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MUSIC REVIEW

May 21, 2009 1:33 PM CDT

Ciara Lost on Fantasy Ride

(Newser) - Ciara's tiny voice can't survive in the spaces her producers leave on her new album, Fantasy Ride, but the disc does provide a few fascinating diversions. Some critical opinions:

"That's what you get with Fantasy Ride," Tom Breihan writes on Pitchfork. "A few brilliant left turns that

...

Omar's iDon
Takes Reggaeton
Back to the Future

ALBUM REVIEW

May 20, 2009 10:32 AM CDT

Omar's iDon Takes Reggaeton Back to the Future

Dancehall king blends familiar with futuristic with foray into cyberpunk

(Newser) - Reggaeton superstar Don Omar blends dancehall with Blade Runner on new album iDon, Jody Rosen writes for Slate. The Puerto Rican’s journey into “dystopian cyberfantasy” features plenty of “cybernetic mumbo-jumbo, foreboding synth chords, and techno twitches,” Rosen writes, backtracked by some more familiar big booming beats.

White Rabbits Make 'Punk Nihilism Sound Manageable'

NEW RELEASE

May 19, 2009 3:10 PM CDT

White Rabbits Make 'Punk Nihilism Sound Manageable'

'Cavernous' album will appeal to Spoon fans

(Newser) - White Rabbits’ 2007 effort, Fort Nightly, was an “occasionally very good debut,” but follow-up It’s Frightening, released today, packs a true punch, writes Eric Harvey in Pitchfork. Producer Britt Daniel of Spoon gave the band a leg up, serving as the record’s “songwriting Svengali” to...

Breakdown Trumps Even Idiot

Music Review

May 15, 2009 11:59 AM CDT

Breakdown Trumps Even Idiot

(Newser) - After Green Day’s multi-platinum American Idiot, anticipation is off the charts for today’s release of 21st Century Breakdown. And it doesn’t disappoint. Here’s what critics are saying:

It’s “so masterful and confident it makes Idiot seem like a warm-up,” says Rob Sheffield of

...

On Relapse,
Eminem
Still Nasty,
Still Genius

MUSIC REVIEW

May 14, 2009 1:43 PM CDT

On Relapse, Eminem Still Nasty, Still Genius

(Newser) - Eminem’s new album, Relapse, is as crude as you might expect, but his unflinching examination of his drug addiction has floored some critics. Overall, people love it or hate it.

"The power of Relapse comes from Em aiming his beat-downs at his truest target, himself," Rob Sheffield

...

Lotusflow3r Not Quite
Full Bloom for Prince

NEW RELEASE

Mar 31, 2009 3:47 PM CDT

Lotusflow3r Not Quite Full Bloom for Prince

(Newser) - Prince’s new album, Lotusflow3r, is actually three separate discs: two by the Purple One and one by his protégé, Bria Valente, all for sale exclusively at Target for $11.98. And depending on who you ask, that’s a good deal—or not.

Jody Rosen is thrilled by

...

Phish Dives Back Into Limelight

MUSIC REVIEW

Mar 7, 2009 2:51 PM CST

Phish Dives Back Into Limelight

Vermont foursome have still got it after all these years

(Newser) - Despite the 5-year gap since Phish last jammed in their trademark style, last night’s reunion concert in Virginia was well worth the wait, Kevin O’Donnell writes in Rolling Stone. “It was like hanging out with friends you haven’t seen in years,” writes O’Donnell. “...

U2's Latest Good, Not Great

album REVIEW

Feb 27, 2009 4:02 PM CST

U2's Latest Good, Not Great

'No Line on the Horizon' features some experimentation, some classic U2

(Newser) - At its best, U2’s latest album has the band both pushing forward with a dense, atmospheric sound courtesy of producers Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois—but in other moments, Bono and company are content to lazily rehash their stadium-pop formula, critics say.

“The album lacks a unified feel,

...

Obamas Inherit
Sweet Record Stash

GLOSSIES

Jan 29, 2009 1:15 PM CST

Obamas Inherit Sweet Record Stash

White House album collection contains landmarks from Zeppelin, Stones, Beatles

(Newser) - President Obama’s new digs not only grant him access to chefs and a bowling alley, but an LP stash that includes Led Zeppelin IV and the Ramones’ Rocket to Russia, Rolling Stone reports. Banished to the basement during the Reagan years, the White House vinyl vault contains Obama favorites...

Tonight Marks Reinvention
for Franz Ferdinand

NEW RELEASE

Jan 27, 2009 11:08 AM CST

Tonight Marks Reinvention for Franz Ferdinand

Disco-charged album offers 'brand new start' for Scottish band

(Newser) - Franz Ferdinand’s third album, Tonight, is a “wholesale reinvention of their sound,” writes Andy Langer in Esquire. Establishing riffs rooted in bass rather than their trademark guitar sound, the quartet’s effort—out now—treads where few have dared, says Langer. “The Achilles heel of...

Brit's Back,
Big Time

NEW RELEASE

Nov 30, 2008 12:12 PM CST

Brit's Back, Big Time

'Circus' recalls better times, and better albums, than last year's dud

(Newser) - While Britney Spears' life has resembled something of a sideshow over the past couple of years, her newest release is a welcome return to her musical roots, writes Jim Farber in the New York Daily News. And for Glenn Gamboa, writing in Newsday, Circus can't just be called a...

Heartbreak Has Kanye Singing

NEW RELEASE

Nov 25, 2008 3:04 PM CST

Heartbreak Has Kanye Singing

Bold, brooding album piques critics' interest, though it's 'occasionally unlistenable'

(Newser) - Kanye West’s latest, 808s and Heartbreak, finds the rapper changing his tune, singing instead of rapping and mourning instead of boasting—and the result is “bold, fascinating, foolhardy, occasionally unlistenable,” writes Jody Rosen in Rolling Stone. While its '80s drum tracks are a “pleasant shock,”...

Beyoncé
More Gimmicky
Than Fierce

NEW RELEASE

Nov 18, 2008 11:47 AM CST

Beyoncé More Gimmicky Than Fierce

Diva shows split personality on new double album

(Newser) - Beyoncé’s latest, I Am … Sasha Fierce, consists of two discs: one with “some lovely ballads” and the other “aggressive, sexual, and, well, fierce,” writes Leah Greenblatt in Entertainment Weekly. But despite a few gems, “the collection might have been better served had she...

New Kids Score Block Party

NEW RELEASE

Sep 2, 2008 10:46 AM CDT

New Kids Score Block Party

New album could be best yet from reunited '90s boy band

(Newser) - Critics applaud the comeback album from reunited boy band New Kids on the Block, which, while it “may not break any ground musically,” is in fact “the best album of their multi-platinum career,” writes Glenn Gamboa in Newsday. “The best cuts” on The Block “...

Tokio Hotel Rocks
Screaming
Tweens

MUSIC REVIEW

Aug 24, 2008 10:53 AM CDT

Tokio Hotel Rocks Screaming Tweens

With big hair, big riffs and MTV buzz, Germans threaten to go mainstream in US

(Newser) - Having dominated Europe, German rockers Tokio Hotel are threatening to go mainstream in the US, if the reception their riff-heavy pop metal earned among screaming preteens in San Francisco this week is any indication. "The best way to describe the glam-metal-emo-pop-tween group," Aidin Vaziri writes in the Chronicle,...

Bubble-Grunge? Cyrus Oddly Downbeat on Breakout

music review

Jul 22, 2008 12:20 PM CDT

Bubble-Grunge? Cyrus Oddly Downbeat on Breakout

'Downer' tunes far cry from feel-good Hannah Montana

(Newser) - As Miley Cyrus’ second album under her own name hits stores today, the 15-year-old admitted on Good Morning America that her now-infamous Vanity Fair photos were a “mistake.” But just like those racy pics, the tougher tunes and “feel-bad downers” on Breakout are anathema to her bubbly...

Country Fans to
Crossover
Simpson:
Cross Back

Jul 21, 2008 11:08 AM CDT

Country Fans to Crossover Simpson: Cross Back

'No twang' in singer's country tunes

(Newser) - Struggling pop star Jessica Simpson’s country crossover got off to a rocky start Saturday when her debut performance at Wisconsin’s Country Thunder Festival drew a decidedly mixed reaction from the crowd, the Kenosha News reports. "I just don't hear the country in her; I don't hear the...

Rage Frontman's
New Band
Sounds
Familiar

music review

Jul 20, 2008 6:05 PM CDT

Rage Frontman's New Band Sounds Familiar

One Day As A Lion's new track doesn't fall far from the tree

(Newser) - Rage Against the Machine fans probably won’t be disappointed with One Day As A Lion, the new project from frontman Zach de la Rocha: It sounds, well, "pretty much kinda-sorta exactly like Rage Against the Machine," writes Gary Moskowitz in Mother Jones. The first song, online...

My Morning Jacket
Spreads Rock Gospel

MUSIC REVIEW

Jun 23, 2008 4:33 PM CDT

My Morning Jacket Spreads Rock Gospel

At Radio City Southern rockers strut spiritual side, showcase 'arena-rock ascendance'

(Newser) - My Morning Jacket is officially an arena-rock force, Nate Chinen raves in the New York Times. The Southern-rock darlings walked the line between spiritual and sanguine before a sold-out Radio City Music Hall on Friday, playing the majority of new album Evil Urges, which "features some of its strongest...

Dion's AC/DC Tribute
'Worst Cover Ever'

Jun 23, 2008 11:59 AM CDT

Dion's AC/DC Tribute 'Worst Cover Ever'

Crooner's version of You Shook Me All Night Long called 'vile'

(Newser) - Celine Dion's rendition of AC/DC's You Shook Me All Night Long has been voted the worst cover ever, according to Total Guitar magazine. The UK mag called the duet Dion performed with Anastacia in Las Vegas 6 years ago an "offense" against music. "The No. 1 worst cover...