Musing

Radiohead's The King of Limbs Editor's Note: This is the 8th in a quasi-weekly series of reviews marking my favorite ten albums of 2011. New reviews go up every weekend through the end of the year. As I indicated in a post just after my first critical listen to this album, I was a little surprised at the direction taken with this album. The Radiohead Pendulum of Weirdness seemed to be swinging back towards something like "Amnesiac." In a way I was right, just not the way I expected. First of all, the disappointment from the short length of the album still hasn't worn off. Anything shorter than 10 tracks is still an EP to me. Several companion tracks have been released since the album hit the streets - "Supercollider" and "The Butcher" were emailed to all of the folks who pre-ordered the album through the band's site. "Staircase" and "The Daily Mail" were just released about a week ago as a one-off double A-s...

Beady Eye's Different Gear, Still Speeding Editor's Note: This is the 7th in a quasi-weekly series of reviews marking my favorite ten albums of 2011. New reviews go up every weekend through the end of the year. If there was an award category here in the Top Ten something like "Album That Gave Me The Most Relief After Fearing It Would Suck," DGSS would have won it. The first single, "Bring The Light," is a good track, but it's pretty standard Liam fare - short on imaginative lyrics and reliant on three chords or fewer. I think the idea that Noel was the only good songwriter in Oasis is blatantly false. All four guys have songwriting talent. Noel just happens to be the most versatile. After this first single, I was afraid the Beady Eye album would be 11 repetitive tracks. ("Ain't Got Nothin'" anyone?) So, after a good deal of brash build-up by Liam, DGSS hit early in 2011 to a lot of surprise. Those in the "Noel is GOD!...

Florence + The Machine's Ceremonials Editor's Note: This is the 6th in a quasi-weekly series of reviews marking my favorite ten albums of 2011. New reviews go up every weekend through the end of the year. As usual, it's hard to talk about the top few albums without talking about the reasons that they didn't make it any higher on the list. This year's albums fit themselves into three distinct groups. #8-10 are great, but not necessarily "must buys" for everyone. #5-7 should be picked up at your earliest convenience. #1-4 should be purchased before you buy groceries again. So Ceremonials finds itself right on the edge of transcendence. Why just the edge? Here's a better question. Why on the earth would such an enormously talented woman saddle her artistic statement with a song like "Never Let Me Go"? This is particularly astonishing when you listen to the b-sides that accompany her deluxe edition (I'm looking at you, "B...

DeVotchKa's 100 Lovers Editor's Note: This is the 5th in a quasi-weekly series of reviews marking my favorite ten albums of 2011. New reviews go up every weekend through the end of the year. Blech. If I read one more review about this being DeVotchKa's "Arcade Fire-inspired album," I'm going to be sick. AF doesn't have a monopoly on sweeping grandeur. This album deals in grandeur by the boatload and shows the sort of variety that AF can only dream of these days. I think what people are trying to express is the smooth sound of the album in general. Past albums have high and low points that look like a bad EKG. They were scattered all over their albums. Just when you though you were settling into a mariachi type of groove, you'd get whisked away into something far more gypsy and far more dark. This album still pulls towards a number of different points on the emotional compass, but it never pulls you out of your chair in confusion. This ...

Feist's Metals Editor's Note: This is the 4th in a quasi-weekly series of reviews marking my favorite ten albums of 2011. New reviews go up every weekend through the end of the year. Feist has a weird effect on me.  She's one of few artists who can give me shivers.  I'm talking about the kind of shivers that suddenly make you realize you've been holding your breath.  Not just a feather down your back, but a feather down your soul. Her last album, the world-storming The Reminder , was a fairly sunny affair.  There were a few light, atmospheric tracks scattered evenly across the track-listing, but it was upbeat and catchy on the whole.  Metals offers much less in the way of catchy tunes.  And, although this sounds like a criticism, I couldn't name more than two or three tracks on the whole album.  This isn't because the album is unremarkable.  It's actually the opposite - when you sit down to this album, you end up glued to the stereo for ...