Monthly Archives: September 2009
Mum – Sing Along to Songs You Don’t Know
Mellow, minimalist, indie pop. Makes nice use of vocal harmonies, a broad range of percussion, and string instruments. Play: 3,4,5,6,9
Shaky Hands – Let it Die
Raw, upbeat, indie mixed with classic rock influences. Pretty “big” sounding, straight beats with grooving distorted guitar riffs. Play: 1,3,4,8
Shaky Hands – Let it Die
Raw, upbeat, indie mixed with classic rock influences. Pretty “big” sounding, straight beats with grooving distorted guitar riffs. Play: 1,3,4,8
The Drums – Summertime
A Brooklyn duo with synths and guitar. Really upbeat, catchy, summer surf-pop. Play: 2,4,5 FCC: 1
The Drums – Summertime
A Brooklyn duo with synths and guitar. Really upbeat, catchy, summer surf-pop. Play: 2,4,5 FCC: 1
Everywhere
Zuu’s latest, Everywhere, is pretty standard alt rock/rock. They do though have some intersting hooks and lead singer Emvy’s voice adds a nice harmony to the music. Unfortunatley,the best songs seem to be the shortest “interlude” songs. Not a stand out album but it has a few gems worth checking out.
Dangerbird
LOCAL BAND!!! Slow, meandering post/indie rock vibes. Processed, breathy vocals float above slow, reflective guitar riffs giving some songs dream-like qualities. A minimalist approach as the drums, bass, and guitar seem to float around in separate spaces. This album allows for great headphone ventures. RIYL Do Make Say Think Sugg# 1, 5, 3
Dangerbird
LOCAL BAND!!! Slow, meandering post/indie rock vibes. Processed, breathy vocals float above slow, reflective guitar riffs giving some songs dream-like qualities. A minimalist approach as the drums, bass, and guitar seem to float around in separate spaces. This album allows for great headphone ventures. RIYL Do Make Say Think Sugg# 1, 5, 3
John Adams–Dr. Atomic Symphony
Adam’s opera score about Oppenheimer’s development of the nuclear bomb. This is harrowing music and evokes quite well the terrors and tension of destruction. Also “Guide to Strange Places”, a soldier’s perspective and experience of war, expressed musically.
John Adams–Hallelujah Junction
Nonesuch has released a retrospective of this avant-garde composers works. Operas, concertos, chamber pieces. Very interesting! Try tracks 7-9 on CD 1, ,4, & 9 on CD 2
John Adams–Hallelujah Junction
Nonesuch has released a retrospective of this avant-garde composers works. Operas, concertos, chamber pieces. Very interesting! Try tracks 7-9 on CD 1, ,4, & 9 on CD 2
North American Tuba Concertos
Timothy Buzbee and the Iceland Symphony Orchestra perform classical and avant-garde works by North American composers, Broughton, Grant, Winteregg and York. Broughton and York’s pieces are more in the classical sentiment, whereas Grant and Winteregg seem more avant-garde. All are interesting works, and give the tuba room to be expressive.
Sergei Rachmaninoff Plays Rachmaninoff
Rachmaninoff performs his own arrangements of other composer’s works (Bach, Kreisler, Mendelssohn) as well as some of his own works through a re-performance process developed by Zenph. Rachmaninoff’s recordings were analyzed with software to determine how he actually played. This information was then used by a robotically outfitted Steinway piano to re-play the pieces. The […]
Robert Xavier Rodriguez–Chamber Works
This composer has written all kinds of pieces–orchestral, ballet, theater, opera. These chamber pieces are for the most part impressionistic (tracks 1-4 & 8;). Other tracks have an eerie, but appealing quality. Play any! Liner notes give explanations as to the music theory and influences of the works. Interesting.
Niccolo Paganini–24 Capricci
Violinist Thomas Zehetmair performs Paganini’s 24 caprice for solo violin with aplomb. Used as exercises by violin students, Zehetmair feels these are truly original artistically, and purportedly, Paganini transfixed his audiences when performing. Track 24 is well-known. All are short, most under 3 mins. Play any!
Tchaikovsky–The Music for Piano & Orchestra
Jerome Lowenthal on piano and the London Symphony Orchestra perform Concertos no. 1, 2, 3, and Concert Fantasy. Concerto no. 1 is very familiar, no. 2 is not familiar with American audiences according to the liner notes, so worth playing. These are passionate, virtuoso works generally long in length (14 mins. Movement 2 of Concerto […]
J.S. Bach–Six Partitas
Andras Schiff performs Bach’s Six Partitas–7 parts per partita so 2 CDs of lovely works. Unfortunately, no track listing so you don’t know what you played.
Spent Bullets
Former Swervedriver member, Adam Franklin’s Spent Bullets retains some of the bands sonic waves. More mellow but still retaining a lush sound with reverb guitars and good lyrics, the mood is more somber. So listen to swervedriver when you get to the party and listen to Spent Bullets when you get home and wind down […]
Crazy Power
Canadian rocker Josh Reichman is back with his first full length cd. Crazy Power is a good name for this album. This album is very upbeat, quirky and blends the genres of rock, alt,and a bit of jazz with a kitchen blender. A former member of the Tangiers, he seems to be trying to make […]
Planet Paprika
DJ Shantel and his Bucovina Club Orkestar (from Germany) play ‘dance floor friendly gypsy music’ (aka Balkan pop). The music is entertaining and very popular in Europe this year.
O Shakuntala!
Award-winning master slide guitarist plays a fusion of Karnatic (south) and Hindustani (north) Indian music on a self-designed chaturangui (guitar), accompanied by his brother on tabla. Debashish & his brother played a great show at the UVM Recital Hall on 9/20/09
O Shakuntala!
Award-winning master slide guitarist plays a fusion of Karnatic (south) and Hindustani (north) Indian music on a self-designed chaturangui (guitar), accompanied by his brother on tabla. Debashish & his brother played a great show at the UVM Recital Hall on 9/20/09
Rubblebucket
A second amazing CD from this Afrobeat band with Burlington roots. The band is trying lots of new things, including more vocals. Same great band, but refreshingly reinvented. Track #6 is about their old house at 540 S. Willard St. Will be filed under Local Music when it leaves the new music section.
Sambutucada! Live at First Night Burlington
All volunteer street “bateria” (percussion band) in the best Brazilian tradition. Three long & one short track recorded downtown on New Years eve ’07. Will be filed under Local Music when it leaves the new music section.
Alma y Luna (‘Soul and Moon’)
Debut CD of NY-based vocalist originally from Cordoba, Argentina. Features some impressive contemporary reinterpretations of music by some well-known Latin American composers.
WRUV Reviews 