: Foundation Rockers
reviewed by Larry Crane
You might remember Ryan Moore (the genius behind TCDSS) from issue #26. Here he breaks his formula of instrumental dub by building up tracks then bringing a portable recording rig around to some major...
Music Reviews
What we are listening to. Non-critically.
: Rocket Redux
reviewed by Larry Crane
RFTT were a seminal Cleveland band that spawned Pere Ubu and the Dead Boys. Now they have (maybe briefly) banded back together for some touring and such, with Television's Richard Lloyd replacing the...
: Lisa Gerrard
reviewed by Larry Crane
This is the soundtrack to the movie of the same name, which I haven't yet seen. I have to admit I've been a fan of Lisa's since I first heard her in Dead Can Dance 20 years ago. Her music is dreamy...
: Liberation
reviewed by Larry Crane
We interviewed these crazy boys in issue #25 about their National Recording Studio. In the world of Trans Am robots rock and New Order could have been a punk band. Political snippets get blended into...
: Sixteen Ssongs
reviewed by Larry Crane
Don is better known as the man behind Inner Ear Studios in Arlington, VA, and the guy that's produced many cool records for Fugazi, their Dischord Label, and many others (see interview in the Tape Op...
: Stumble Into Grace
reviewed by Larry Crane
Emmylou continues her collaborations with producer Malcolm Burn while delving further into her own songwriting. The record is sparse where it needs to be and is a beautiful listen. Dueling left/right...
: Lovers Lead the Way
reviewed by Larry Crane
Viva Voce recently moved to Portland from Nashville, and consist of the married team of Kevin and Anita Robinson. They recorded this CD at home on a "pimped-out PC with a Terratec card eight I/Os and...
: You are Here
reviewed by Larry Crane
Jimmy and Pat from Versus strike out on their own. At a gig this band is a standard four-piece. On record they can break down into a New Order-ish electronics sometimes, though other songs recall...
: Normalized
reviewed by Larry Crane
Andre calls his guitar technique "turntablist guitar" - using loops, multitracking and bare hands to coax a variety or rhythms and sounds out of the guitar. The results are rhythmic, grooving pieces...
: Transfiguration of Vincent
reviewed by Larry Crane
Matt Ward has been getting much acclaim for his brooding songs and dark, husky voice. These songs were mostly recorded by Portland's Mike Coykendall at his Blue Room home studio (in his cool-sounding...
: Stalemates and Sad Pastimes
reviewed by Larry Crane
The Pangs is Matt Mair Lowery, the guy who brought you later editions of our Under The Radar column. Apparently he learned a lot about what pitfalls to avoid in homemade recordings by listening so...
: Systems/Layers
reviewed by Larry Crane
New classical? Rock musicians playing quiet music? Whatever one wishes to call it the music of Rachel's is evocative and beautiful. A seven piece ensemble augmented in places with members of the SITI...