mikael wood

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Taio Cruz | Rokstarr

When Taio Cruz sings, "I can't live without you," in "Take Me Back," pop-song conventions tell us he's referring to a lover.
Mercury (2010)
By MIKAEL WOOD | June 25, 2010

Hey, I love Veckatimest as much as the next wimp, but the prospect of Grizzly Bear multi-instrumentalist Chris Taylor’s offering production to the latest album from Jamie Lidell didn’t seem promising when it was announced earlier this year. After all,
Warp (2010)
By MIKAEL WOOD | May 28, 2010

CocoRosie | Grey Oceans

Freak-folk fans disappointed by the relative accessibility of recent efforts by Devendra Banhart and Joanna Newsom should check out CocoRosie’s latest.
Sub Pop (2010)
By MIKAEL WOOD | May 21, 2010

Free Energy | Stuck On Nothing

Like Bad Company and Damn Yankees before them, these buzzed-about Philadelphia longhairs have a song on their debut that shares the name of their band — a sure sign that Free Energy are serious about having a good time.
DFA/Astralwerks (2010)
By MIKAEL WOOD | May 14, 2010

Booka Shade | More!

Booka Shade get back to where they once belonged.
Get Physical (2010)
By MIKAEL WOOD | May 07, 2010

Roky Erickson With Okkervil River | True Love Cast Out All Evil

True Love Cast Out All Evil finds troubled Texas psych-rock legend Roky Erickson reflecting on a life filled with turmoil.
Anti- (2010)
By MIKAEL WOOD | April 30, 2010

Codeine Velvet Club | Codeine Velvet Club

Like a Glaswegian version of Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner’s Last Shadow Puppets , the Codeine Velvet Club project finds Jon Lawler of the Fratellis making retro-’60s supper-club pop with sweeping orchestral arrangements where the fuzzy guitars us
Dangerbird (2010)
By MIKAEL WOOD | April 16, 2010

Black Prairie | Feast Of The Hunter’s Moon

Admire the Decemberists’ meticulous sea-shanty soundscapes but can’t stand Colin Meloy’s word-nerd volubility?
Sugar Hill (2010)
By MIKAEL WOOD | April 09, 2010

Titus Andronicus | The Monitor

As if to allay any fears of a starchy Civil War concept album, Titus Andronicus frontman Patrick Stickles spends the first minute of The Monitor shouting out a series of cultural artifacts that postdate that conflict by, oh, about a hundred years: th
XL (2010)
By MIKAEL WOOD | March 19, 2010

Ted Leo | The Brutalist Bricks

Leave it to Ted Leo to find his way from "There was a resolution pending on the United Nations floor" to "Tell the bartender I think I'm falling in love."
Legacy (2010)
By MIKAEL WOOD | March 12, 2010

Lightspeed Champion | Life Is Sweet! Nice To Meet You!

Devonté Hynes first appeared as a member of the joky UK dance-punk trio Test Icicles.
Domino (2010)
By MIKAEL WOOD | March 05, 2010

Gil Scott-Heron | I’m New Here

It's always easy to forecast others' doom, announces Gil Scott-Heron near the end of his first album since 1994.
XL (2010)
By MIKAEL WOOD | February 26, 2010

Hot Chip | One Life Stand

Four albums into a career that appeared to begin as an art-school goof, Hot Chip look more likely than any of their peers to ascend one day to the intellectual electro-pop heights of Pet Shop Boys or Scritti Politti.
Astralwerks (2010)
By MIKAEL WOOD | February 19, 2010

Midlake | The Courage Of Others

On this lovingly crafted follow-up, the men of Midlake have moved on to emulating the late-'60s/early-'70s British folk-rock scene.
Bella Union (2010)
By MIKAEL WOOD | February 12, 2010

The Soft Pack | The Soft Pack

This Los Angeles foursome first emerged in 2008 as the Muslims, a name they elected to change after they grew disgusted with and exhausted by all the ignorant — and often racist — bullshit that came out of people's mouths during shows/interviews/conversa
Kemado (2010)
By MIKAEL WOOD | February 05, 2010

Priestess | Prior To The Fire

Now Priestess are back in Indieland, rubbing denim-clad elbows with the likes of Nebula and Black Math Horseman.
Tee Pee (2009)
By MIKAEL WOOD | January 29, 2010

Big Star | Keep and Eye on the Sky

Like most Big Star fans, author Robert Gordon overheats a little in the biographical essay that accompanies this handsome four-disc box set.
Rhino (2009)
By MIKAEL WOOD | December 11, 2009

Annie | Don't Stop

Things have gotten pretty crowded in the electro-pop demi-monde since Annie released her indie-hit debut, Anniemal , back in 2004.
Smalltown Supersound (2009)
By MIKAEL WOOD | November 20, 2009

Jackson 5 | I Want You Back! Unreleased Masters

If you’ve ever wondered how great it might be to hear a slowed-down version of “ABC” that lacks all the youthful charm of the original, this set of previously unreleased Jackson 5 recordings is for you.
Motown/Universal (2009)
By MIKAEL WOOD | November 13, 2009

Pink Martini | Splendor in the Grass

The members of Portland’s Pink Martini have covered plenty of well-known songs in their decade and a half together, like “Que Sera, Sera” on their 1997 debut, and the theme from I Dream of Jeannie in their early live shows.
Heinz (2009)
By MIKAEL WOOD | October 30, 2009

Jay Reatard | Watch Me Fall

Jay Reatard is the Lil Wayne of the Memphis garage-rock scene.
Matador (2009)
By MIKAEL WOOD | August 28, 2009

Tiga | Ciao!

This Montreal-based electro-house dude made his name with slyly straight-faced covers of Nelly's "Hot in Herre" and Corey Hart's "Sunglasses at Night," and on his second studio disc, he doesn't appear hugely concerned that his original material should s
Last Gang (2009)
By MIKAEL WOOD | June 19, 2009

The society of the spectacle

Of Montreal live at the Paradise, April 21
Of Montreal live at the Paradise, April 21
By CAITLIN E. CURRAN | May 01, 2009

U2 | No Line On the Horizon

You don't need me to tell you whether the songs on the new U2 album reflect the social, political, economic, and religious turmoil that seems it's been defining global affairs since before we can remember.
Interscope (2009)
By MIKAEL WOOD | March 09, 2009

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