Category: Album Reviews

Spinning Platters album reviews category. Click here to see all album reviews from the Bay Area Music Nerds.

Album Review: Spoon – Transference

Amoeba Records always has been and always will be my favorite store to purchase music. Obviously, I’ve joined the legions of savvy music aficionados online and freely choose to spend an inordinate amount of time on the likes of lala.com, The Hype Machine, and Pandora…to name a few. Yet part of me still loves the feeling of vinyl (actually, who doesn’t) and, yes, the occasional CD in my hands. I have been told time and again that I am one of the few people anyone knows that still buys CDs. So what? I don’t claim to be all that cool. Therefore, when Amoeba recently announced they were having a “clearance CD blowout,” I immediately headed to the Berkeley location after work and rummaged through the thousands of marked down discs. Continue reading “Album Review: Spoon — Transference”

Album Review: Fucked Up – Couple Tracks: Singles 2002-2009

The band Fucked Up are. No one can live the punk rock dream anymore in 2010, right? Whatever. This odds and sods two-disc compilation details the swath that this group has cut across North America from their Canadian base.

Fucked Up sound like heavy rock and roll. Buzzsaw guitar hooks whir like electric razors, danceable drumbeats, and size-of-a-small-bear frontman Pink Eyes’ winsome RRRARRRR-GARRRRGH riding gleefully atop the mix like a dolphin frolicking in a ship’s wake.

With b-side cuts, import singles, kinda sorta cast-off cover tunes, Couple Tracks shows the breadth of how far Fucked Up have gone and how far they’re willing to go.

The band Fucked Up are. No one can live the punk rock dream anymore in 2010, right? Whatever. This odds and sods two-disc compilation details the swath that this group has cut across North America, sweeping south out of Canada and wreaking havoc in the form of raucous, sweaty live shows.

Fucked Up sound like heavy rock and roll. Buzzsaw guitar hooks whir like electric razors, drumbeats compel you to jump about, and their size-of-a-small-bear frontman Pink Eyes’ winsome RRRARRRR-GARRRRGH rides gleefully atop the mix like a dolphin frolicking in a ship’s wake.

With b-side cuts, import singles, kinda sorta cast-off cover tunes, Couple Tracks shows the breadth of how far Fucked Up have gone and how far they’re willing to go. Continue reading “Album Review: Fucked Up – Couple Tracks: Singles 2002-2009”

Album Review: Vampire Weekend – Contra

If you’re anything like me, you’ve been impatiently waiting for this album to leak for months.  The teasing release of “Horchata” made me super excited (it is still available as a free download on the band’s website).  Then, the next leak brought “White Sky” which made me stop and wonder if I really would like the album, or if Vampire Weekend would take it too far from their roots of mixing indie rock with beautifully complex afro-beats.  After 24 hours of listening pleasure I can tell you that Contra is everything you wanted whether you knew it consciously or not.  Somehow Vampire Weekend took 2008’s indie-juggernaut Vampire Weekend and ran it through a strainer, taking it apart and putting it back together with a controlled modern twist giving us a record that is smart and fresh, while still sounding like the band we know and love.  There’s a heavy hand with the production polish, but that is what makes Contra different enough to keep it exciting and new. Continue reading “Album Review: Vampire Weekend — Contra”

Album Review: Yeasayer – Odd Blood

The immediate reaction to the opener on Yeasayer’s upcoming release Odd Blood, “The Children,” is that it sounds like the band decided to play a joke on downloaders by starting with a song designed to make the listener feel as uncomfortable as possible. It’s a weird cacophony of bells and creepy vocal processing, all played at a lumbering pace, seemingly built to frighten. What the heck happened to Yeasayer? Continue reading “Album Review: Yeasayer — Odd Blood”

New Release Round Up for 12/8-12/15 – 50 Instant Album Reviews

They don't look much like hippies to me, either.

Pouria took advantage of my being away, and saved up 50 albums over two weeks of the lowest profile albums in the entire world (with a few exceptions). That means you get FIFTY album reviews in ONE column! Who else can provide you such value? Read on! Continue reading “New Release Round Up for 12/8-12/15 — 50 Instant Album Reviews”

New Release Round Up 11/24/09 – 20 Instant Album Reviews

Not a new release; rather, the editor's favorite Thanksgiving music.
Not a new release; rather, the editor's favorite Thanksgiving music.

With Turkey day here. my mind is focused on cooking two heritage turkeys. Lucky for you I still listen to music during this intense focusing. Continue reading “New Release Round Up 11/24/09 — 20 Instant Album Reviews”

Album Review: The Bloodsugars – I Can’t Go On, I’ll Go On

Bloodsugars

As soon as you push play on The Bloodsugars new album, I Can’t Go On, I’ll Go On, you know you’re listening to something really good. The bass line comes direct from The Turtles’ “Happy Together” and the vocals use the old fashioned reverb, like the kind you’d hear in The Zombies’ “The Way I Feel Inside.” Those are some pretty impressive touchstones to start an album off, and this record doesn’t disappoint. Let me talk about some of the joy you’ll find within. Continue reading “Album Review: The Bloodsugars — I Can’t Go On, I’ll Go On”

Album Review: Robbie Williams – Reality Killed the Video Star

Robbie Williams proving once again he is as bad-ass as you can be on a pop record.
Robbie Williams proving once again he is as bad-ass as you can be on a pop record.

Chances are, if you are an American, Robbie Williams is the most famous singer you’ve never heard of.  Not to say you haven’t heard his music, but the name Robbie Williams means nothing to you.  In the UK he has sold more records than any other solo artist.  He is in the Guinness Book of World Records for the most concert ticket sales in a single day.  He is the most popular non-Latin artist in Latin America.  In 2009 his net worth is estimated to be 80 million pounds (134 million dollars).  With his eighth studio album Reality Killed the Video Star he proves again what all the fuss is about, and the United States, once again, will probably not notice.  Shame on you America. Continue reading “Album Review: Robbie Williams — Reality Killed the Video Star”

New Release Round Up, 11/10/09 – 31 Instant Album Reviews

This is a Christmas album, a live album, and a greatest hits album. It was probably re-released this week.
This is a Christmas album, a live album, and a greatest hits album. It was probably re-released this week.

I’m back, the weekly search for original and pithy comments continues.  The holidays are coming and it’s time to drag myself away from my new Droid phone (where’s the LaLa app guys ?) and toil through the mass of holiday music to find the true gems of the week.  There was really no huge standout for me this week.  I loved the first track on the Switchfoot album and was quite pleasantly surprised by the late day discoveries of  Dead To Me and For Against.  If I am forced to choose then I will pick The Fountain by Echo and The Bunnymen with them getting the nod based on their historical relevance to me personally. Continue reading “New Release Round Up, 11/10/09 — 31 Instant Album Reviews”