Cheap speed in an audio format, ATR return with another assault on your ears and your frontal lobe — abusive, abrasive, noisy and relentless. Alec Empire and
his crew are one of the few acts that can invest techno with human emotion, even if that emotion is primitive fury. Thundering beats, videogame blips, greased-up guitar snippets and pseudo-political, semi-coherent rantings about "Revolution!" "Decay!" and "Anarchy!" make for a revved-up, nerve-jolting whole....And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead: "Madonna"
Blending musical chaos with careful instrumentation and emotional destruction with the analysis of same, ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead made one of the smartest thrash records in years. "Madonna" ranges from
"Fuck You!" screamed 26 times over bludgeoning feedback crescendos to the delicate spinning of a few notes of Debussy into a poetic, reeling tribute to the moon. Click here for the full review.The Rock*A*Teens: "Golden Time"
Emo-core's love for emotional howling, the twee pop contingent's fondness for childhood stories and the roots rockers' barrelhouse pianos and tambourines all found their place on the Rock*A*Teen's "Golden Time." Enveloped in reverb, the album blends hooky jangles with the uneasy menace of being alone in the fog-shrouded park of your hometown. The Rock*A*Teen's sound is provocative and unique. Click here for the full review.
The Roots: "Things Fall Apart"
Not just hip-hop's best band, but one of the best bands period, Philly's own Roots finally got their props with "Things Fall Apart." "Things" ranges from harrowing Last Poets-inspired nar
ratives; to stripped-down, old-school call-and-response jams; to slinky drum-and-bass-inspired romantic duets; to bubbling, acid-jazzing, hook-laden extravaganzas; to a love song to hip-hop itself. The Roots expand the genre's boundaries while staying true to its, well, roots. Click here for the full review.The Latin Playboys: "Dose"
One of the most unusual discs of the year, "Dose" blended an unlikely combination of roots-mu
sic basics and studio wizardry, souped up with all manner of sound effects
and audio oddities into a cinematic, hallucinatory journey of sudden turns and strange textures. Tunes that seem simple and clumsy become graceful; stylized new takes on down-home tales surprise; "Dose" gives the ear a new tweak on every listen. Click here for the full review.
Honorable Mentions:
Mike Ness: Cheating at Solitaire"
concert review
Wheat: "Hope and Adams" full review
MeShell Ndegeocello: "Bitter"
The Living End: "The Living End" full review
Prince Paul: "A Prince Among Thieves"
full review