They're going about this all wrong. Nobody has the patience to listen to seven-plus minute Metallica songs anymore, especially when the payoff never comes in any of them. Death Magnetic should have been a half hour in length with ten

The Precious Mings is the side project of Chikinki keyboardist Boris Ming, along with another twenty or so people also going by the last name Ming. Like Chikinki, The Precious Mings reside in the peculiar gap between the Devo of

The Furnaces are a truly remarkable band that mixes genres into an unnaturally addictive style. Their thirst for experimentation can lead to tours de force like Blueberry Boat , while on the flipside you get their cover of "Norwegian Wood"

There aren't enough rap albums like this anymore. This disc is densely packed with a relentless barrage of verses, often forgoing hooks and choruses in favor of squeezing in an extra 8 bars here and there. RZA's production is featured

Another Michael Cera movie, another achingly hip soundtrack to go along with it. And while I'm sure the movie has its charms, the soundtrack contents read like any random week's worth of posts at Stereogum. Among the familiar songs are

I'm hard pressed to write anything significantly positive or negative about the latest album from metalcore act Underoath. This album is what it is. They nailed putting out a polished and solidly written album, and it is one of their

Everyone knows Bones is a really bad show. A terrible, horrible, no good, very bad substitute for a television program. Its terrible acting and writing has caused most viewers to either change the channel or experience mild nausea. And I'm

Let's not mince words. Eliminator is the definitive rock/new wave hybrid album. In its remastered and expanded state, it's even better. The most noteworthy inclusion here is the original non-truncated version of "Legs," unheard since the album's first pressing in

Tracy Shedd isn't a household name. In fact, she's a songwriter's songwriter the way Ron Sexsmith and Mary Lou Lord are. And when she releases an album (which isn't often), more critics and music know-it-alls will buy it than average

I am no connoisseur of female musicians, but when I fall, I fall hard. I still have no clue what the hell Jewel was singing about and am puzzled by Regina Spektor and her barrage of "uh ohs" at the

Fuck yeah. Another band that gets it: Banner Pilot. I listened to the record over a bowl of cereal and cleaning both cat litter boxes and I was stoked. You can hear the influence of The Lawrence Arms and Dillinger

This wasn't the easiest album to get into. It's sooo French; and not that really cool, sexy Serge & Brigitte kind of French either. It's more like that grainy, black and white Godard movie kind of French. They make quite

Maybe you already downloaded "Something is Not Right With Me," the song Cold War Kids were giving away for free all summer. Did you like it? STOP. GO NO FURTHER. The rest of Loyalty to Loyalty is a complete and

Oglio) [audio] [upcoming shows]This is the 22nd album from the 80 year-old French electronic pioneer. Focusing almost exclusively on instrumental lounge and laid back surf, a la Martin Denny or Esquivel, there are many goofy sound effects to lighten the

In the great tradition of not-quite-psych, not-quite-pop bands like The Flaming Lips and Super Furry Animals comes The Very Sexuals. Too bad I found Post-Apocalyptic Love so late in the summer, because tracks like "Bowie Eyes" and "Wrecked This Century"

Sweden, the country that keeps on giving, now gives us Sad Day for Puppets. Led by the finespun voice of Anna Eklund, this is a band worshipping at the altar of their dreampop ancestors The Sundays and Lush. A-side "Hush"

Just a few seconds into "Welcome to Janesville", you realize the eleven year hiatus between 1997's Destination Failure and Stay Down had little influence on the band's sound. It could be argued there is a little less "punk" in their

BBC Sessions compilations are always a must-buy in my house, but especially for a band like Squeeze. Much of what's here hasn't been heard since it originally aired on the radio, and the biggest revelations come with the earliest material

O is remarkable for so many reasons, perhaps most of all because it is the most compelling, complete album released by Tilly And The Wall to date. It opens with "Tall Tall Grass", an acoustic ballad sounding like a continuation

Raw Footage is for Ice Cube what American Gangster was for Jay-Z: a second chance to be reintroduced after a minor misstep. For Ice Cube, it's even more important. After spending the whole of the decade watering down his image