With a public persona that includes big hair and unfavorable comparisons to Carrie Underwood, Kellie Pickler has created a new caricature in her latest album “100 Proof.” The release came with a promise from Pickler that her attempts at shimmery country-pop à la Taylor Swift are far behind her and that a more traditional country [...]
In the wake of a harshly received “Saturday Night Live” performance, songstress Lana Del Rey has emerged as a bizarre, experimental artist. While the vocals on her latest album, “Born To Die,” are pleasing to the ear, the lyrical components lack a real depth across the work as a whole. A number of songs follow [...]
Synth-pop duo Chairlift has been lying low since its hit single “Bruises” graced Apple’s iPod Nano commercial back in 2008. But the band is breaking its silence with a bubbly new album called “Something.” The pair’s sophomore LP is a groove-happy piece of art that relies on giddy bass lines and sparkling synthesizers. Chairlift manages [...]
Since its rise to fame in 2008, British rock band You Me At Six hasn’t really slept. The driven British band released “Sinners Never Sleep,” its third studio album, last week. Throughout the album’s first single, “Loverboy,” lead singer Josh Franceschi’s wide vocal range complements the low guitar chords that underline each verse. Franceschi explicitly [...]
Absent from the alternative music scene since 2009, Snow Patrol is back with its newly released and long- overdue album, “Fallen Empires.” Hailing from Northern Ireland, this indie rock band has come a long way. Breaking out of its cocoon, Snow Patrol released this sixth album and collectively decided on a brighter musical direction. Bagging [...]
Following their brooding and romantic debut, “A Brief History of Love,” British electro-rockers The Big Pink return with a newfound love for glitz. With their new album, “Future This,” Robbie Furze and Milo Cordell drop the hazy pathos and opt instead for slick beats and a trip-hop edge. The album as a whole takes on [...]
Coming off the success of their fiery Grammy-winning album, “Brothers,” Ohio blues-rock duo The Black Keys are back to doing what they do best — crafting monstrous rock jams, like the ones found in the scorching new album, “El Camino.”
