Review Roundup: The Best (& Worst) Reviewed
by Jess Grant
10/21/11
Woah, guys, do we have a juicy Review Roundup for you today!! Featuring some miraculous music moments (Zola Jesus, Chairlift), a pocketful of posers (Deer Tick, Lights), a movie soundtrack (Drive), a super-controversial Feist review (zZzzZzz), and a big fat ZERO (hey, MGMT), check it out below! Zing!
Deer Tick - Divine Providence - Rating: 3.
"Divine Providence" is the sound of missed opportunity. Rhode Island's Deer Tick has the potential to be one of the strongest folk-rock bands in the last decade, but "Divine Providence" seems more interested in reaching the bottom of a bottle and the end of a cigarette (read more…).
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Hysterical - Rating: 7.1
Whereas the group's 2007 sophomore album, "Some Loud Thunder," went with a more somber, folky tone, "Hysterical" is full of pretty, bright optimism (read more…).
Drive - Original Soundtrack - Rating: 8.3
Fast forward 35 years to one of the years best films and best music 2011, "Drive," which is coincidentally also one of the best soundtracks in last 5 years, and one of the best examples I can think of a music score creating an overall total effect and cinema experience (read more…).
Zola Jesus - Conatus - Rating: 8.6
If you're thinking that 'Russian-American Quirky Pop Sensation' sounds suspiciously like Regina Spektor... or that 'Powerful Yet Macabre Female Vocalist' is too much like Florence + The Machine for you to handle... well, get over it. Zola Jesus is both of these things without being derivative in the slightest. She's spunky, she's fresh, she's dark and creepifying and slinky and soaring all at once. And she brings her unique vision to 'Contatus', a collection of eerie, echo-laden pop tunes (read more…).
Zzzzzz. Zzzzzzz. Snoorrrrrrrrr. Zzzzzz. Zzzzzzz. Snnnooozzz-orama (read more…).
Lights - Siberia - Rating: 2.6
It's not that this album is horrible. It's just that this album is kinda in the "good minus" meets "so what" category. 2 categories I'm not a fan of (my pet peeve if you haven't noticed). Futhermore there's something about Lights' overall presentation that's trying to be saying, "Hey I'm cool, I'm Indie, alternative pop... believe in me!)... but deep down we know she doesn't quite belong in that circle (read more…).
MGMT - Late Night Tales - Rating: 0
For this MGMT review of "Late Night Tales," I realized someone needed to step up, go "on the record" and say how truly horrible this album is. And that person is going to be me (read more…).
Mayer Hawthorne - How Do You Do - Rating: 7.1
Soul music has definitely been a scarce commodity since the '70s. So while Mayer Hawthorne isn't rolling eternal classics like so many of the artists he pays artistic homage too, like Marvin Gaye and Curtis Mayfield, for right now it's pretty welcome (read more…).
Chairlift - Something - Rating: 9.4
Caroline Polachek (vocals, synth) and Patrick Wimberly (drums, bass, keys, production) deliver not just great infectious songs but also with the backdrop of a modern landscape of inventive soundscapes, hooks and beats in the productions… In a way, imagine if Eurythmics were still making great music today (read more…).