Album Reviews – Page 4 – Spinning Platters

Spinning Platters Interview: Ronnie Carrier, “Lost In The Eclectic”

A chat with the singer/songwriter the week of her debut album release!

If you were a frequent client of Green Apple Books in the Inner Richmond, and especially if you attended their live music series, then perhaps you’re already familiar with singer/songwriter Ronnie Carrier. Though she moved to Portland last year, her guitar twangin’, foot stompin’ music, filled with literary depths, can now flood your home/phone/computer speakers via her full-length album debut, Lost In The Eclectic, which comes out Friday, April 7th (with an upcoming SF show on 4/14). I had the fantastic opportunity to ask her a few questions after listening to the new album:

First of all, it’s so great to see (and hear) your first full length album, “Lost In The Eclectic”, come to fruition. How do you feel now that it’s completed?

Thank you! The first word that comes to mind is “relieved”, but also there’s a side of nervous excitement. I’m very proud of this album – now that I’m presenting it, I get to find out how the story translates to the people who listen to my music. I’m excited to hear what listeners get out of this, and I hope it is something worthwhile.

Continue reading “Spinning Platters Interview: Ronnie Carrier, “Lost In The Eclectic””

Album Review: Wire: Silver/Lead

Another landmark release from the post-punk forefathers, Silver/Lead is a true treat for listeners new and old.

Any band that can keep it going for longer than 20 years deserves a place in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The relentless love and pursuit of enjoyment through music is no easy feat, and many bands live a flash-in-the-pan life for the most part. The bands that endure not only have to find ways to be fresh with changing trends, but also have be 100% true to themselves, which, in many cases, will alienate or polarize fans. Wire has now hit the 40 year mark since they first hit the English punk rock scene in 1977 with Pink Flag. Despite their aggressive beginnings, they shifted to a more atmospheric post rock genre, while still occasionally playing with punk staples, and their upcoming release Silver/Lead continues in this fashion.

Continue reading “Album Review: Wire: Silver/Lead“

Album Review: Crystal Fairy: Crystal Fairy

The garage-doom record you always wanted, but were too afraid to ask for

Album cover for Crystal Fairy's self-titled debut — Album cover for Crystal Fairy’s self-titled debut

If 2015 and 2016 were any indication, 2017 has certainly shows that supergroups are coming back to the forefront in a big way. While this is nothing new in the music scene, it has become more apparent, recently, that supergroups pose a necessity for most musicians, to escape redundancy and to experiment with new sounds. In the early 2000s, many big collaborative albums were produced, but were always under the guise of guest vocalist and musicians. It left a manufactured tone about the record, one that felt as though the labels were just trying to squeeze dime after dime out of shifting paradigms in musical taste. A true supergroup combines all the best attributes and skills of the players to create something fresh and exciting, for fans and musicians alike. It doesn’t always work, of course; Giraffe Tongue Orchestra is an excellent example of an extremely talented group of musicians whose full length album left far too much to be desired. The Dead Weather, on the other hand (featuring Jack White, Allison Mossheart [The Kills], Dan Fertita [Queens of the Stone Age], and Jack Lawrence [City and Colour, The Raconteurs]) have made a number of albums that continue to grab people in one direction or another. So when it was announced that King Buzzo and Dale Crover (Melvins), Teri Gender Bender (Le Butcherettes), and Omar Rodríguez-López (Mars Volta, At The Drive-In) were joining forces to create Crystal Fairy, the prospect was definitely a positive attention grabber.

Continue reading “Album Review: Crystal Fairy: Crystal Fairy“

Album Review: La Sera, Queens EP

Having released four records in six years, including Music for Listening to Music to earlier this year, La Sera have been here before. Queens is a bonus in that sense, delivering five tracks, including a Led Zeppelin cover. Continue reading “Album Review: La Sera, Queens EP”

Album + Show Review: case/lang/viers

An album full of hope and loneliness, with a thoughtful approach to life and love’s and their quirky ironies.

It’s finally here, and it does not disappoint. When I heard last year that k.d. lang, Neko Case, and Laura Viers were releasing an album together, I naturally shrieked at my computer screen in excitement. Lang and Case are largely responsible for me (more or less) surviving my twenties intact. Their songs provided a compass by which I could navigate being sensitive and assertive, hopeful yet bitter. As with all collaborative projects between women, so much has been written about the harmonies, which are, yes, wonderful; but in my opinion, these have been over-extolled compared with the lyrical and textural content of the album.

Continue reading “Album + Show Review: case/lang/viers”

Album Review: Briana Marela, All Around Us

A world of lush, ethereal soundscapes, reminding us that it’s still possible to explore new worlds in the modern age of music

In 2015, Briana Marela took off for Iceland to record her third album All Around Us. While the inspiration of Reykjavik and the music of Bjork are evident, the album is a beautiful contemplation on emotional honesty. Its messages are clear and concise, while the arrangements are emotionally soulful and filled to the brim with a translucent beauty, beckoning us to come and see rather than turn a blind eye. Continue reading “Album Review: Briana Marela, All Around Us“

Album Review: The Black Queen, Fever Daydream

Over the last 4 years, Greg Puciato of The Dillinger Escape Plan has been a busy, busy bee. Aside from constant touring with his main band, and the incredible release of their 2013 work One of Us is the Killer, he somehow found time to form the supergroup Killer Be Killed with Max Cavalera (Sepultura, Nailbomb, Soulfly), Troy Sanders (Mastodon), and Ben Koller (Converge, Mars Volta), and release THEIR self-titled album to pretty strong critical reception. All the while, however, he was writing and piecing together material for something completely different, absolutely outside of the metal genre. I’m talking, of course, about The Black Queen, whose debut album Fever Daydream was released on January 29th of this year.

Continue reading “Album Review: The Black Queen, Fever Daydream“

Album Review: Gardens & Villa: Music for Dogs

There’s something about the 70s that has gripped so many facets of artistic expression across the board. Be it the New Hollywood filmmakers adding a gritty realism to a stagnant studio sound stage system, or the embellishment of fusing musical genres, the 70s were an exciting decade to be an artist. Lately, many musicians have been revisiting the great albums of the 70s for inspiration. Some of the results have been outstanding, some abysmal, and quite a few have landed in the middle. Gardens & Villa’s new release, Music for Dogs, falls somewhere in the middle. This is not to say that the album doesn’t have something; to the contrary, I have the distinct feeling that whatever their follow-up may be will knock Music for Dogs out of the water.

Continue reading “Album Review: Gardens & Villa: Music for Dogs“

Spinning Platters Presents: The Top 10 Albums of 2015

The competition this year was not quite as violent as that between Wells & Coffey. (Photo: George Grantham Bain Collection (Library of Congress)) — The competition this year was not quite as violent as that between Wells & Coffey.
(Photo: George Grantham Bain Collection/Library of Congress)

2015 marks the 7th consecutive time that the collective staff of Spinning Platters have come together, selected our favorite records of the year, and then spent the following month listening to every possible contender on the list and picking the best of the best. With such an eclectic mix of music — from creative genres birthed into existence, to old artists returning to the fray, and, of course, new works by those still deftly holding fast in the tumult — it definitely made for an interesting set of choices. This year, we had a whopping 54 albums to choose from, and narrowed that list down to our ten favorites over the course of five weeks. Here are the records that made it to the final round.

Continue reading “Spinning Platters Presents: The Top 10 Albums of 2015”

Local Spin: Interview with Briget Boyle

aprilrenae20140925brigetboyle-505WEB — (Photo by April Renae)

When I ponder my favorite singer-songwriters, I think about musicians that are authentic, honest, and speak from the inside out. Catchy hooks don’t hurt, either. Local musician Briget Boyle (www.brigetboyle.com) exemplifies these characteristics in her debut solo album, The Parts Interior. After many years spent performing in an assortment of music groups within multiple musical genres, Briget has now broken out as an individual songwriter and the result is an album both emotionally resonant and beautifully harmonious! I spoke with Briget about The Parts Interior and her journey to this point…

You’ve been on a long musical journey involving various groups and projects. What made now the right time for your solo debut?

Well, I had carved out a lot of space for myself creatively. Brass Menažeri is no longer together and I left Kitka a few years ago, and that space has given me the time to start writing again and really dig into myself as a songwriter. There was something holding me back for a long time. I wasn’t writing for a while. It’s hard to say exactly what it was, but I’ve been doing a lot of work on myself over the last couple of years and through that work, both emotionally and spiritually, I realized that I needed to let my songwriter shine. I had a lot of support from my partner, Harlow, and my community. I was able to raise money to do this and it all just fell into place really nicely.

Continue reading “Local Spin: Interview with Briget Boyle”