DBF Album Reviews
Recent Album Reviews
86
Posted December 12th, 2008 by BVaz · No Comments
This album came out a few months ago but in the end of year rush to compile year-end lists and whatnot I figured I would revisit some recent albums that went by the wayside in our little blogosphere due to our shutdown issues. Anyway, I became familiar with Blitzen Trapper early this year and managed to get into a previously sold out show they did with the great Fleet Foxes at the great Schuba's back in April and pretty much loved everything about that show. I was moderately familiar with Wild Mountain Nation and enjoyed it, but their ...
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Categories: Albums, Main, Music, Reviews
Tags: Album Review, Blitzen Trapper, Furr
88
Posted December 11th, 2008 by BVaz · 1 Comment
Before picking up this bad boy I wasn't super familiar with TVOTR's prior album "Return to Cookie Mountain" aside from knowing a few of the songs off of it and generally liking them but hadn't really gotten really into it. I first really saw them in the dreaded pre-Pearl Jam slot at last year's Lollapalooza and enjoyed their set, though from quite a distance not being able to hear it super well. All that being said I didn't have a lot to base expectations on going into this record and this record has really won me over as ...
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Categories: Albums, Main, Music, Reviews
Tags: Album Review, Dear Science, TV On The Radio
87
Posted December 8th, 2008 by BVaz · 1 Comment
One of my favorite new bands to come up this year is definitely Los Campesinos. With their high energy songs and offbeat style they won me over big time upon first hearing Hold on Now, Youngster..., and then subsequently really added to it with a truly awesome show last May at the Empty Bottle. They are one of my favorite bands right now as their combination of punk rock sensibilities, clever/ironic lyrics and high energy performances is tough to match nowadays. Right before turkey day they dropped a new "album", for lack of a better term, on the ...
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Categories: Albums, Main, Music, Reviews
Tags: Album Review, Los Campesinos, We Are Beautiful We Are Doomed
89
Before I begin, I'd like to disclose that I am a big BSP fan, as you can see by my personal last.fm user profile (my #1most listened to song is Blackout off of The Decline of British Sea Power, and my #4 overall listened to band is British Sea Power). I also really enjoyed their show when they came earlier this year, even if I didn't really write a proper review. So even though this album was released waaay back in February of this year, it was an album which I wanted represented on our list of albums reviewed for 2008. ...
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Categories: Albums, Main, Music, Reviews
Tags: Album Review, British Sea Power, Do You Like Rock Music?
80
Okkervil River's newest, The Stand Ins, surfaces after a short one year turnaround behind the fantastic album from 2007, The Stage Names. Much about these two albums links them very closely to one another, aside from the small time gap. Most obviously, the two respective covers fit together as one image; The Stand Ins is above; put it together with The Stage Names' cover. Despite the obvious relation between the two of the outreached hand, it's clear that this album is the darker, more depressed of the two as the cover of The Stage Names conveys hope and rebirth, while this one shows only ...
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Categories: Albums, Main, Music, Reviews
Tags: Album Review, Okkervil River, The Stand Ins
86
Got this album about a month ago and have been listening to it pretty consistently over that time, and I definitely am pretty impressed with what the Walkmen have layed down this time around. An understated 60s throwback, chill-rock (60s easy listening?) record that is hard to describe in a concice term, obviously. The album starts off easily enough with a single crash symbol, easy toms, and a quiet, unassuming bassline on the awesomely titled Donde Esta La Playa, while interspersing jangly lead guitar which blasts in from seemingly nowhere accompanying ramped up vocals. The norm that ...
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Categories: Albums, Main, Music, Reviews
Tags: Album Review, The Walkmen, You & Me
82
Posted August 26th, 2008 by BVaz · No Comments
Ra Ra Riot is one of those bands I first discovered live opening for The Cribs earlier this year at the Double Door back in Chicago, and I was really impressed with their live show. I thought they had a really great stage energy and that they really brought a lot of depth to the songs on their EP that I listened to after seeing them live. They are also one of those bands that has seemed to be everywhere despite having only one EP to their name, kind of like Tokyo Police Club. Well, no longer. ...
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Categories: Albums, Main, Music, Reviews
Tags: Album Review, Ra Ra Riot, The Rhumb Line
71
Posted August 26th, 2008 by BVaz · No Comments
Well kids, it has been a long absence for the good ole BVaz, but after moving and shit, hopefully we can get this shit back going here. Anyway, since Daigle has handled Lolla, and Pitchfork Fest just seems so fucking long ago I might do a Throwback Thursday about it, let's get back into album reviews and shows why don't we. Anyway, these guys pretty much everyone knows about at this point I think. Black Kids had a shitload of buzz going last year from their EP "Wizard of Ahhs", which they parlayed into a major label ...
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Categories: Albums, Main, Music, Reviews
Tags: Album Review, Black Kids, Partie Traumatic
85
If you liked the Cool Kids' excellently named EP Totally Flossed Out, then you'll love The Bake Sale: seven of its eight songs appear on this 32-minute über EP (rest in peace, "Pump Up The Volume".) However, the redundancy doesn't diminish the radness: this is the hip-hop album of the summer.
The first five tracks jump out the speaker, starting with the most excellent "What Up Man". Not only does this song add new context to my preferred email greeting, it also showcases all that is good with the Cool Kids: playful yet tight lyrics over a ...
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Categories: Albums, Main, Music, Reviews
Tags: Album Review, hip-hop, The Bake Sale, The Cool Kids
68
Fantastic Playroom by New Young Pony Club is a dance party album. Nothing more. Seriously, there is nothing more to it. This album will indeed get people moving and the music itself is catchy and energetic, but there is no real depth to the songs and the lyrics go from borderline silly to downright laughable. There really isn't much more necessary to get an accurate overview other than that, to be honest - this record is a one trick pony. Catchy dance music, no depth, terrible lyrics. Full review, tourdates and MP3 samples after the jump.
The album kicks off with ...
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Categories: Albums, Music, Reviews
Tags: 2008, Album Review, Fantastic Playground, New Young Pony Club, Tour Dates
75
The Helio Sequence is a band that has had several indy releases, and Keep Your Eyes Ahead, released by Sub Pop Records is a nice surprise when I threw it on the iTunes for the first time not too long ago. Overall, Keep Your Eyes Ahead is an enjoyable and even record, in that the high points aren't the most awesome, but the low points aren't the most terrible music I have heard this year, either. I think the album suffers a little from the fact that the lead vocals aren't exactly world-class, but they are passable. On the right ...
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Categories: Albums, Music, Reviews
Tags: 2008, Album Review, Keep Your Eyes Ahead, The Helio Sequence, Tour Dates
84
So here’s a little album I’ve been wanting to write about for some time, but didn’t know how to proceed. It may be due, in part, to the fact that it’s been quite a spell since my last hallucinogen-induced bender. Nonetheless, Oracular Spectacular is an encompassing album that is delightfully complex, while maintaining a lightheartedness throughout. Andrew Vanwyngarden and Ben Goldwasser have done a very impressive of job of creating a mash up of eclectic sounds and styles in a manner that would make a Flaming Lips/David Bowie love child shed a single tear of joy.
Oracular Spectacular starts out with ...
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Categories: Albums, Main, Music, Reviews
Tags: Album Review, MGMT, Oracular Spectacular, Time to Pretend
72
Lil' Wayne had killer guest spots on two of my favorite hip-hop tracks from last year: Jay-Z's "Hello Brooklyn" and Kanye West's "Barry Bonds". However, much like when I purchased Grand Theft Auto III, I hadn't experienced the first two installments of the trilogy, so I approached Tha Carter III with a fairly open mind.
I nearly experienced immediate buyer's remorse. Album-opener "3 peat" (no word if Pat Riley receives royalties) is a dull, "808+dramatic score" song I've heard roughly 1,000 times before. Weezy offers the inevitable reminder of the chasm between my life and hip-hop in the ...
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Categories: Albums, Music, Reviews
Tags: Album Review, hip-hop, Lil' Wayne, Tha Carter III
84
Posted June 26th, 2008 by BVaz · 2 Comments
Sigur Ros - Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Enadalaust - Beggars - 2008
One of the higher profile releases so far this year is certainly this new album from Iceland's Sigur Ros. The kings of dramatic, atmospheric pop have taken a bit of a change in direction on this album, with a few more focused numbers, but largely retains their sweet natured charm of their dramatic soundscapes and they deliver a very solid record.
The first song on the album, "Gobbledigook", was the the first one released to the masses as it was available as a free download on their ...
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Categories: Albums, Main, Music, Reviews
Tags: Album Review, Sigur Ros, Tour Dates
Posted June 26th, 2008 by BVaz · 2 Comments
I wasn't really going to do a review on this, because it kind of exists outside of the realm of reviews and regular albums that have come out this year simply because of the way it is put together. But since this has been such a controversial release that has been praised by many and panned by many as well, I thought I would throw in my two cents on this album. It was released last week Radiohead style and it is certainly an album everyone should go ahead and pick up, considering the pay what you want ...
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Categories: Albums, Main, Music, Reviews
Tags: Album Review, Feed The Animals, Girl Talk, Greg Gillis, Mashup
