Our Opinion… not that anyone really asked for it.
For the week of 11/26/2007

CELEBRATION – THE MODERN TRIBE (4AD)
Did you hear the one about the band who rocked it raw on their first album, then got all restrained and “mature” on their second album? Oh wait, that wasn’t a joke, that was my cliche review of the new Celebration album.
The best moments on Celebration’s self-titled debut came when Kristina Ford pushed her take-that-Beth-Ditto pipes into the red and David Bergander’s loose hi-hat-based drums went wild. There are approximately a quarter of those moments on The Modern Tribe… making it a total disappointment. – Jonathan Lee Riches
Buy it on Insound

THE TAMBORINES – SALLY O’GANNON EP (Planting Seeds)
At first listen I am definitely feeling the vibe of this band. But maybe that’s because I am a Brian Jonestown Massacre fan. Wait… is this Brian Jonestown? Could have fooled me.  Shoegaze is cool to listen to when I imagine those 90s superstars doing their thing but come on. It’s the new millennium. Like, 7 years ago. Why would I listen to this band when I have My Bloody Valentine in my Ipod which I already know is fucking amazing. I can’t complain too much though; the title track Sally O’gannon is a catchy and feel good tune.  But then there’s those filler songs – it’s like bubble wrap or some shit. I can understand why this is a four track ep. The Tambourines have one song I’d be willing to pass a joint to but then that’s enough. – Foxy Foursocks

ALOHA – LIGHTWORKS (Polyvinyl)

Good, innovative music is actually really hard to find these days. Let’s face it, most Indie-rock bands today are boring as shit. They don’t try anything new and they certainly don’t take any risks. Or, if they do, it just doesn’t work. Then there’s Aloha, a band that never seems to run out of new ideas. Every record they’ve put out keeps you wondering what they’ll do next. Even if some take a while to grow on you (as was the case with me and Some Echoes), their ideas really work well, and they’re actually enjoyable to listen to. What a concept! From what seems to be an attempt at something more simple, this latest offering from them, Light Works, is seven songs all centered around an acoustic guitar (based what they have posted in their MySpace blog). Because of that, the songs do seem a bit more on the mellow side. However, it does still have the intensity that their past records have had. And it’s certainly not leaning towards a more Dashboard-esque sound (thank God). I guess that just means we won’t see them in any superhero movie soundtracks, but it’s still 30 minutes of music that I won’t get bored listening to. The only downfall is that it is only seven songs and 30 minutes long. It would have been nice to hear a full length. – SpartaPraha

BANGERS AND CASH – SPANK ROCK AND BENNY BLANCO (Downtown Records)

Very seldom do we find ourselves in the following position: despite our inherent verbosity & talent for fustian – no matter that our natural eloquence is brought out best in the long form – that as such we have been encouraged, since our royal boyhood, to declaim in a fashion that has been described as, “delightfully Long-Wind’d” by our peers and betters among the nobility – yet still we inevitably arrive at moments upon which very little need, and indeed can, be said. Listening to this recording is one of those moments, and all that need be said has been said before, by a better artist than ourselves. To wit: get thee to a library, muchacho tonto, and check out Heart of Darkness, for it contains our sentiments regarding Bangers and Cash: “Exterminate the brutes!” In case this Herculean effort is beyond you, allow us to translate: I wouldn’t piss on this album if it was on fire. -El Marquis de Nada
Buy it on Amazon

CRUNK HITS VOL. 4 – VARIOUS ARTISTS (TVT Records)

I wish that I could have lost my virginity with Crunk Hits Vol. 4 playing in the background. Not because any of the songs on it are particularly noteworthy, not because of aritsts like “Chamillionaire”, “Lil Boosie & Webbie” or even because it starts off with the song “Big Things Poppin’ (Do It).” No, I simply would have wanted to lose my virginity to these eighteen tracks so I could say for the rest of my life, “He really loved me. He put on Crunk Hits, Volume Four.”
Sadly for me, I cannot turn back time. I listened to it on my ipod, flying down to Florida to spend Thanksgiving with my parents. And even though my hopes were so high, it’s just a pretty lame compelation. I did get to hear some new songs that I guess I would have missed on the radio, ” Lil Boosie & Webbie (featuring Foxx) – Wipe Me Down” and “Lil Scrappy (featuring Young Buck) – Money In The Bank,” but the fact that record companies still put these things out doesn’t exactly make me want to… well, “Lean Wit it, Rock Wit it”. – Sugar Tits
Buy it on Amazon