The Magnetic Fields I Nonesuch By: Eric Greenwood On 69 Love Songs, Stephin Merritt all but abandoned his signature tinny electronic sound in favor of the baroque setting yielded by cello, guitar, and that unmistakable baritone. Five years later, Merritt revisits his most substantive moniker with a collection of songs linked loosely by the lonely […]

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The Good Life Lovers Need Lawyers Saddle Creek By: Eric Greenwood The Good Life is Tim Kasher from Cursive's less, abrasive, more emotional (if that's even possible) "other" band. Kasher feels he can't quite express his "softer" side in Cursive (though, I'm not sure how much softer one can get than bearing one's soul, but […]

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The Walkmen Bows & Arrows Record Collection By: Eric Greenwood The steady speed of the opening guitar strum on "The Rat" sounds exactly like something from The Wedding Present's heyday, circa Sea Monsters in 1991. Once those sixteenth notes on the high-hat kick in, I am so sold. It's an instant classic. The guitars are […]

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The Walkmen Bows + Arrows Record Collection By: Eric Greenwood The steady speed of the opening guitar strum on "The Rat" sounds exactly like something from The Wedding Present's heyday, circa Sea Monsters in 1991. Once those sixteenth notes on the high-hat kick in, I am so sold. It's an instant classic. The guitars are […]

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Pixies Bam Thwok iTunes By: Eric Greenwood As utterly anti-rock and roll as reunions are, I was positively giddy when I heard that the Pixies were actually going through with it after months of teasing and rumors. Upon hearing evidence of the new live show, my fears were somewhat quelled: the Pixies still rock and, […]

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Blonde Redhead Misery Is A Butterfly 4AD By: Eric Greenwood Blonde Redhead's foray into strings and synths has muted what made it great on its first four albums. Despite, Kazudo Makino's uniquely shrill yelp and Amedo Pace's countering tenor, Blonde Redhead's delineating factor has always been the nuanced way it incorporated discordancy into its often-delicate […]

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Bonnie Prince Billy Greatest Palace Music Drag City By: Eric Greenwood This is a terrible idea, even on paper. Will Oldham re-records an album's worth of his best songs from his Palace years with a professional studio backing band in Nashville, Tennessee, presumably to introduce a new crop of hipsters to what they might have […]

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