For this, his seventh proper album, John set up a home basement studio to work on basic demos and ideas before venturing back into his Tiny Telephone studio (issue #10) in San Francisco with co-producer/engineer Scott Solter (issue #67). As always, it's an excellent album - with more use of cool keyboard sounds this time around. John's a strong songwriter, Scott's an amazing producer, and the record has so much fun stuff to listen to - but always in service of the songs. (www.johnvanderslice.com, www.deadoceans.com)
Music Reviews | No. 72
Les Retrouvailles
by Larry Crane
My favorite contemporary French composer and lover of toy pianos, Yann is probably best known for his charming score to the film Amélie. Les Retrouvailles is his most recent studio album, from...