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Main Attrakionz | 808s and Dark Grapes II

Mishka (2011)
Following a steady stream of low-budget tracks, mixtapes, and videos posted on their Tumblr this year, the Bay-area stoner rap duo of Squadda B and MondreM.A.N. (a/k/a Main Attrakionz) have raised the stakes by offering up something that resembles a traditional release.

By: CARRIE BATTAN | September 07, 2011

Lil B | I'm Gay (I'm Happy)

Amalgam Digital (2011)
Gone are the endless declarations of hoes on his dick in groups of 30 and 100; gone are the claims that he is everyone from Ellen Degeneres to Miley Cyrus.

By: CARRIE BATTAN | July 19, 2011

Shabazz Palaces | Black Up

Sub Pop (2011)
The musical reincarnation of Ishmael Butler, the elusive Seattle rapper who makes up one-third of the semi-popular '90s jazz-rap act Digable Planets under the name Butterfly, is a lot to unpack.

By: CARRIE BATTAN | June 09, 2011

Friendly Fires | Pala

XL (2011)
For a densely layered, expertly produced dance-rock album, this second full-length from British three-piece Friendly Fires is perplexingly bland.

By: CARRIE BATTAN | June 07, 2011

The Weeknd | House of Balloons

Self-release (2011)
Self-release (2011)

By: CARRIE BATTAN | April 27, 2011

Yelle | Safari Disco Club

Barclay Records (2011)
In the four years since French electro queen Yelle released her debut, Pop Up, a gaggle of comparable female dance-pop characters — from Gaga to La Roux to Robyn — have made their way into the spotlight.

By: CARRIE BATTAN | March 31, 2011

Gucci Mane | The Return of Mr. Zone 6

Brick Squad (2011)
After a sub-par, commercially warped album, an arrest followed by a brief stint in a mental hospital, and a supremely unfortunate face tattoo, it seemed Gucci Mane had turned a very sad corner.

By: CARRIE BATTAN | March 23, 2011

Win Win | Win Win

Vice Records (2011)
Billed as a collaborative project, the debut from Boston-bred producer and video artist Ghostdad and Spank Rock–associated XXXChange and Chris Devlin feels a lot more like a loosely-curated DJ set than a cohesive album.

By: CARRIE BATTAN | February 09, 2011

Review: Minks | By The Hedge

Captured Tracks (2011)
In part because it sounds an awful lot like the shoegaze and '80s dreampop bands she selects to fill her soundtracks, the debut full-length from Boston-gone-Brooklyn duo Minks floats along like a Sofia Coppola movie - delicate and listless, topped with a glossy and charming overcoat, but lacking in substance.

By: CARRIE BATTAN | January 27, 2011

Reading Rainbow | Prism Eyes

HoZac (2010)
An album like this sophomore effort from Philly-based husband/wife team Reading Rainbow is part of a very unlucky battle against the status quo, since its garage-band approach to reverb-heavy fuzz-punk melodies does exactly what an endless gaggle of lo-fi buzz bands thoroughly exhausted months ago.

By: CARRIE BATTAN | December 07, 2010

Nicki Minaj | Pink Friday

Motown/Universal (2010)
When you're accustomed to being the coolest attendee at everyone else's parties, hosting your own can be tricky. And so it goes for Nicki Minaj.

By: CARRIE BATTAN | November 30, 2010

Girl Talk | All Day

Illegal Art (2010)
In one fell swoop that came in the form of a surprise, free-of-charge digital release a week ago Monday, Greg Gillis overturned the idea he'd been instrumental in creating at the birth of mash-up culture.

By: CARRIE BATTAN | November 22, 2010

The Concretes | WYWH

Friendly Fire (2010)
Two full-lengths removed from the departure of Mazzy Star's long-lost sonic sister, lead vocalist Victoria Bergsman, the Concretes have a developed a sound that's altogether different from that of their early/mid-naughts heyday.

By: CARRIE BATTAN | November 16, 2010

Review: Avey Tare | Down There

Paw Tracks (2010)
It's a credit to Avey Tare that his debut solo album feels like a very natural extension of Animal Collective's overarching brand of psychedelia.

By: CARRIE BATTAN | October 26, 2010

Review: Tao Lin's Richard Yates

A better stunt: Lin transcends his self-promotion
When this review is posted online, 27-year-old Tao Lin will quickly send out its URL in a tweet and file it on his website's meticulously maintained record of press coverage.

By: CARRIE BATTAN | October 13, 2010

The Corin Tucker Band | 1,000 Years

Kill Rock Stars (2010)
Four years ago, it was guitarist and vocalist Corin Tucker's maternal pull that bore most of the blame for Sleater-Kinney's disbanding.

By: CARRIE BATTAN | October 05, 2010

Azure Ray | Drawing Down the Moon

Saddle Creek (2010)
Is it possible to produce a record that sounds anything like a comeback when your sonic trademark is one of delicate sulk and sorrow?

By: CARRIE BATTAN | September 22, 2010

Review: Teengirl Fantasy | 7AM

True Panther Sounds (2010)
If the demise of traditional record making is designed to foster any band’s fruitful existence, it’s that of Teengirl Fantasy.

By: CARRIE BATTAN | September 16, 2010

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin | Let It Sway

Polyvinyl (2010)
At the apex of earnest indie pop, the period during which their first two full-lengths were recorded, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin were a mild, dime-a-dozen act.

By: CARRIE BATTAN | August 10, 2010

Candy Claws | Hidden Lands

twosyllable (2010)
Creating the sonic and æsthetic impression that they're roaming the landscapes and seascapes painted on vintage postcards sold for 25 cents apiece in dusty piles near thrift-store cash registers, Colorado-based Candy Claws are shameless themesters.

By: CARRIE BATTAN | August 10, 2010

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