Music Reviews

by Larry Crane

 |  No. 39

: Letting Go of Strings

reviewed by Larry Crane

Gina's pal, Michael Cubbon, recorded this self-released dreamy pop record at their Dithering Heights home studio on Cubase VST32 v5.1 on a P4- 2.4 desktop computer loaded with two UAD-1 cards. Drum...

 |  No. 39

: Let It Be ...Naked

reviewed by Larry Crane

An unfortunate title, this isn't the fabled Glyn Johns' version of Let It Be, but instead it is a new beast, mixed and produced at Abbey Road by Paul Hicks, Guy Massey and Allan Rouse. Songs were...

 |  No. 39

: Never Trust a Hippy

reviewed by Larry Crane

Adrian, for years, has been the brains behind the Dub Syndicate "band" and On-U Sound label in the UK, but here is his first "solo" record. Are you looking for the future of rhythms, dub and studio...

 |  No. 39

: Foundation Rockers

reviewed by Larry Crane

You might remember Ryan Moore (the genius behind TCDSS) from issue #26. Here he breaks his formula of instrumental dub by building up tracks then bringing a portable recording rig around to some major...

 |  No. 39

: Rocket Redux

reviewed by Larry Crane

RFTT were a seminal Cleveland band that spawned Pere Ubu and the Dead Boys. Now they have (maybe briefly) banded back together for some touring and such, with Television's Richard Lloyd replacing the...

 |  No. 39

: Lisa Gerrard

reviewed by Larry Crane

This is the soundtrack to the movie of the same name, which I haven't yet seen. I have to admit I've been a fan of Lisa's since I first heard her in Dead Can Dance 20 years ago. Her music is dreamy...

 |  No. 39

: Liberation

reviewed by Larry Crane

We interviewed these crazy boys in issue #25 about their National Recording Studio. In the world of Trans Am robots rock and New Order could have been a punk band. Political snippets get blended into...

 |  No. 39

: Sixteen Ssongs

reviewed by Larry Crane

Don is better known as the man behind Inner Ear Studios in Arlington, VA, and the guy that's produced many cool records for Fugazi, their Dischord Label, and many others (see interview in the Tape Op...

 |  No. 39

: Stumble Into Grace

reviewed by Larry Crane

Emmylou continues her collaborations with producer Malcolm Burn while delving further into her own songwriting. The record is sparse where it needs to be and is a beautiful listen. Dueling left/right...

 |  No. 38

: Lovers Lead the Way

reviewed by Larry Crane

Viva Voce recently moved to Portland from Nashville, and consist of the married team of Kevin and Anita Robinson. They recorded this CD at home on a "pimped-out PC with a Terratec card eight I/Os and...

 |  No. 38

: You are Here

reviewed by Larry Crane

Jimmy and Pat from Versus strike out on their own. At a gig this band is a standard four-piece. On record they can break down into a New Order-ish electronics sometimes, though other songs recall...

 |  No. 38

: Normalized

reviewed by Larry Crane

Andre calls his guitar technique "turntablist guitar" - using loops, multitracking and bare hands to coax a variety or rhythms and sounds out of the guitar. The results are rhythmic, grooving pieces...

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