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JONATHAN DONALDSON
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Community Music (2012)
Maybe I'm feeling the ghost of Levon Helm, but it's hard to find many flaws in this new disc from Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros.
On the fly
Last Thursday was full of surprises at Cambridge's Plough and Stars, as Australian singer/songwriter Richard Davies and one very lucky pick-up band were set to perform the music of Cardinal — the legendary duo whose 1994 homonymous LP was perhaps the most influential baroque-pop revival record of the 1990s.
Captured Tracks (2012)
Craft Spells certainly live up to their name on this six-song EP, with the charm of its effortless, pixie-light production and the warm, plangent harp sounds of their major-key melodies.
Still at work
Last month, tragedy struck when Men at Work's Greg Ham was found dead April 19 in his home.
Pole positioned
As one of the pioneers of the dub and glitch sub-genres of electronic music, Stefan Betke's reputation as a producer and mastering engineer almost supersede his identity as a composer.
Above the influence
Picture this: you walk into a room and some interesting music is playing.
Domino (2012)
Aside from Lightships being a boss band name and Electric Cables being a righteous title, what this hot number really has going for it is that it's the first solo outing from Teenage Fanclub bassist/co-vocalist/co-songwriter Gerald Love, the singer with the really soft, gentle voice that's usually juxtaposed with Norman Blake's more direct, pleading hooks.
Polished finish
Sitting around the kitchen table listening to music with Autochrome bassist/singer Jeff Bartell and guitarist Richard Murillo, I realize that before we even started talking, we certainly agreed on this: when the guitar kicks in on "Senses" from their forthcoming self-released album, Separation Realms, it sends chills down the spine.
Hardly Art (2012)
Sees the Light, the second album from this side project of Vivian Girls' Katy Goodman, is a surprisingly difficult album to review.
Downtown/Columbia (2012)
Miike Snow's Swedish production team of Christian Karlsson and Pontus Winnberg first won acclaim working on Britney's regal but sonically kooky "Toxic."
"Red Heroine" chic
When Boston's Devil Music Ensemble began their quest to write a live soundtrack to the 1929 Chinese silent film Red Heroine , they never would have guessed that they would end up in Beijing.
Ping-pong sounds
In the spicy euphoria following a Valentine's Day dinner date last week (real-deal bibimbap), Javelin's Tom Van Buskirk and his date tried to hold their own in a Los Angeles Korean table-tennis club.
Hardly Art (2012)
The idea of Hunx and His Punx's Seth Bogart doing a solo album is kind of silly.
Memphis Industries (2012)
The buzz about Britain's Field Music has been growing for some time.
Life vérité
There is a trend among critics to describe the songs of Welsh performer Cate Le Bon as something new, but with a bit of listening the music of the 28-year-old songwriter is actually pleasantly familiar.
Bye-bye lo-fi
Sometimes when we settle into the tattered sofa of lo-fi pop music, it's easy to imagine that the artists intended for it to be made this way.
About a boy
Sometimes a writer winces at the thought of having to ask the obvious but necessary question. So I'm grateful to Teddy Thompson for answering before I can even ask.
Burying the hatchets
It only took 15 years, but Joe Pernice is finally on the road to making amends with the friendships he left behind when he quit — and effectively dismantled — the Scud Mountain Boys in 1997 to focus on the Pernice Brothers with a rotating cast of musicians, including his brother, Bob.
Promiscuous love
When it comes to making music, Chris Brokaw is an easy lover.
Teen Beat (2011)
Who really cares about evaluating the long-term importance of how a record fits into an artist's oeuvre?
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