Various Artists Son Of Rogues Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs & Chanteys ANTI- Records[2013] Fire Note Says: Sometimes a sequel is better than the original — but not this time. Album Review: As Ralphie declared, hunched over his Little Orphan Annie decoder ring and discovering the secret message was nothing more than an ad for … Read more
Tomahawk Oddfellows Ipecac Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Tomahawk shuffles the deck to middling results. Album Review: Things begin inauspiciously. A couple of rock-cliché-ridden tracks kick things off in a way that reeks of rock bands saying things like “kick things off.” Or maybe Tomahawk’s just paying winking homage to classic heavy rockers. Either way, … Read more
Free Energy Love Sign Free People Records [2013] Fire Note Says: No rough edges here. Nor much of anything interesting. Album Review: You know how wedding receptions are. There are people there from age two to eightytwo. Something must be done about the music. Concessions must be made. But the bride and groom, they need … Read more
Foxygen We Are The 21st Century Ambassadors Of Peace & Magic Jagjaguwar Records [2013] Fire Note Says: I’m gonna dance on a rainbow with the young Steve Winwood. Album Review: The whole affair opens quite in line with the album title, giving us the tambourine-to-the hip swinger “In the Darkness.” All is mid Sixties to … Read more
Various Artists Django Unchained OST Universal Republic Records [2012] Fire Note Says: Quentin Tarantino gives us something we entirely expected. Album Review: To begin with, the film: it’s thoroughly contrived and thus boring, especially in the second half. You know how when you’re an hour into a film and you think the set up is … Read more
Wax Tailor Dusty Rainbow From The Dark Le Plan Music [2012] Fire Note Says: Wax Tailor blends the kindergarten, the cabaret, and the club. Album Review: The French musician Wax Tailor gives us a concept album. And damn it if it doesn’t work—and work pretty damn well. The first substantial track (“Dusty Rainbow”) sets us … Read more
Brian Eno Lux Warp Records [2012] Fire Note Says: Brian Eno is a connoisseur of the floating world and you can trust him as your guide. Album Review: The new Brian Eno album brings us more of ambient Eno, of soundscape Eno. But it’s not thematic like his space-y Apollo. Nor is it as calculated … Read more
The Soft MoonZerosCaptured Tracks [2012] Zeros is filled with hermetic, chamber music that simultaneously acts as a distorted reflection of eerie music and an embodiment of its essence. “Machines” swirls and pelts, while “Zeros” and “Lost Years” burst with disco shimmies and goth gasps. “Crush” engulfs us, and “Want” feels like the soundtrack to a … Read more
The Soft Moon Zeros Captured Tracks Records [2012] Fire Note Says: The Soft Moon has something in a box it’d like to show you. Album Review: Zeros is full of hermetic, chain-chamber music that’s simultaneously a funhouse mirror image of scary music and the thing itself. “Machines” swirls and pelts. “Zeros” and “Lost Years” burst … Read more
Daphni Jiaolong Merge Records [2012] Fire Note Says: Dan Snaith takes on the alias Daphni and delivers a great and necessary album. Album Review: First, know that this album is impeccable. From start to finish, Dan Snaith—the lone ranger behind both Daphni and Caribou—delivers beat-heavy perfection. Often the tracks defy sense, seeming both skeletal and … Read more
Lord Huron Lonesome Dreams IAMSOUND Records [2012] Fire Note Says: Lord Huron delivers a sparkling, thoughtful full-length debut with Lonesome Dreams. Album Review: Let’s not talk about Fleet Foxes or Band of Horses, nor Crosby, Stills & Nash. Doubtless most considerations of Lord Huron’s first full-length album will be full of backward-looking and sidelong scrutinies. … Read more