Knodel The White Hole Spongebath By: Eric G.
Any band that purports to emulate the doctrine of Phil Collins and ends up sounding like a mutant mix of Six Finger Satellite, Gary Numan, and Kraftwerk is all right in my book. Knodel is a trio from Portland, Oregon, but the band claims its [...]

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Bald Rapunzel Diazepam Resin/dischord By: Eric G.
It’s hard to get past a name as awful as Bald Rapunzel, but, luckily, the band is much better than its turgid appellation would lead you to believe. Led by the soulful voice of Bonnie Schlegel, Bald Rapunzel fuses D.C. post-punk tendencies with haunting pop melodies. [...]

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The Ruby Doe The Flame And The Fury Burnout By: Eric G.
If you’re looking for a relentless yet melodic assault on the ears in the vein of Karp or Mule, then The Ruby Doe is your band. The Flame And The Fury is full of explosive guitars and pounding rhythms. The [...]

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Devo Dev-o Live rhinohandmade.com By: Eric G.
The importance of Devo cannot be overstated in modern music. Countless bands have dug deep into the Devo songbook and taken the band's innovative cues to create splinters of the de-evolutionary process. This CD combines two promotional live albums and one commercially available EP that [...]

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Bright Eyes Fevers And Mirrors Saddle Creek By: Eric G.
Desperation is an essential ingredient for music that digs deep enough to make a lasting impression. Conor Oberst understands this concept and exploits it for all it’s worth on Bright Eyes’ third full length, Fevers And Mirrors. Oberst has a sketchy voice; [...]

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Death Cab For Cutie We Have The Facts And We're Voting Yes Barsuk By: Eric G.
Praise follows this band around like a dog, but music hyped this much rarely lives up to the word of mouth. Death Cab For Cutie, however, not only lives up to it but the Bellingham, Washington quartet [...]

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The Cherry Orchard This World Is Such A Groovy Place Riviera / Darla By: Eric G.
The Cherry Orchard puts you right inside a time capsule back to the swinging sixties on its second full length, This World Is A Groovy Place, and for some reason I’m not fighting to get off. This [...]

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The Verna Cannon Movie Star Faces Cargo / Headhunter By: Eric G.
The Verna Cannon reveals its quiet tension through lightly strummed acoustic guitars, subtle, sturdy percussion and plaintive but, somehow, hopeful vocals. Well-placed bits of violin add tasteful backdrops to the deliberately delicate textures throughout the record. Molly Ledford’s breathy, carefully [...]

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The Mercury Program From The Vapor Of Gasoline Tiger Style By: Eric G.
I like Slint as much as the next guy, but all these bands that keep churning out Spiderland III and IV need to listen to some Mr. Bungle or Captain Beefheart or The Three Doctors or something. Slint didn’t take [...]

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American Psycho Directed By Mary Harron Lion's Gate By: Eric G.
It’s almost impossible to adapt Bret Easton Ellis’ grisly 1991 novel American Psycho to the screen without losing crucial first person narrative, so just try to forget there was a book for the sake of the film. Mary Harron has the unfortunate task [...]

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Semi Gloss The Falling Kind Dirt By: Eric G.
More indie rock than Stereolab but more refined than the Velvet Underground, Semi Gloss inhabits a niche where catchy, moog-based pop doesn’t necessarily have to sound retro. Verena Weisendanger’s voice is low and soothing, melding well with the sprightly guitars and peppy drums. [...]

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Blonde Redhead Melody Of Certain Damaged Lemons Touch And Go By: Eric G.
Blonde Redhead’s upward trajectory from record to record is frighteningly steep. The band has shed its latent Sonic Youth influence and become a fully formed monster all its own - a step that was close to completion with 1998’s In [...]

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