Reviews (1)

One of Johnston's favorites of his own albums.
I'm a Daniel Johnston fan, but I know what I like by the guy and what I don't. I don't see him as a novelty or an oddball in the music-world; I take his musical offerings to heart and judge them according to my own tastes, filing them along with the rest of the history of music to which he belongs.
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Subjects:  1. Alternative Pop/Rock    2. Indie Rock    3. Lo-Fi    4. Pop    5. Rock    6. Rock/Pop    7. Singer/Songwriter   

Reviews (2)

Dorky Yes, but Unquestionably Great
I've discovered Kimya Dawson only a few months back, having heard "Caving In" and "I Like Giants" on a local station. I confess to being baffled at first by her sing-song delivery and her overly earnest themes, but I'm always on the lookout for someone with a different approach to music and her songs certainly catch the ear. After a few more chance encounters, I picked up the album and was quickly won over by her enthusiam and unique sound. The songs on 'Remember That I Love You' may at first remind you of the dorky girl you went to church camp with who played campfire guitar; but it would be misleading to say the charm of this album is only its unassuming sound. After a number of listens I have found myself filled with considerable admiration for Kimya's arrangements, in their colorfullness and spareness. They are perfect little origami songs with everything in place in just the right proportion. Folksy and idiosyncratic, but quite fun and sometimes quite moving (the song "12/26" is an example). I can think of a number of rather more famous bands who could benefit from listening to this album and dissecting what Kimya has done here. Who knows where her ideas come from, but she's on to something. No question about it.
Continues the legacy of Hidden Vagenda
Kimya Dawson's second album for K Records continues the legacy displayed to such great effect on its critically acclaimed predecessor, Hidden Vagenda. Two of its songs were previously released on a self-titled EP with Matty Pop Chart. With some of the most engaging and genuinely emotional songwriting available, Remember That I Love You is the kind of album that you listen to with a group of friends, or with people who will soon become your friends. When you listen to it alone, it will simply remind you that you, indeed, are loved.
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Subjects:  1. Anti-Folk    2. Contemporary Folk    3. Indie Rock    4. Lo-Fi    5. Pop    6. Rock    7. Rock/Pop    8. Singer/Songwriter   

Reviews (30)

Don't listen to this album if you want to start a band.
After listening to this and many other GBV songs, I have come to the conclusion, what is the use in starting a band, it will never be done better than these guys. This band truly takes it to 11 in their music, melodies and band name. The more you listen, the more you will love them. Tractor Rape Chain is the best example of Lo-Fi rock music and should be in a time capsule for future generations.

GUIDED BY VOICES
IT'S MY FIRST TIME DOING THIS BUT I HAVE BOUGHT 2 CD'S BY GUIDED BY VOICES -EARTHQUAKE GLUE AND THE BEST OF.THEY GROW ON YOU AND GET BETTER EACH TIME LISTENING TO THEM.NEVER HEARD OF THESE GUYS. HEARD THEM ON THE RADIO AND HAD TO INVESTIGATE.AL STEWART STILL IS THE MAN.

One Big Fat Piece of Genius
Guided by Voices are one of the best bands I ever heard because they can create epics out of concentrated, 2 minute blasts. Just gorgeous. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Alternative Pop/Rock    2. Bass (Electric)    3. Drums    4. Guitar (Electric)    5. Guitar (Rhythm)    6. Indie Rock    7. Lo-Fi    8. Pop    9. Rock    10. Rock/Pop    11. United States of America    12. Vocals    13. Vocals (Background)   

Features

• Live

Reviews (4)

Ease on Down the C21st
With due respect to both artists,'Summer in the South-East', evokes the moral gravity of Kurt Cobain's,'Unplugged' session. It's an uncanny presence and something to do with their respective intensity; that a certain visual and tonal depth is shaped by pain and the questions arising from it. This would be unbearable, and far from the visceral pleasure of the music, if it were the full story. Its compelling intimacy, in part, derives from its rough impurities. Even the counter harmonies are delightfully skewered to add to Oldham's 'darkness'. Affecting a phraseology that would sit comfortably in the mid C19th while probing his inner state with existential concision, he's fashioned a folk vision for our times, which, in this setting, rocks out. The selection is a virtual encapsulation of Oldham's 'greatest hits', and for this listener, they read as an emotive landscape of terror and beauty. The set has a sweetly balanced feel, raking the best versions from several performances to deliver the graceful contrasts of expanded and contracted space, speed and colour. You get a whiff of Neil Young and Jim Morrison in here, but Oldham is a total and welcome original to the fin de siecle. I've rarely been moved this way, though I do remember the first occasion when the tubercular rasping of Dylan's voice whopped me from behind in '65, and the world seemed to shift a few important degrees.

Bonnie Prince Billy on Steroids
This album is great on so many levels. Will is in fine form, delivering a heart wrenching performance and the band is spot on while still retaining a ruggedness which gives the songs character. Also, the songs are beefed up to full out hard rock mode which approaches the most ragged Neil Young or (dare I say) Pearl Jam. Tracks from the album 'Master and Everyone' benifit from this reworking, giving them a force and power that was perhaps lacking on that record. Recorded prior to the release of 'Super Wolf' you can hear the germs of that album here as 'Summer in the South East' prominently features Oldham collabrator Matt Sweeney and his more rock oriented guitar playing. The recording itself reveals what sounds like a very intimate affair with audience interaction and between song banter. Tack on another half star to give this an overall rating of 4.5

Pink Nasty
I have to say that Pink Nasty is one of the most talented singers out there today and she gets to show off her vocals with the best singer/songwriters out there.Don't ever change.
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Subjects:  1. Garage Rock    2. Indie Rock    3. Lo-Fi    4. Pop    5. Post-Punk    6. Rock    7. Rock/Pop    8. Singer/Songwriter   

Reviews (11)

A perfect capture of a moment in emotional time.
Apparently this is the kind of music that people mean when they talk about "post-rock," but it doesn't sound pretentious. The appalling low-fi sound is due to the fact that it was recorded in its entirety on a dying Panasonic boom box, and you can hear the whine of the grinding gears. It sounds like a demo tape, because it basically is a demo tape, but somehow that sound is perfect for the feeling of the songs. The lyrics are kind of contextless, but clearly the whole album is about people finding good things and hope in bad situations and despair. It's just John Darnielle and his guitar, and you can feel the heat in the air and smell the ashtray that needs emptying as he plays and sings about running away with a girl on a motorcycle, or trying to figure out how to feed two infants, or about how Cyrus and Jeff's death metal dreams of stardom were broken up by their parents.

a great songwriter who should not go unnoticed
I went for years being aware of the cult of John Darnielle, but never really looking into the music he makes under the nom de record, The Mountain Goats, until in the last year. While his latest records are more polished creations, the earlier releases, such as "All Hail West Texas" are truly honest gems. Darnielle may be one of the best "right below the surface" songwriters in all of popular music. His voice, and unique way of storytelling are pretty much without peer in popular music. Sure, people play and sing like him in coffeeshops all across America, but it's rare and refreshing to hear something like this on record. Songs such as "The Fall of the Star High School Running Back" and "The Best Ever Death Metal Band Out of Denton" brim with unique wit and insight, while songs like "Jenny" present Darnielle's impeccable attention to detail. While The Mountain Goats may be an acquired taste to many, for people who love honest, raw guitar and voice committed to tape, you should definitely check this (and any other Mt. Goats record) out.

perhaps the last TRUE mountain goats record?
john darnielle, my second favorite person in all of music next to stephen malkmus (sorry john), cannot write a bad song, it's just not within his capabilities as a performer. while this set of raw, guitar-only, tape-hissy tunes isn't quite as memorable or poignant as his two previous efforts--to me at least--there are a few songs that stand out as career highlights: "best ever death metal band," "jenny", and "faultlines" are excellent examples of darnielle's acerbic wit, as well as his devastatingly accurate portrayals of relationships in distress. stand-outs "the mess inside" and "source decay" are two of his finest story-songs.
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Subjects:  1. Alternative Pop/Rock    2. Indie Rock    3. Lo-Fi    4. Pop    5. Rock    6. Rock/Pop   

Editorial Review

John Darnielle would prefer to see the music of his band, the Mountain Goats, classified as bi-fi, as opposed to lo-fi. He cites the fact that without modern technology, recording an album from one's bedroom would never be so easy. Sounds like a bit of overanalysis, but that's pretty much the ideology behind Darnielle and whomever of his friends the group consists of at this moment. Lyrics brim with explanations, literary references, philosophical allusions, and an all-around endearing nerdiness. The music of the Mountain Goats tends to be filled with the rapid strums of an acoustic guitar ... and little else. Read more

Reviews (6)

One of the Goats' finest
most of john darnielle's recorded output falls somewhere between good and brilliant.personally, i'd have to cite either the coroner's gambit or tallahassee as my favorite, but this album is almost as consistently inspired as those two. most of the songs get by (actually, they do a lot more than just getting by) on nothing but frantically strummed acoustic guitars and literate but accessible wordplay, but there are also some very successful songs that employ higher-fidelity recording and additional instrumentation. all in all, full force galesburg is a cohesive, compelling album that offers greater rewards with each listen.

this cd is awesome
the mountain goats are incredible, and this album is a clear demonstration of that. the songs managage to rock, even with such sparse instrumentation, such as West Country Dream which finds Darnielle doing what he does best, strumming furiously on his acoustic guitar.

Darnielle is a genius...
When it comes to taking independent recordings to a limit, Darnielle manages to do so. Armed with just his acoustic guitar and a panasonic boombox, Darnielle's lyrical honesty and folk-driven guitar playing is immediately catchy and one that you have to listen to over and over again. Read more

Subjects:  1. Alternative Pop/Rock    2. Indie Rock    3. Lo-Fi    4. Pop    5. Rock    6. Rock/Pop   

Reviews (24)

Curtains for now
As you already now this is the final release out of 6 albums for John Frusciante, pulling the curtains down on a busy and very productive period before its back to work with the Red Hot Chili Peppers. While this may not appeal to everyone, any fan of acoustic music should appreciate this. The album is soft, mellow and reserved, and it is clear John has really evolved as a musician and songwriter over the years.
Nice album, yet a little melancholy in its mood
This, in my opinion, was good acoustic album by John, a nice try. It was the last of John Frusciante's solo endeavors, and, like all of the others, has a certain feel to it. This is both good and bad, because while this is a nice album to listen to, it is a little sad at parts, and a little bit silent for my taste. Don't let this stop you from buying it, however.
Curtains
This album is magnificent, I have a copy of it on vinyl (recordcollectionmusic.com) but unfortunatly not on CD.I say unfortunatly, because while the quality of vinyl is so much more alive, it is extremely difficult to carry around.I suggest buying both, the CD for the car and the Ipod, and the Vinyl for relaxing at home to the musical stylings of, in my opinion, one of the century's greatest musician.John Frusciante has never disappointed, and he exceeded my expectations astoundingly with his newest works.The Vinyl has a different arraingment of songs, which I think flows better.
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Subjects:  1. Lo-Fi    2. Pop    3. Post-Punk    4. Rock    5. Rock/Pop   

Editorial Review

The Microphones are a one-man band in which Phil Elvrum (Old Time Relijun) makes soft, psychedelic nylon-stringed guitar jangle sound both humble and heroic. While operating in an all-analog "lo-fi" mode, in the vein of Elephant 6 collective bands such as Olivia Tremor Control, Elvrum's no wannabe. Read more

Reviews (27)

great album!!
The Microphones was one of the few bands that got to make lo-fi experimental pop sound great, with beautiful and melodies and an awesome haunting sound. One of the ever released lo-fi albums!!

so beautiful....
Very rarely do I have to listen to an album so shockingly beautiful more than once to fully digest it. This had somewhat of a "turning on your head" effect on me, as I tried to wade through the lushness to see what this album meant to me. The lyrical quality is absolutely impressive, and the musicianship and melodic innovation is mind blowing. "The Glow pt.2", and "The Moon" are both just absolute perfection, and the rest of the album doesn't stray far from the same vein. All this is made more impressive considering this is all the musing of one man.
Now here's a place I'd like to be
I had the album for a couple weeks and tried to listen to it as much as I could but it wasn't until just this last complete run though that I really saw this as a masterpiece, not just a work of art.It is though, no questions about.Anyone reading this already knows that this is very highly acclaimed and I am here to tell you to listen to everyone.This record is absolutely enthralling (The Glow Pt. 2), absolutely fun (I Felt My Size), absolutely adventurous (The Moon), absolutely haunting (The Headless Horseman), absolutely captivately (Something #1), absolutely psycho-pop (I Felt Your Shape), absolutely...well... what I think we all look for in music.The lyrics are great, the music is spectacular, and the production/mix is amazing.This is an emotional but lighthearted rollercoaster ride that works on an individual song level but is even better as a whole (66 minutes).I am suprized to say that I even like it better when turned down low since the headphones are optimal for it.Obviously, this record is multidimentional. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Experimental Rock    2. Indie Rock    3. Lo-Fi    4. Pop    5. Post-Rock/Experimental    6. Rock    7. Rock/Pop   

Reviews (73)

A complete album
This is the album where it all came togather for Pavement. This captures their full range of music/emotions perfectly. Starting off very slow with "We dance" to a more typical later Pavement song, "Rattled By the Rush". Its got the fast/dirty playful tunes like "Serpentine Pad" and just over all brilliant songs like "Grounded". Thats not even counting the Pavement classics like, "Grave Architecture", which has a whole slew of musical styles in one song.. This album is just plain brilliant and should work with ANY Pavement fan.. Be it the newer or older albums (like Slanted and Enchanted, etc..) A perfect album.. start to finish. Refreshing in todays world of singles and 1 song downloads.. Nice to hear a great peice of work, with no songs to skip.

Indie Rock Classic
One of the top albums of the nineties.Less accessible than its predecessor 'Crooked Rain Crooked Rain' but every bit as essential.Some Pavement fans call it the band's 'White Album' due to the album's length and variety.'Father To A Sister Of Thought' may be my favorite Pavement song ever.Looking forward to a Matador rerelease treatment like for the first two Pavement LPs as the B-sides from this era are among the band's finest.

among the greatest albums of all time...
Wowee Zowee is often left in the shadow of Pavement's more famous albums---Slanted and Enchanted, and of course the critically acclaimed Crooked Rain.But Wowee Zowee is remarkable in its eccentricities.The songs spiral, fall, crumble, throb, and shiver with emotions---but they certainly never turn emo or depressing. Pavement's unique take on 90s alternative rock is still unmatched.Every single song will blow you away, but the best part of this album is that every time you listen you'll find a new favorite song, guitar riff, lyric or even a single, perfectly-placed note.Songs like "A T & T" and "Extradition" are immediately singled out as the best on the album by most people, but after repeated listenings you'll fall in love with the spinning melancholy of "Kennel District" and the half-crazed, half-coughing lovely mess of a song that is "Best Friend's Arm."Pavement even dips into the punk-rock pot briefly in "Serpentine Pad" but keep it short and breathtaking. In my personal experience, this is the one album that is so multi-dimensional that I never, ever get sick of it---it's definitely a desert-island pick.This album deserves to be up there with "Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" and "OK Computer"---it's simply amazing. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Alternative Pop/Rock    2. Indie Rock    3. Lo-Fi    4. Noise Pop    5. Pop    6. Rock    7. Rock/Pop   

Reviews (14)

Kaleidoscopic collage of sweet pop and soundscapes.
Music from the Unrealised Film Script: Dusk at Cubist Castle, is a strange and disorientating album that is pitched halfway between 60's influenced neo-prog-psychedelia, and the more recognisable sound of mid-90's indie.It's certainly the most adventurous album released by any of the various Elephant 6 Collective offshoots, with The Olivia Tremor Control writing and recording 'Dusk...' over a period of three years, with a rolling line up of collaborators including Eric Harris, John Fernandes, Steve Jacobek, Nick Benjamin and Julian Koster, as well Neutral Milk Hotel leader Jeff Mangum on piano, slide-guitar and backing vocals, and the Apples in Stereo's Robert Schneider, who adds bass, melodica, backing vocals, as well as acting as the engineer and co-producer of the album as a whole.The nucleus of the band was Will Cullen Heart and Bill Doss, who here write, perform and produce the majority of the album, as well as adding the bizarre sketches and collages that make up the album's art work. A Transparent Dream: Psychedelic, Ambient, Dear Prudence, Noise, Pet Sounds, Toy Piano . . .
Geez. I was forty-four years old. For twenty years (and more) I had been trying to re-create the moment when I first listened to Talking Heads' "Speaking in Tongues." "Dusk at Cubist Castle" had arrived that day. The wife and kids gathered around the boom box in the kitchen. "Let's check this out."
No Classic
Unfortunately, this band sounds a lot more like Robert Schneider's other band than Jeff Mangum's.While not as sickly sweet as most Apples in Stereo stuff, it still lacks the edge and toughness to be great pop.And of course, it's needlessly "challenging" with all the random sounds and beeps and whatever. I think this band and the Apples (see Her Wallpaper Reverie) put that kind of stuff next to their conventional songs because they are trying to make up for the fact that their songs are a little too bubbly and sugary to be taken seriously.You often end up with the worst of both worlds- lightweight pop and unlistenable noise.
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Subjects:  1. Experimental Rock    2. Indie Rock    3. Lo-Fi    4. Neo-Psychedelia    5. Pop    6. Rock    7. Rock/Pop   

Reviews (21)

Hear the genius form
This is probably The Magnetic Fields most uneven release, but this is, of course, due to the fact that these are Merritt's first records.Most people seem to complain about the track order more than anything, but I can see why The Wayward Bus was put first.If Distant Plastic Trees were up first, most people probably would not be able to sit through the whole thing.
real raw
I can't even get into a lengthly explanation - listening to all of the magnetic fields songs make me happy to be alive.
Bittersweet and lovely
I usually detest indie pop like this: low fi, precious, sentimentally gloopy songs with detached singing and little or no guts to the music.But damn if this doesn't work in an odd, magical way.The songs don't rock for sure, but the melodies and lyrics pack a delicate punch that can be either soothing, cathartic or just bittersweet.Songs for after the breakup with the love of your life. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Alternative Pop/Rock    2. Indie Electronic    3. Indie Pop    4. Indie Rock    5. Lo-Fi    6. Pop    7. Rock    8. Rock/Pop   

Reviews (11)

Amazing album that hasn't left my playlist
The Elected's Me First is music that grows on you with every listen. From the first track to the last, you will be amazed.
THIS ALBUM IS AMAZINGLY 3 Stars
this album is not five stars.the album has good variety, and three damn good songs, but the rest of the album is thrown into the categorie of uncreative country rock.Blake Sennett's guitar work is, as always, superb, and the overall album is good, but five stars, dont be ridiculous.

Don't miss it.
To be brief: Brilliant song writing, perfect execution. Lyrical and edgy at the same time. A wonderful experience. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Bass    2. Drums    3. Guitar (Acoustic)    4. Guitar (Electric)    5. Harmonica    6. Indie Rock    7. Keyboards    8. Lo-Fi    9. Percussion    10. Pop    11. Rock    12. Rock/Pop    13. Slide Guitar    14. Vocals    15. Whistle (Instrument)   

Editorial Review

Pop fans rejoice: Here's yet another delightful concept album from a member of the Elephant Six family, Of Montreal, who actually hail from Athens, Georgia. Of Montreal are more like third cousins to the E6 clan; their sound is cohesively pop oriented and distinctively quaint. The songs are bouncy, keyboard- and vocal-driven gems that collapse barbershop harmonies and well-enunciated, Tin Pan Alley vocalizations with Anglo mid-'60s pop (especially that of the ever-popular Kinks). The lyrics on Of Montreal's third full-length weave an intricate story in childrens-book logic, with invisible trees, a miniature philosopher, and a cast of hundreds. The words from the buoyant "Fun Loving Nun" (whose chorus appears to have been sung by the mice from Read more

Reviews (13)

Maybe the worst record I have ever heard
This record is awful.I haven't been this burned by gushing amazon reviews and recommendations since I bought Jellyfish's Spilt Milk.For years I thought that was the worst pop album ever made.It's not.This one is.
Stunning album with a lot of (successful) experimentation.
The first few times you listen to this album, it's hard not to compare it to some of the psychadelic/pop bands of the 60's. This in itself makes it a good album from the get go. However, after repeated listens, you start to realize and hear all of the concepts and experimentation behind the songs that make just about all of them great. Some of the highlights include "Old Familiar Way", "Fun Loving Nun", "Tulip Baroo", "The Autobiographical Grandpa", and "Advice From A Divorced Gentleman." They're all great songs.
Come join the "Parade"
Of Montreal has built a career on exuberant, sweet concept albums that bounce with life and love. "The Gay Parade" is a snapshot of them at their best -- it has the strangeness of "Cocquelicot," but is more accessable. These songs cheery oddball pop, but it sounds so uncalculated that it never quite sounds twee.
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Subjects:  1. Alternative Pop/Rock    2. Indie Pop    3. Lo-Fi    4. Neo-Psychedelia    5. Pop    6. Popular Music    7. Rock    8. Rock/Pop   

Features

• CD-single

Reviews (5)

everything you ever said
would you like to escape for a lil while?...
Brilliant
This CD/EP is actually 3 versions of a single song, a collaboration between Northwest indie rockers Modest Mouse and the recently broken-up 764-Hero.I'm not much of a fan of the latter, but they are used here quite well, and this is truly Modest Mouse at its best. A nifty lil EP
I hesitated at getting this EP for my great fear of remixes. Anyone who has ever heard They Might Be Giants' "World's Address" remix or more recently, the remix of Tenacious D's "Explosivo" would understand where I am coming from.Read more

Subjects:  1. Alternative Pop/Rock    2. Emo    3. Indie Rock    4. Lo-Fi    5. Noise Pop    6. Pop    7. Rock    8. Rock/Pop    9. United States of America   

Subjects:  1. Alternative Country    2. Contemporary Singer/Songwriter    3. Lo-Fi    4. Pop    5. Rock    6. Rock/Pop   

Editorial Review

It's Will Johnson's voice that makes Centro-Matic so irresistible: He's gruff and hidden in the guitar fuzz. You strain to hear what he's saying--and that's the hallmark of his success--you keep straining. Read more

Reviews (4)

best album i've heard in a while
pretty melodies, hard rocking guitars and drums, evocative lyrics.centro-matic songs get stuck in your head pretty quickly.they remind me of REM songs played in the style of crazy horse or pavement. this is probably my favorite of their albums.you can throw it on and listen start to finish without wanting to skip a song.
2006's best album
There may be a finer band on the planet, and there may be a finer songwriter, but if there is, I haven't heard it. Centro-matic are one of Will Johnson's outlets, where the rock is turned up to full Neil Young Crazy Horse, alongside the more contemplative, new-Americana, South San Gabriel and his beautiful solo work. This, the band's seventh album, may just be their best work, opening with the glorious Covered Up In Mines, and proceeding through songs that, at turns, display crunching fuzz rock, and then sweeping beauty. In fact, it is difficult not to use the word 'masterpiece' in any review. The core of the work is Will Johnson - his songs work so well on acoustic guitar that, worked up into full band versions, and accentuated with rock solid instrumentation and the great feeling of studio improvisation, they can't help but dig their way in, until repeated listening is not just desirable, but essential. Easily the best album of the year, so far.

Underapprciated and Overlooked?
Surprising that there aren't more reviews on this being that its been out for 4 months. Take the elements of Stones period "Exile onMain Street" a little Byrds melodic edge, and mix things up a `bit and you've got one of the best contemporary rock bands currently on the planet. They've smoothed the edges a bit on "Fort Recovery" but still evoke emotional response from anyone within listening distance. From the hypnotic induced beat of "Calling Thermatico" to the poetically stated "The Fugitives Have Won" Will Johnson's writing contiunes to mature well beyond most of what passes as lyrical content by major label acts.
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Subjects:  1. Alternative Country-Rock    2. Indie Rock    3. Lo-Fi    4. Pop    5. Rock    6. Rock/Pop