FIRST PUBLISHED AT THE LINE OF BEST FIT
Yo La Tengo - Popular Songs
8.5/10
Perennial critics’ favourites Yo La Tengo return with an album that reigns in some of the magpie tendencies of 2006’s sprawling ‘I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass’ with a more focused set. ‘Popular Songs’ - their twelfth [...]
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Tags:Alternative·Ambient·chamber pop·Experimental·Georgia Hubley·Indie·Ira Kaplan·pop·post-rock·Yo La Tengo
FIRST PUBLISHED AT THE LINE OF BEST FIT
Voice of The Hive
7/10
A sombre flute, the clunking toll of a bell, a solemnly plucked acoustic guitar … cue medieval clichés: misty moats, drawbridges, hooded monks, damsels in distress. But hold on, it’s not Led Zeppelin IV … a shimmering drone, Mellotron, and suddenly all manner of spiralling [...]
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Tags:Baroque·chamber pop·Espers·Greg Weeks·medieval·Prog rock·Psychedelic
The Empire strikes black
8.5/10
Micah P Hinson’s fourth album - the first I’ve heard since his powerful debut ‘Micah P Hinson and the Gospel of Progress‘ - is an accomplished work and the sound of a prolific artist heading for an artistic peak. Produced by alt-rock mixing guru John Congleton, renowned for the dark gloss put [...]
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Tags:Acoustic·Alt-country·Americana·banjo·Baroque·Best of 2008·Calexico·chamber pop·Folk·John Congleton·Johnny Cash·Lee Hazlewood·Micah P Hinson·orchestral·Phil Spectre·reverb·Scott Walker·Tom Waits·Wall of Sound