeners into their world for 13 or 14 tracks. It’s steady beat, clear and clever lyrics, and sweeping violin set the stage for [Read more →]

May 6th - Tuesday

Clay Aiken - On My Way Here
Barenaked Ladies - Snacktime kids album
Elvis Costello - Momofuku
Craig David - Trust Me
Gavin DeGraw - Gavin DeGraw
Neil Diamond - Home Before Dark
The Dreamscapes - Project Pity In A Heartbeat
Tim Fite - Fair Ain’t Fair
Firewater - The Golden Hour
IAMX - The Alternative US Release
Iron Maiden - Somewhere Back In Time Best-of
Ja Rule - The Mirror
The Last Shadow Puppets - The Age of the Understatement
Millencolin - Machine 15
Mint Condition - e-Life
Mr. Gnome - Deliver This Creature
No Age - Nouns
Rob GEE - Says
Setting Sun - To The Next Place
Tokio Hotel - Scream

May 13th - Tuesday

10 Years - Division
The Architects - Vice
Joseph Arthur - [Title TBA] EP
Death Cab For Cutie - Narrow Stairs
Andrew Dost - Columbus
Duffy - Rockferry
The Explosion - Bury Me Standing Last record
Keith Sweat - Just Me
Foxy Brown - Brooklyn’s Don Diva
Hospital - Bombers Footnotes
Landmines - Landmines
Jason Mraz - We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things
Old 97s - Blame It on Gravity
Patti Rothberg - Double Standards
The T4 Project - Story-Based Concept Album
Toy Gun Cowboy - Big Blue

May 20th - Tuesday

3 Doors Down - 3 Doors Down
Bun B - II Trill
Dare - Belief
Dare - Beneath The Shining Water
Dresden Dolls - No, Virginia
Drunk Stuntmen - State Fair
Explorers Club - Freedom Wind
Islands - Arm’s Way
Scarlett Johansson - Anywhere I Lay My Head
Alanis Morissette - Flavors of Entanglement
Curt Smith - Halfway, Pleased
Donna Summer - Crayons
Teyana Taylor - From a Planet Called Harlem
Wedding Present - El Rey

May 27th - Tuesday

The Futureheads - This Is Not The World
Al Green - Lay It Down
John Hiatt - Same Old Man
Cyndi Lauper - Bring Ya To The Brink
Usher - Here I Stand

If there is an album missing that you think should be added please let me know :)

Grade - C+

It seems that a lot of the Indie/Emo music being pumped out of the UK these days sounds the same. When I first listened to A Guide To Love, Loss, and Desperation it was more or less background music while I was working. When I popped it into my iPod and really heard it I found that it sounded a lot like the Kooks (whom I like) and had some captivating lyrics much like the Kaiser Chiefs (whom I also like). But two rights aren’t making a right here.

Kill the Director gets this album off on the right foot (on track #2), after all the slow tempo and soft sounding albums I’ve listened to in the past week - this was a welcomed sound. This track has all the makings of a classic single and has been getting solid radio play, and rightfully so. The hard hitting tune and clever lyrics make this song one of the best [Read more →]

Grade - C

One word, PLEASANT

Sleep Though the Static is the first real forgettable album put out by Jack Johnson, even the Curious George Soundtrack was better than is. The album kicks off with a politically charged track that shares the name of the album Sleep Through the Static. Jack criticizes decisions made by the US government in response to 9/11. Those challenges are very fair, the problem I have are two fold.

One - he’s missed the George Bush hating bandwagon. The way he goes after the government in a passive aggressive tone makes throwing jabs at the White House seem out of style. Two - Jack’s songs are not really known for their negativity. Putting a song like this on the first track left a bad taste in my mouth from the start. When I hear Jack Johnson, I want [Read more →]

Grade: C-

There isn’t a Crazy on this album that can wash out the fact that Gnarls Barkley front man, Cee-Lo Green, sounds like the offspring between Gilbert Godfried and Whitney Houston in the hay day of her crack is whack phase. That voice enough to drown out the lyrics and heavy hip-hop beats and then some. This album was leaked over the internet, consequently moving up the release date, I laugh at those poor fuckers that couldn’t wait to get their hands on this train wreck, seeing as St. Elsewhere was Crazy surrounded by a dozen tracks of forgettable mediocrity.

Overall the album is lacking anything crisp and fresh and is very average. Whatever is one of the [Read more →]

Grade: B-

Why is it that when I hear the Black Keys I get the feeling that when recording their albums the band is in one room, and the microphone is across the hall? Regardless, they continue to keep dropping solid albums one after another. Attack and Release sounds a lot like previous Black Keys albums and in a lot of ways is similar to Thickfreakness. To explain their sound to people who have no idea who the hell these guys are, they are a mix between the White Stripes and CCR.

I enjoyed this album in that it sounds like the Black Keys, and I don’t like this album because it sounds just like the Black Keys. The biggest drawback is that they take the “don’t fix it if it ain’t broke” approach. They reverted back to the same old winning formula and [Read more →]

Grade: B

The Seldom Seen Kid has been getting a ton of high marks, some are calling it the best album of the year. I wouldn’t go even close to that far, but Elbow’s firt release in three years is still very good. Good not great. The front man of this Manchester band, Guy Garvey, once again has brought some very captivating lyrics to the table. Some of the more intersting lines you will hear on this album include ” Tower crane driver, oh so far to fall,” and ” I’m asking you to back a horse that’s good for glue…..and nothing else.” It’s the witty and fun lyrics that do it for me. Not to mention, Guy Garvey’s voice has that hollow, haunting sound much like [Read more →]