ARTIST: Grizzly Bear
ALBUM: VECKATIMEST
RATING: 4 out of 5
Back with their third full length album, Brooklyn-based indie act Grizzly Bear have released one of the most critically acclaimed albums of the year with Veckatimest.
Category: Reviews Page 4 of 9
ARTIST: Eskimo Joe
ALBUM: INSHALLA
RATING: 2 out of 5
From the distant shores of Western Australia comes the latest from critically-acclaimed, award-winning rockers Eskimo Joe.
ARTIST: Midnight Youth
ALBUM: THE BRAVE DON’T RUN
RATING: 4 out of 5
When it comes to over-played pop music you can hear on every station from Kaitaia to Invercargill, the general rule of thumb is that it isn’t usually lifted from a great album.
ARTIST: Gomez
ALBUM: A NEW TIDE
RATING: 3.5 out of 5
It’s been nearly three years since Gomez last hit stores with their fantastic album How We Operate – an album this reviewer described as “songwriting at its best” (Investigate Magazine, July 2006) – so it was with high anticipation that I popped A New Tide into my CD player and sat back for a listen.
ARTIST: U2
ALBUM: NO LINE ON THE HORIZON
RATING: 4 out of 5
One of the biggest bands in the world releases one of the most anticipated albums of the year this month, amid many questions around whether they’ve still got it, and whether they can continue to deliver 30 years into an extremely distinguished career.
ARTIST: Lily Allen
ALBUM: IT’S NOT ME, IT’S YOU
RATING: 4 out of 5
Lily Allen – the unconventional British diva responsible for catchy hits “Smile” and “LDN”, that hit big in 2006 – returns this month with the followup to her debut album Alright, Still.
ARTIST: The Mots
ALBUM: THE MOTS
RATING: 4 out of 5
When it comes to Kiwi rags-to-riches stories, it doesn’t come much more intriguing than The Mots.
ARTIST: Snow Patrol
ALBUM: A HUNDRED MILLION SUNS
RATING: 2 out of 5
I could tell from the unintelligible buzzing that kicks off opening track “If There’s a Rocket Tie Me To It” that I was going to end up feeling completely let down.
MANIC STREET PREACHERS
Send Away The Tigers (2007)
In what might later be viewed as one of the biggest surprises of the year, the Manic Street Preachers return this month with Send Away The Tigers – a new record for the group, [almost] a new direction, and undoubtedly their best work since a mid-90s period that included the classic albums Everything Must Go and This is My Truth, Tell Me Yours.
How could it fail with a cast like this?
I’ll tell you how: too much swearing, too many dodgy scenes and far too big a twist at the end. And did I mention the swearing?
The Departed follows undecover police officer Billy Costigan (played expertly by Leonardo Dicaprio) as he infiltrates the biggest crime syndicate in Boston, led by Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson) in an attempt to bring it down. While all this is happening, it comes to light that Costello has his own inside man in the police force, Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon), who is tasked with tracking down the mole in Costello’s gang of crooks.