Blogcritics The critical lens on today's culture & entertainment
We don't have as deep a set of releases this week in sheer volume nor do we have the same depth of quality we've recently seen but there are some gems we should spend some time discussing.
First up, we have new music from Jeff Beck. It's been awhile since the guitar legend released a studio album of new material and there's been a good amount of buzz about Emotion and Commotion. As big a fan of GuitarGod music, I've never been a passionate Beck fan. I'm not silly enough to suggest he's anything but genius but I've always had a more casual relationship to his music than some of my peers and colleagues. I confess I'm curious about this release, though. This is a definite maybe.
Next up we have a couple of hot releases in the blues universe, both from talented women. First up we have the new album from perpetual BMA nominee Janiva Magness. The Devil Is An Angel Too is the followup to her smash What Love Will Do and marks her second effort for Alligator Records. I know the blues cognoscenti completely buys into Magness. I wasn't a huge fan of her Do I Move You CD and I haven't been back since. I'm going to have to listen to this one if for no other reason than it's going to be a player at next year's BMAs. Bet that.
Also coming to us this week is a new album from Shakura S'Aida. S’Aida was born in Brooklyn, raised in Switzerland, and has been based in Toronto. Brown Sugar has already been released in Europe and is now getting a North American release through Ruf Records. S'Aida has had success on stage and with previous records in Canada and is now looking to expand her audience in the U.S.
The other two records I'm hearing a lot about come from two very different corners. MGMT's Congratulations is getting a big promotional push and I'm seeing a lot of coverage devoted to former American Idol contestant Jason Castro's CD. I'm a lot more curious about the new set from MGMT than I am Castro.
A Silent Film
The City That Sleeps
Amber Pacific
Virtues
Astral Doors
Requiem Of Time
Bison B.C.
Dark Ages
Bleeding Fist
Macabrum Bestia Ex Abyssus
Bleeding Through
Bleeding Through
Braid
Frankie Welfare Boy Age Five
Child Abuse
Cut And Run
Child Abuse
Cut And Run
Coheed And Cambria
Year Of The Black Rainbow
Cohen, Anat
Clarinetwork-Live At The Villa
Condell, Sonny
Camouflage
Dance Nation
Dance Nation
Deep Purple
Live At Long Beach 1976 (2Cd)
Devo
Duty Now For The Future
Edguy
The Savage Poetry
Eulorhythmics
Green St. & Avers
Flying Lotus
Dj Kicks
Gloriana
Gloriana
Goldberg, Aaron
Home
Gucci Mane
Burrrprint 2 Hd
Hopkins, Clutchy
The Storyteller
Iggy & The Stooges
Raw Power (Legacy Edition)
Jason Castro
Jason Castro
Jeff Beck
Emotion & Commotion
Jenny Arnau
Chasing Giants
Jon Oliva S Pain
Festival
Jordan, Lorraine & Carolina Ro
Carolina Hurricane
Justin Nozuka
You I Wind Land And Sea
Lehrer, Tom
The Tom Lehrer Collection
Letlive
Fake History
Magness, Janiva
The Devil Is An Angel Too
Mantler
Monody
Matt Pond Pa
The Dark Leaves
MGMT
Congratulations
Nada Surf
If I Had A Hi-Fi
Natalie Merchant
Selections From The Album Leave Your Sleep
Natalie Merchant
Leave Your Sleep (2Cd)
Nortec Collective Presents: Cl
Corridos Urbanos
Parkins, Zeena
Between The Whiles
Passion Pit
Manners
Pavlov S Dog
At The Sound Of The Bell
Pavlov S Dog
Pampered Menial
Pureka, Chris
How I Learned To See In The Da
Rafter
Animal Feelings
Shakura S'Aida
Brown Sugar
Sightings
City Of Straw
Soundtrack
The Back-Up Plan
Steve Vai
Where The Other Wild Things Are
Straight No Chaser
With A Twist
Tallest Man On Earth, The
The Wild Hunt
The Ocean
Heliocentric
Tony Allen
Secret Agent
Various Artists
No One Knows About Persian Cat
War Of Ages
Eternal
Yu
Before Taxes
