Kevchino.com - Current Reviews

Lower Dens - Twin-Hand Movement

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Gnomonsong | 2010 | Album
Reviewed By: David King
Review Date: 7/26/2010
Rating (out of 10): 8 - Great.

With Lower Dens, we find Jana Hunter distancing herself from the freak-folk label and associations, and with wonderful results. The band’s first full-length release, Twin-Hand Movement, shows a whole new set of influences, each one veiled just enough to create a sound that is fuzzy, atmospheric, and confident. The album opens with “Blue & Silver,” a toe-tapping drone that evolves into Psychocandy-era Jesus and Mary Chain, but with vocal harmonies and less white noise. Hunter’s vocals soar to the point of near collapse as the drums underneath get more and more chaotic. This is a quick jump to the edge, where the rest of the record hangs. The follower, “Tea Lights,” continues with a softer drone while the distorted vocal h... [read full review]

Gigantic Hand - Permanent Skin

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Triple Down Records | 2010 | Album
Reviewed By: Caroline Cotter
Review Date: 7/23/2010
Rating (out of 10): 8 - Great.

Sure, lots of bands sing about girls. Yeah, a lot of indie band’s songs about girls are good. But none of them—none—even come close to Gigantic Hand’s indie songs about girls. Perhaps it’s because Gigantic Hand isn’t exactly a typical indie band. No, this collaboration between Kris Kazar and Rory O’Conner is much, much more. They’re a unique combination of this aforementioned indie sound with a little garage and folk sound thrown in to concot something completely unique. Gigantic Hand’s debut album, Permanent Skin showcases all the best elements that this type of sound can produce. Although the lyrics and melodies are phenomenal, one of the best things about Gigantic Hand’s first album is the sound quality. It actually sounds ... [read full review]

Unnatural Helpers - Cracked Love & Other Drugs

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Hardly Art | 2010 | Album
Reviewed By: Chelsea Cohen
Review Date: 7/22/2010
Rating (out of 10): 9 - Simply Amazing.

Simple things tend to stand on their own, be it for the better or the worse. Intricate techniques, layered sounds, exotic instrumental infusions all have their place in the contemporary music scene, but a recent invasion of these elements has grandly underwritten the pure beauty of a pithy, intelligible song. Granted, beauty probably isn’t the first word one would choose when listening to Unnatural Helpers. Between their concise chords, repetitive rhythms, and blunt lyrics, their descriptives tend more toward brash and to-the-point, but that is very much resplendent in its own right. Unnatural Helpers have been around for a while, though looking at the lineup doesn’t seem to suggest that. With some dozen members since their inception, th... [read full review]

REM - Fables of the Reconstruction: 25th Anniversary Edition

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Capitol | 2010 | Reissue
Reviewed By: Katherine Baltrush
Review Date: 7/20/2010
Rating (out of 10): 9 - Simply Amazing.

On June 10, 1985, when R.E.M. first released Fables of the Reconstruction, it was a very different world of R.E.M. After five years spent almost exclusively on tour in the US or in the studio recording their first three albums in North Carolina, Buck, Mills, Stipe, and Berry may have still been reeling from all that they had experienced. In this era, as the disc of demos cut in Athens, Georgia on the second disc of this release reveal, R.E.M. had much more of a Southern spirit to their music, particularly in Stipe’s overtly twangy diction and vocals. Some of these demos, like “Bandwagon (Athens Demo)” border on a country sound. While a subtle element of that persists throughout the work they have produced in the last twenty-five y... [read full review]

Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings - I Learned the Hard Way

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Daptone Records | 2010 | Album
Reviewed By: Sean Murphy
Review Date: 7/19/2010
Rating (out of 10): 8 - Great.

Championed by the disparate likes of Lou Reed, Phish, and the inimitable Brooklyn Vegan, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings have emerged over the past decade as dependable purveyors of ersatz-vintage R&B. Until recently, the band straddled the rather nebulous line between uptempo Southern soul à la Stax and the ribald funk that was to soon follow; “What Have You Done For Me Lately”—their breakthrough underground smash—has the sinewy chicken-scratch grit of the latter genre, belying the kind of clean production values one would associate with The Impressions or Clarence Carter (that is, Carter in his truly badass pre-“Strokin'” iteration). Although she is barely old enough to have participated in the golden years of the genre—and in fact did, be... [read full review]

Gogol Bordello - Gogol Bordello Non-Stop

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Knitting Factory Records | 2010 | DVD
Reviewed By: Katherine Baltrush
Review Date: 7/16/2010
Rating (out of 10): 8 - Great.

As Eugene, the lead singer of Gypsy punk sensation Gogol Bordello will tell you, a virtual rule at their shows is “no wallflowers allowed.” This high-energy, intense, interactive style of showmanship nears on shock rock. Their fans even describe the level of the frenzy as “athletic,” requiring a protein fuel-up the day before to prepare for what’s to come. The “active participation required” policy among Bordello fans makes something as passive as a documentary seem somewhat out of place. But filmmaker Margarita Jimeno manages to ingratiate herself and her cameras into both the stage and private lives of Gogol Bordello’s members without breaking the lens. Her work, Gogol Bordello Non-Stop views like an Internet fan page circa 19... [read full review]

The Morgues - Are Fast Cars

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Ashley's Dollar Store | 2009 | EP
Reviewed By: Leo Deresa
Review Date: 7/15/2010
Rating (out of 10): 7 - Very enjoyable.

The New York City-based band The Morgues have been releasing a string of EPs in anticipation of a full-length album, beginning with their three-song debut, Are Fast Cars from August of 2009. The first two tracks on Are Fast Cars, “Caterpillar” and “Song for Kirsten Dunst,” seem influenced by the ballads of The Jesus and Mary Chain circa Stoned and Dethroned. Their easy, jangling waltz-like cadence combined with frontman David King’s raspy and inviting vocals make for memorable tunes that can feel like the pleasant degeneration of a drunken summer’s night. Through loose arrangements, spontaneous and slightly off time, the EP establishes the feel of a live show. King’s vocals manage to steady the song as it seemingly... [read full review]

Futureheads - The Chaos

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Dovecote Records | 2010 | Album
Reviewed By: Katherine Baltrush
Review Date: 7/14/2010
Rating (out of 10): 8 - Great.

The Chaos, the fourth album by British post-punk millennials The Futureheads, almost seems like a jack of all ’80s trades, but master of none. Hyde and Millard’s almost early Strummerlike vocals mix with insistent banging on the drums and guitars that jar your ears like a Sex Pistols concert. The Futureheads, however, lack the anarchistic energy and rebellion of the Pistols, leaving you jarred and unfulfilled. That dissatisfaction is most exemplified in tracks like “Stop the Noise,” leaving you wishing that they would do just that. This style blends not entirely comfortably with some mid-’80s kitsch. A brief a capella moment that stops the motion of “Struck Dumb” copies Queen rather than references, leaving the gesture feeling s... [read full review]

Wildbirds & Peacedrums - Rivers

Tue, 13 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Leaf | 2010 | Album
Reviewed By: Katherine Baltrush
Review Date: 7/13/2010
Rating (out of 10): 9 - Simply Amazing.

Mariam Wallentin’s hollow and pure vocals perhaps describe this work best when she sings, “Water will keep running / Rivers will turn.” Rivers, true to its name, captures the purity, quiet power, and soothing effects of water and, simultaneously, uses it as a metaphor for the emotional landscape of the lyrics. Rivers, the third album put forth by husband-and-wife duo Mariam Wellentin and Andreas Werliin, is comprised of two previously released EPs, Retina and Iris. Both recorded at the same with the same production team (Ben Frost and Valgeir Sigurðsson) in Iceland, the two EPs still capture decidedly different soundscapes. Rivers leads off with the five tracks of Retina, which capture the... [read full review]

Dirty Projectors + Björk - Mount Wittenberg Orca

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Self Released | 2010 | Album
Reviewed By: Hannis Brown
Review Date: 7/12/2010
Rating (out of 10): 8 - Great.

When the bomb dropped last May that Björk would collaborate with Dirty Projectors at a bookstore show to benefit the nonprofit organization Housing Works, a quiver of anticipation shot through the indie music world. As unexpected as that news was, the partnership made perfect sense. The Icelandic icon and Brooklyn indie rockers share a penchant for musical deconstruction, often simultaneously breathtaking and alienating. Founding Projector Dave Longstreth decided to use the opportunity to write a song cycle about a hike taken by singer Amber Coffman in Northern California—one in which Amber had seen a whale and had the sensation that the whale had looked back at her. Longstreth wrote the entire set in less than a month, and the show (perfor... [read full review]

Seabear - We Built A Fire

Fri, 09 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Morr Music | 2010 | Album
Reviewed By: Erick Mertz
Review Date: 7/9/2010
Rating (out of 10): 8 - Great.

Seabear don’t come out to maul your senses right away. They caress their listener prey while waking from a long slumber, voice some fathom short of an outright roar. Listening to We Built A Fire, the band’s second proper label release (two previous efforts earlier this decade, I’m Me On Sunday and Singing Arc EP were self-released), it’s clear that burning inside the Icelandic indie-folk six-piece is the desire to bring their audience ever close, perhaps inside of the dark, cool cave. Don’t mistake the hushed, soft tones prominent on We Built A Fire for dispassion or that distance born of pretension. There is nothing aptly described as thin or paltry on the eleven tracks, each piece a similarly ravished tale o... [read full review]

Devo - Something for Everybody

Thu, 08 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Warner Bros | 2010 | Album
Reviewed By: Sean Murphy
Review Date: 7/8/2010
Rating (out of 10): 6 - Promising. Heading up.

One would be hard-pressed to think of a figure from the punk epoch who trumps Mark Mothersbaugh in chimerical force and singular drive. As improbable as it may seem to contemporary audiences, it was Devo—not Television, and certainly not The Ramones—who first attracted the British art rock intelligentsia to the nascent rumblings of the American underground in 1977. After a celebrated stint at Max's Kansas City in New York attended by the likes of David Bowie (who proclaimed them to be “the band of the future”), the Akron-based provocateurs were whisked away to work with Brian Eno and krautrock auteur Conny Plank in Germany. But the post-Nixonian argot of Mothersbaugh's fantasies proved to be impregnable to the verdant soundscapes of the con... [read full review]

Kurt Vile - Square Shells

Wed, 07 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Matador | 2010 | EP
Reviewed By: David King
Review Date: 7/7/2010
Rating (out of 10): 8 - Great.

Listening to Kurt Vile’s new Square Shells EP is like splashing your toes in a swimming pool on a warm afternoon. It’s easygoing, stress-free, and bordering on the kind of laziness deserved after a night of hard work (and by “hard work,” I mean drinking late and falling asleep on the porch). “You got a best friend / Don’t know how / You got a best friend now.” So begins the country-folk strumming of “Ocean City,” the EP’s opener. With light guitar work and doubled vocal, Vile sets the almost amateur, lazy tone for Square Shells. Vile isn’t taking himself too seriously—he’s just having fun. And then a synthesizer comes in and takes the song away on a spaceship. A metronomic clock-ticking snare and synth pad bring us into... [read full review]

Picastro - Become Secret

Tue, 06 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Monotreme Records | 2010 | Album
Reviewed By: Lukas Clark-Memler
Review Date: 7/6/2010
Rating (out of 10): 6 - Promising. Heading up.

Picastro hails from the great land of Canada, home of maple syrup, Moosehead beer, curling, and one of the greatest indie music scenes on Earth. From Broken Social Scene to Arcade Fire, Canada has spawned some of the most memorable indie acts of our time. Picastro simply continues this impressive legacy. Toronto native Liz Hysen is the heart and soul of Picastro. The songstress and multi-instrumentalist is extremely talented at producing unsettling dissonance with her avant-garde folk rock. It has been more than a decade since Picastro first introduced us to their unique sound, and in that time, the band have gone through many rather monumental changes—perpetual lineup shifts, record label changes, and reconfigurations of the gothic alb... [read full review]

Villagers - Becoming a Jackal

Mon, 05 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Domino | 2010 | Album
Reviewed By: David King
Review Date: 7/5/2010
Rating (out of 10): 6 - Promising. Heading up.

Villagers’ debut LP comes so close to being a wonderful listening experience: the indie-folk sound is full and clear, the instrumentation is percussive, and the melodies are at turns sweet and haunting. Unfortunately, however, the record’s only flaw is a huge one: for the vast amount of lyrics presented, too many songs are disappointingly filled with artless narcissism, clichés, and generalities. The result is a large percentage of throwaway tracks, which only become disappointing because of the obvious musical talent and potential of Villagers songwriter Conor J. O’Brien. The compositional ability is strongly evident in the darkly reverbed piano arpeggio of the album’s opener, “I Saw The Dead.” But one minute into the song, O’Brien offe... [read full review]

Hannis Brown - Oh Ah Ee

Fri, 02 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Self Released | 2010 | Album
Reviewed By: Slava Heretz
Review Date: 7/2/2010
Rating (out of 10): 9 - Simply Amazing.

It’s often easy to pigeonhole artists into that limited cookie-cutter mold of contemporary music taxonomy. But what if you couldn’t? What if there was something so inherently unstable in a sound that you simply could not fit that square peg into the round hole? Have a listen to Hannis Brown’s Oh Ah Ee, and you’ll see what I mean. The first track, “Oh Ah Ee,” starts off as a quasi-minimalist Phillip Glass composition accompanied by what I could only describe as Thom York-esque choir vocals. But just wait a moment. You’ll find that any notions of unoriginality, preconceived or otherwise, will quickly vanish. There is emotion on the album, mood, feeling. The atmosphere moves from dark to light, then to somewhere in between. There is exp... [read full review]

Mystery Jets - Serotonin

Thu, 01 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Rough Trade | 2010 | Album
Reviewed By: Chelsea Cohen
Review Date: 7/1/2010
Rating (out of 10): 9 - Simply Amazing.

The third time’s the charm, the old adage goes, but in the case of Mystery Jets, charm has little to do with it. In their third studio album, the five-piece London band took a step back from their retro-inspired post-punk electrics to create a cleaner, more realistic sound that pulls the group out from their days of youthful lure. Titled Serotonin, the album brings together the classically British and the surprisingly current in a musical sojourn within the collective mind of a frenzied but masterful band. As a group, Mystery Jets have managed to establish themselves well within the crooks of the British Bohemian scene, image complete with a base on Eel Pie Island in the middle of the Thames. Comprised, in part, by a father-and-so... [read full review]

Ratatat - LP4

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

XL Recordings | 2010 | Album
Reviewed By: Katherine Baltrush
Review Date: 6/30/2010
Rating (out of 10): 9 - Simply Amazing.

Ratatat’s 2010 release of LP4 begins where 2008’s LP3 left off, continuing to subvert their rhythmic regularity with new types of sounds and textures, to focus on instrumental music rather than text, and maintaining constant evolution of each track. This comes as no surprise, since most of the material found on LP4 was recorded in studio sessions for LP3, recorded in only a few short weeks in 2008. “Bilar” is a strong start, like a macrocosmic hook for the entire album. It exemplifies Ratatat’s talent for layering samples to achieve rich textures. Stroud and Mast prove themselves to be very careful editors as well, adding no more sounds or textures than what the track needs, always making small and well-time... [read full review]

Minus the Bear - Omni

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Dangerbird Records | 2010 | Album
Reviewed By: Josh Eck
Review Date: 6/29/2010
Rating (out of 10): 6 - Promising. Heading up.

Ah, Minus the Bear—those kooky guys from the Pacific Northwest who play some sort of hybrid of math rock, indie rock, and pop while coming up with some of the strangest and funniest song and album titles around (for example: “Monkey!!! Knife!!! Fight!!!” or They Make Beer Commercials Like This). Well, don’t look now, but I think Minus the Bear may have done some growing up between 2008’s Planet of Ice and their most recent release, Omni. Gone are the hilarious song and album titles (the best title Omni has to offer is “Animal Backwards,” which could be funny depending on your sense of humor), and to some extent, gone is the math rock/indie/pop formula they’ve used for the last decade-plus. A majority of the album... [read full review]

Teenage Fanclub - Shadows

Mon, 28 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Merge | 2010 | Album
Reviewed By: David King
Review Date: 6/28/2010
Rating (out of 10): 7 - Very enjoyable.

On Shadows, Teenage Fanclub stay true to the formula they perfected nearly twenty years ago. Every song is musically crafted. The melodies and vocal harmonies are consistently sweet and pop. The instrumentation ranges from full driving band to piano leads and lush acoustic guitars, and you can still count on a seventh or minor drop before the chorus. Shadows is a driving record in two ways: the majority of tracks truck along at a breezy, midtempo pace, while lyrically, several songs involve the act of driving. The album’s opener, “Sometimes I Don’t Need To Believe In Anything,” is one of the few highlights, kick-starting the record and driving off with minimal electric guitar leads and ending up in a swirling orchestrated c... [read full review]