By Chris Moore:
Crazy For You cover (Best Coast, 2010)
(July 27, 2010)
Review:
Best Coast sounds like the product of Zooey Deschanel and Tegan & Sara meeting on a drizzly day in sunny Californ-i-a, deciding to form a band; unfortunately, though, not much is surprising after the first couple tracks, but the band oozes potential and hints at what they may be capable of in the future.
Top Two Tracks:
“Crazy for You” & “Boyfriend”
By Chris Moore:
Both of my favorite debuts this year weren’t true debuts, but rather they were solo debuts by artists well-established as the front men of bands: Jack White of the recently defunct White Stripes and Craig Finn of the Hold Steady, which is currently on hiatus. Neither topped my year-end best albums list, but both were exciting nonetheless and suggest much promise for future solo efforts.
Blunderbuss – Jack White
Clear Heart Full Eyes – Craig Finn
By Chris Moore:
Producer: Jude Cole
Released: December 11, 2012
Rating: 3.5 / 5 stars
Top Two Tracks: “Gotta Be Tonight” & “Right Back Home”
For a band that I have accused in the past of being derivative of itself, I picked up this album with some hesitance. To be honest, I haven’t heard an album from Lifehouse that I truly loved and respected since 2002’s Stanley Climbfall. That being said, Almeria is a welcome surprise. At every turn, it is an energetic return and it features a dynamic sequence of tracks. From the extremes of the modern-sounding yet carefully-paced seriousness of “Between the Raindrops” to the bluesy throwback sound of “Right Back Home” and so many stops between, Lifehouse seems to delight in showing off their range. “Gotta Be Tonight” bubbles with potential as it stomps away as the opener, and it is followed by highlights such as the catchy, fittingly cyclical “Nobody Listen” and the nearly-Beatles-esque “Lady Day.” All in all, Almeria is a notable effort from Lifehouse and one whose diversity should bring listeners back for more across many listens.
By Chris Moore:
Producer: Adam Kasper and Soundgarden
Released: November 13, 2012
Rating: 4 / 5 stars
Top Two Tracks: “Been Away Too Long” & “Non-State Actor”
As was heralded by “Live to Rise,” their fantastic contribution to the Avengers soundtrack earlier this year, Soundgarden is yet another of 2012’s long-awaited reunions, this album coming out sixteen years after 1996’s Down on the Upside. In King Animal, Soundgarden has found a new groove that brings their signature sound alive again with reinvigorated appeal. “Been Away Too Long” is the perfect opening track, and it is followed up with glorious riffing and cutting lyrics and vocals on “Non-State Actor.” The eleven tracks that follow are reliably exciting with hardly any exception, never trying too hard to be catchy yet clearly concerned with being lively, particularly with guitar and vocal parts. Freshly energetic and consistent throughout, King Animal is one of the year’s best reunion efforts, and despite the considerable expectations facing such a release, it is one of the better albums of 2012 as well.