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Bruce Gilbert: Oblivio Agitatum (Capsule Reviews)

To answer a rarely asked question: No, being a former member of underground avant-pop legends Wire is not a valid excuse for turning out mind-numbing “avant-garde” drones like Oblivio Agitatum. Gilbert is no stranger to such “challenging” endeavors, ...

From JOHN BERGSTROM, PopMatters,  23 Nov 2009

Related Topics: Teenage Fanclub (musician)

Camouflage: Spice Crackers (Capsule Reviews)

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, record companies found some success by signing moody synth-pop acts and dropping an album in the space between Depeche Mode releases. Thus, bands like Celebrate the Nun, Red Flag, and Cause & Effect were given brief ...

From JOHN BERGSTROM, PopMatters,  20 Nov 2009

Dunkelbunt: Raindrops and Elephants (Reviews)

There are few pop music embarrassments more humiliating than trying too hard to sound fresh and falling flat. Likewise, mashing sounds and styles together with little apparent focus may earn you elite status with certain blogs and websites, but it ...

From JOHN BERGSTROM, PopMatters,  18 Nov 2009

Related Topics: Animal Collective (musician),  Kasabian (musician),  George Clinton,  No Doubt (musician),  Baz Luhrmann

The "Worst" of The Beatles: A Contradiction in Terms? (Feature)

There are people schooled in Western music and its culture who claim to flat out not like the Beatles. Those people, of course, fall into two categories. Serial contrarians and members of a secret race of human-cloning aliens that have been living ...

From JOHN BERGSTROM, PopMatters,  13 Nov 2009

Related Topics: The Beatles,  George Harrison,  George Martin,  Chuck D,  John Lennon

Echo & the Bunnymen: The Fountain (Review)

You just had a feeling it would eventually come to this with Echo & the Bunnymen. First off, let’s get something out of the way, and yes, it’s going to hurt. Ian MCulloch’s voice is fried. Finished. Done. Over. Kaput. Fini. What was once one of the ...

From JOHN BERGSTROM, PopMatters,  9 Nov 2009

Related Topics: Bono,  Bernard Sumner,  Carlos Santana,  Andy Warhol,  John McLaughlin

Bad Lieutenant: Never Cry Another Tear (Review)

It’s tough going when a band, especially a new band, is defined primarily by what it is not. However, this situation seems to have been Bad Lieutenant’s destiny from the moment its formation was announced. What you have here, of course, is New Order ...

From JOHN BERGSTROM, PopMatters,  30 Oct 2009

Related Topics: Bernard Sumner,  Stephen Morris,  Peter Hook,  Phil Cunningham (musician),  Stuart Price

Jay Haze: Fabric 47 (Review)

Originally from Pennsylvania but residing in Berlin for the last decade, Haze has made a nice name for himself in the underground house/techno music scene. He has released records under his own name and a variety of aliases. Also, he has founded a ...

From JOHN BERGSTROM, PopMatters,  22 Oct 2009

Related Topics: Isaac Hayes,  The Last Poets

Various Artists: My Favorite Things Vol. 2 (Capsule Reviews)

Fans of the Japanese dance label Mule Electronic will be satisfied with My Favorite Things, Vol. 2. The eleven pieces of moody, near-ambient house and techno are a good representation of the label’s sound. Better, they’re previously unreleased. ...

From JOHN BERGSTROM, PopMatters,  14 Oct 2009

Scott Hardkiss: Technicolor Dreamer (Capsule Reviews)

Scott Hardkiss has been around for a long time. Though best associated with the Hardkiss label, which cranked out intelligent, often gorgeous West Coast house during the 1990s, Mr. Hardkiss returns with his first album proper as a recording artist. ...

From JOHN BERGSTROM, PopMatters,  9 Oct 2009

No Certainty Attached: Steve Kilbey and The Church by Robert Dean Lurie (Review)

The adage is an old one, but accurate enough. Never meet your idols and heroes, because you’re bound to be disappointed. Robert Dean Lurie paid no mind. In 2003 he flew from his home in the US to Australia, to meet his idol Steve Kilbey. The fruit of ...

From JOHN BERGSTROM, PopMatters,  29 Sep 2009

Related Topics: Douglas Coupland,  David Bowie,  Nick Ward

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