Speaking if cheese...well, yeah, there's a lot of it on Dream date, with a healthy topping of enthralling production and slick, meaningless rhymes. [Winter, p.102]

But unlike Not Too Late, Jones' latest decision to ditch her keys for strings is a poor one. In a way, she had indeed found a different beat to groove to, and if anyone can play in a piano bar without a piano, it would certainly be Norah Jones. [Holiday 2009, p. 91]

All of these bittersweet tracks are gloriously faint approximations of everyone's favorite seasonal affective disorder. [Holiday 2009, p. 93]

The Fountain is replete with shimmering, flaw-repellant pop, all glorious melodies and gorgeous atmospherics; and while Will Sargent's feral guitar hounds are kept tightly leashed, Ian McCulloch rattle off couplets and takes us to dizzying heights of piercing sadness and grown-up romantic longing. [Holiday 2009, p. 93]

By its very nature, the sonic range is reduced and the vocals sit tightly in the piano and acoustic guitar lines, as in "Blind Little Rain," where the vocal movement is as playful as it is devastating with Yuki's ghostly calling. [Holiday 2009, p. 92]

Githead cohesively blends the sounds of each of the foursome's past experiences. [Holiday 2009, p.95]

The new album is much more subdued yet at the same time, more adventurous in what it accomplishes. [Holiday 2009, p.100]

It doesn’t hurt that Bill Reynolds of Band of Horses produced the five-song EP, and though it clocks in at a brief 20 minutes, it’s worth repeated listenings.

It's obvious that great pains were taken with the sequencing--starting with the exuberant "Good Looking Man About Town," winding down with Morrissey's twist on Bowie's nostalgic "Drive-In Saturday, " and trailing off with the resigned ode "Because of My Poor Education." The artistry alone is worth the purchase. [Holiday 2009, p.91]

Songs like these are why Nirvana was king and this show proves why the band was peerless. Suddenly Nirvana is everything to me all over again. [[Holiday 2009, p. 92]

The spacious production leaves room for the sounds (cackling laughter, radio fuzz, the ever-present vibes) to be themselves, resulting in dream-like suites that are at once familiar and confusing. [Holiday 2009, p. 99]

Gift Of Gab is assured and even-keeled on Escape 2 Mars--never reaching the intensity of Blackalicious' best work, or descending into the mellow lounge -scapes of "4th Dimensional Rocketships."

This is not one to be missed, kissed with the promise that beauty and depth in songs still matters. [Holiday 2009, p.102]

A basement-made bundle of hypnotic unpredictability, this one looks to be a grower.

Despite the classic rock pastiche, Cosmic Egg somehow manages to strike a balance between being a carbon copy of a legendary rock album and a tribute to an era--call them the Quentin Tarantino of hard rock.

When the album reaches its climax at about mid-point, the record changes pace and you’re left wondering, “What was that?” Ultimately, you don’t totally care to know the answer.

Though Maps is ona simple level known for James Chapman's spacey and cinematic sound, the new direction--or variety of directions--are all equally as wonderful, even if they are unrelated. [Fall 2009, p.106]

Tarot Sport's tunes don't really explode so much as they unfurl into synthetic washes of digital soundtracking that undulate with electricity before elvolving into narcotic beat castles. [Holiday 2009, p.99]

Though he occasionally buries his vocals under distortion, Cox is undeniably the star of the show. [Fall 2009, p.106]

It's just a series of strangely gorgeous, breezy tunes from two awkward Norwegians who continue to remind us that love can be confusing, joy dark and pain very beautiful. [Fall 2009, p.98]

The audio-visual experience, fondly known as The BQE, centers on the history of New York’s Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, and its conceit works because of its composer’s breadth of influence.

Supported by a new cast of musicians and soaking up the atmosphere, Ounsworth has crafted an album that transitions seemlessly from ballads to more frentic tracks with a straightforward sound that lets the songwriting and hooks resonate without being over-produced. [Fall 2009, p.100]

Surprise and relief are the words that best describe an initial reaction to Embryonic. [Fall 2009, p.90]

The First Days of Spring falls in the gentle, folky space between Belle & Sebastian and It’s Jo and Danny, but manages to carve out a singular place for itself with thoughtful lyricism and artful songwriting.

Air is as essential as ever, and has succeeded in writing another album of inspiration, tantalizing music. [Fall 2009, p.91]

Exploding Head is another raucous ode to My Bloody Valentine meets The Jesus and Mary Chain shoegaze. But that’s what’s indicative about this band--although its references are often cited; Exploding Head has that passion needed in reinvigorating a sub-genre.

The music’s sharp focus, peppered with gallantly chirping "Forever Changes" brass and sometimes slipping into a Floyd-like coast of silvery slide guitar, is the solid ground on which ghosts tread.

Califone's first EP in 1998 may have been ahead of its time, and now, 11 years later, just might be the time when the band has truly grown into its own. [Fall 2009, p.94]

The project was, in fact, meant to be set to a stage show that never materialized, but the songs do mostly stand quite well in their own...sort of. [Fall 2009, p.94]

Jenkins and Pilot pianist Toby Nathaniel have churned out a series of sad, often moving albums, including this one. [Fall 2009, p.98]

It seems they’ve found land for their sea legs, regaining footing with a more profound focus by the likes of Cambria Goodwin, whose vocals nod toward Régine Chassagne’s sadness and the haunting of Victoria Legrand.

Besides a couple of limp late-album tag-ons, it appears that, for once, the kings of chill-out have gotten downright animated. [Fall 2009, p.96]

This is a minor stumble at a major plate, but no fear. The high here do well in drowning out the lows. [Fall 2009, p.92]

The trio establishes catchy lyrics and feet-tapping rhythms, but the words are plain and the beats sound too familiar to reach dance ecstasy.

On Sing, through chipper dulcimers, ukuleles and tons of brass, the outfit makes maelodies that, though still weary, are joyfully yet vaguely reminiscent of Pet Sounds-era Brian Wilson. [Fall 2009, p.92]

Daisy demonstrates that Barnd New can remain forever sincere and massively intriguing composers. [Fall 2009, p.96]

Layered, atmospheric and melodic, each song takes its time and builds effortlessly into the next, creating an ethereal experience that intensifies with each listen. [Fall 2009, p.106]

Truelove's Gutter ranks right up there with the rest of his vastly underrated catalog; it's as ambitious as it is simple, elegant as it is morose. [Fall 2009, p.92]

Backed by friends Leslie Feist, Liam O'Neil and Evan Cranley, to name a few, Millan proves to be an intimate and arrow-like songwriter. [Fall 2009, p.102]

There's an ardent emotionlism here that would make Otis Redding seem calm in comparison. [Fall 2009, p.106]

Whether constantly questioning or dismissively venting, Kinsella's got a true and clever wit to complement his writer eye and musician's ear. [Fall 2009, p.96]

Forget The Night Ahead is far from a paint-by-numbers Twilight Sad effort. [Fall 2009, p.100]

Mashing up hypnotic chants, beguiling banjo licks, head-spinning melodies and sonic tomfoolery, these 11 cinematic songs are the pseudo-psychedelic soundtrack to a most wonderful dream.

While disc two rounds out the duo's footprint upon several documentaries, what makes Cave and Ellis' scores unique is their doppelganger ability to stand alone without the films, while the films largely lean upon these audible landscapes as a means of storytelling. [Fall 2009, p.91]

To date, this is as close to their masterpiece, The Holy Bible, as they've ever come. [Fall 2009, p.92]

Efforts here lack urgency and a necessity to blow the doors off the club apparent on previous releases.

This box mingles an abundance of demos, alternative takes and other previously unreleased iterations of Big Star tunes amid sparsely retained original album versions. [Fall 2009, p.92]

It's a bit like Lance Armstrong placing second in the Tour de France--not the finish one is accustomed to, but still a remarkable achievement. [Fall 2009, p.98]

The lyrics, not entirely in English, are a bit al dente and often overshadowed by the quartet's blend of jazz, blues and dub sounds. [Fall 2009, p.106]

Polvo hasn't failed to enrapture like the old school on this comeback release. [Fall 2009, p.95]

She transforms a Sufi song into a lullaby, and like her simultaneously near-and-distant voice, turns a faraway place into home. [Fall 2009, p.100]

Fleet Foxes fans will relish “There is No Good in Me,” in which Tillman’s penitent voice melts into what sounds like a processional march by a cathedral choir. But it’s the celestial title track that lingers like an angel’s vapor trail.

These songs would stand on thier own in terms of sound alone, but it's the addition of Bazan's thoughtful lyrics that make this perhaps his most powerful and interesting album thus far. [Summer 2009, p.94]

If you're looking to get into overly-produced songs that ponder Molly Ringwald-levels of culture, there's something here for you. But if you're looking to jusr sit back and ge lost in an electro blaze of glory well, that's here, too. [Summer 2009, p.93]

Her voice, by turns flighty and forlorn, has an honest personality often missing in pop. [Summer 2009, p.98]

The familiar tenor slips in easily with the woozy horns and smooth pianos, sounding confident and at ease--appropriate for the king of cool.

No More Stories... glitters with ethereal beauty and optimism that has been absent on Mew's prior releases. [Fall 2009, p.91]

If the next James Bond film needs a soundtrack, those in charge should look to the latest from Florida-based trio The Postmarks. [Fall 2009, p.106]

This boxset--quite literally a suitcase--highlights four distinct sides of one of the most prolific icons of the pre-dylan era, and introduces both unreleased and released tracks to a new generation in themed installments. History is back in session. [Fall 2009, p.100]

Hospice accomplishes volumes by the addition of drumer Michael Lerner and multi-instrumentlist Darby Cicci, creating an expansively profound album addressing life's most transitory and fragile states. [Summer 2009, p.94]

While normally "killer flute" and "far-out sitar" playing would feel incredibly counterfeit coming from a white guy based in California, it's his classic roots that keep it all grounded. And this album has both in spades. [Summer 2009, p.93]

His voice is as naive as ever, yet Wind’s Poem churns like nothing from his past, providing a therapeutic musical massage.

This album has the beauty of controlled chaos, it's emotive yet carefree and secure. [Spring 2009, p.103]

In the jumble of See Mystery Lights (I can't tell yet if it's the brainwashing taking efffect), I might be willing to commit to whatever they're offering. [Summer 2009, p.98]

The tunes are still catchy, head-bobbing and toe-tapping, a kind of summer soundtrack that brightens your mood even if it doesn't quite make you smile, and sometimes that's all an album needs to be. [Summer 2009, p.103]

The practice spent fiddling with slower and more methodical tracks on the excellent "Purpleface" EP shows its effectiveness plainly here. [Summer 2009, p.100]

That the group could go from the sneering jauntiness of 'Girls And Boys' to the paranoid anxiety of 'Song 2' with no drop in hook-effectiveness is startling in itself; that it managed to continuously and effortlessly navigate th incomprehensible expanse between The Kinks and Brian Eno is an utterly singular achievement. [Summer 2009, p.94]

I'm Going Away is a decent road, but don't worry; you'll be able to put it dow. [Summer 2009, p.94]

Josephine isn't a drastically different approach for Magnolia Electric Co., but it's a lovely one that bears repeated listening, preferably at night while alone on the open road. [Summer 2009, p.94]

THe Knot is an iron-willed, albeit reserved, expansion of the duo's sound. [Summer 2009, p.106]

Where do these ever-evolving Portlanders go from here? It's anyone's guess, but their latest effort sends them off in the right direction. [Summer 2009, p.106]

Void of irony but sounding slightly inauthentic, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes hit the right notes but may be a little late to the revival. [Summer 2009, p.96]

Despite the album's wide-armed title and obvious sweet-leafed leanings, these may not be the kind of people you want to party with. [Spring 2009, p.102]

Broken Records has a notable ability to convey otherworldly transit to past centuries and places, but unlike those aforementioned Americans, they sometimes take the wandering toward places too far off the beaten track. Summer 2009, p.103]

Here, every strain, key, and vocal is stirred up into a creaky, constanaut, clearly-defined symphony. [Summer 2009, p.98]

There's an underlying transcendence in McCombs' work that acts as pure poetry, but it also can come across as direct storytelling when taken at surface value. [Summer 2009, p.96]

Wilco (The Album) adds yet another chapter to the story, and if this band's relevance is to continue going forward, then let the resilent closer 'Everlasting Everything ' score our impending sunrise. [Summer 2009, p.90]

Like a Lynchian vision, it's darkly mysterious and disconsolate, but essentially human--and it's that sense of the persistence of humanity that lends this work its majesty. [Summer 2009, p.91]

Though it's no breakthrough, Varsons serves as a nice holdover until the new set of material we've been promised. [Summer 2009, p.100]

Her new environs are distinctly different to the basement recordings of her past, but the friends she brings along preserve some of the intimacy and spontaneity of the dramtis personae that earns her the adjective, "Spektorian." [Summer 2009, p.91]

Krug's songwriting can't help but put a smile on your face when you really try to let your guard down, and if you want the summer documented by epic eccentricity, this is your callling. [Sep 2009, p.94]

This isn't a necessarily better brand of Foreign Born shoegaze, but it is far shiner and more decidely American made. [Summer 2009, p.96]

Despite its wandering parts and spacious production, Bitte Orca is a precise groove, almost medical in the way it delivers its complexity with such simple terms. [Spring 2009, p.100]

All the things you love about Sonic Youth are here, just a little fewer and further between than you'd like. [Spring 2009, p.93]

As Anthem's zithers, pump organs, oil drums, and tibetan singing bowls thrum like summer insects, scientists and spiritualist alike can't help but bow to these haunting paeans to America's heartland. [Summer 2009, p.100]

Whichever feeling he aims for--rousing or reflective--this Texan achieves striking authenticity. [Spring 2009, p.102]

An Album this deep-hearted and digestible call out for mass-consumption. And the more people who hear this record, the better. [Spring 2009, p.90]

Just as you're really gearing up for a night on the town with Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix as your sidekick, it ends abruptly. There's only one remedy: Play it again. And Again, And again. [Spring 2009, p.94]

It's not that Rose City has nothing to offer, it's just at its best when it's most forgettable. [Spring 2009, p.98]

This makes for an important sophomore release that is even more sweepingly seductive than "Fort Nightly." [Spring 2009, p.92]

I can already sense the love-it-or-leave-it polarization for listeners over Michael Angelakos's dizzying falsetto range, but one thing's for sure--it's a match for the far-out music he's making. [Spring 2009, p.97]

While he doesn't exude happiness throughout all 12 tracks, there's a feeling of contentment with his newfound solitude. Clearly, Lytle's time away has recharged him, even if it's in a way that reflects a more mellow life. [Spring 2009, p.92]

Divided By Night continues to raise the bar for the electro wizards. [Spring 2009, p.96]

To put it plainly, Actor is St. Vincent's doe-eyed awakening. [Spring 2009, p.94]

Spoils delivers a series of eight meandering folktales, which wouldn't be out of place in a pub, and more likely borne from your average drunkard than a drunkard literary giant. [Spring 2009, p.106]

It's unexpectedly novel...and predictably disjointed. [Spring 2009, p.92]

The trio's skronky bits and folksy mannerisms are in place, often found competing within the confines of a single song. [Spring 2009, p.96]

For the most part, Outside Love distinguishes itself as a record of singular quality. [Spring 2009, p.97]