Depeche Mode Exciter Mute / Reprise By: Eric Greenwood Depeche Mode flirted with irrelevancy with 1993's overly dramatic and grunge-tinged Songs Of Faith And Devotion, but like so many colossal 1980's holdover bands with too many obsessive fans Depeche Mode talked itself into carrying on, despite singer Dave Gahan's personal turmoil and the prospect of […]

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Modern English Life In The Gladhouse (1980-1984) 4ad By: Eric Greenwood After sitting through this Modern English retrospective in its entirety (comprised of the 4AD years only, thank you), I am utterly perplexed as to where the early 80’s bubble gum alternative hit “I Melt With You” came from. Not a single other song on […]

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Tortoise Standards Thrill Jockey By: Eric Greenwood On its fourth album, Tortoise seems content to buy into the hype that it is, in fact, the pioneering band that fawning critics purport it to be. On the band's last album, TNT, it used the old "studio as an instrument" trick to explain away the utter lifelessness […]

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Mogwai Rock Action Matador By: Eric Greenwood With media culture catering to shorter and shorter attention spans, it's difficult for bands to justify songs that run triple the time of what is universally acceptable in the context of rock music; Mogwai not only thumbs its nose at such absurd notions but runs in the opposite […]

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The Mother Hips Green Hills Of Earth Future Farmer By: Eric Greenwood How many different ways can you announce that you're a hippie? Well, you could have the word "mother" in your band name. Or you could mention both "green" and "earth" in your album title. Or, better yet, you could record for a label […]

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Guyana Punch Line Irritainment Prank By: Eric Greenwood Guyana Punch Line's last seven-inch hinted only slightly as to the direction of the full-length to come. Irritainment is this Columbia, South Carolina quartet's tour de force, melding what are now hard core cliches with a brutal new beat. Where the band's debut, Maximum Smashism, relied heavily […]

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Appendix Out The Night Is Advancing Drag City By: Eric Greenwood Appendix Out still wallows in the beauty of its own rustic musings on its third album, but this time there's a hint of aggression beneath the fragile discontent. Ali Roberts' voice is the centerpiece of this dark, sparsely arranged neo-folk. His Glaswegian drawl luring […]

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