Album
Madlib with Guilty Simpson Madlib's Medicine Show No. 1 - Before the Verdict
Just when you thought Madlib could get no more bugged-out, along comes the first installment of his monthly Medicine Show series, a 17-track prequel to the upcoming OJ Simpson album with Guilty Simpson (no relation).… Read more »
Donwill Don Cusack in High Fidelity
The 2000 classic hipster film High Fidelity wasn't exactly hip-hop, but Donwill (of Tanya Morgan) channels his inner Rob Gordon to deal with his quarter-life crisis, addressing his relationship woes through a clever concept album.… Read more »
Seth Troxler Boogybytes Vol. 05
Seth Troxler's recent surge in popularity may have more to do with his gift for delivering the perfect sound bite than delivering consistently strong tracks, but one thing's for certain—the young Berlin-based expat knows how to craft a mix.… Read more »
- Filed under: Review
- Album, House / Techno
- 04/12/2010
Freeway and Jake One The Stimulus Package
Though the economy is still a mess, we can rejoice in the fact that Freeway and Jake One's The Stimulus Package is here to rejuvenate hip-hop.… Read more »
Lali Puna/Javelin/High Places
Our Inventions/No Más/High Places vs. Mankind
Being an electronic pop act is a lot harder than it used to be. It wasn't that long ago that lo-fi electronic pop was all the rage with the indie set—remember when The Postal Service was blowing everyone's mind in 2003? Whether cobbled together by a lone soldier in his bedroom, or assembled with old synths, some spare instrumentation, and often sparer musical ability, the music was ostensibly indie pop, owing a lot more to C86 and twee than it did Detroit techno or Chicago house. Now that 2010 has rolled around, the indie pendulum continues to swing back and forth between laptop producers and more traditional guitar-based instrumentation, but the simple act of being a DIY electronic act is no longer revolutionary. As such, new albums from High Places and Javelin, not to mention genre veterans Lali Puna, have a tougher hill to climb than their counterparts of a decade prior. … Read more »
Nick Chacona Love in the Middle
Variety can either be an enhancement or disaster on full-length album projects. In Nick Chacona’s case, cohesion steers his debut album, Love In The Middle, toward brilliance.… Read more »
- Filed under: Review
- Album, House / Techno
- 04/02/2010
Danton Eeprom Yes Is More
Working in the oft-arid realms of minimal techno and microhouse, French producer Danton Eeprom imbues them with a sly sensuality that coaxes maximum wigglyness from a sparse sound palette.… Read more »
- Filed under: Review
- Album, House / Techno
- 03/31/2010
Pick
Scuba Triangulation
Among the myriad skills Paul Rose (a.k.a. Scuba) possesses is putting his projects in a right, tight context before the music even begins.… Read more »
Pimmon Smudges Another Yesterday
In the early '00s, Sydney's Paul Gough (a.k.a. Pimmon proudly broke the bones of pop tunes and left them as mangled paperclip sculptures that embodied the fearlessness and merciless self-indulgence of glitch-techno.… Read more »
- Filed under: Review
- Album, Leftfield / Experimental
- 03/29/2010
Autechre Oversteps
Even in their earliest form, Autechre tracks had a handmade feel, assembled from richly manipulated sounds rather than standardized electronic building blocks.… Read more »
- Filed under: Review
- Album, Leftfield / Experimental
- 03/26/2010
XLR8R Downloads Player
