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Michael D. Ayers

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Titus Andronicus Tries To Right The Ship

By Michael D. Ayers
Mar 11, 2010

In 1861, the United States commissioned John Ericsson—widely considered one of Sweden's greatest engineers—to construct an iron-clad warship eventually christened the USS Monitor. Napoleon had recently rejected a similar concept, but, at the onset of the American Civil War, the North needed something to compete with a new fleet of...
TV on the Radio, Little Dragon

Sunday, May 17, at House of Blues

By Michael D. Ayers
May 14, 2009

Over the last five years, Brooklyn's TV on the Radio has succeeded in making weird sounds relatively accessible, garnering that much-coveted "art-rock" designation. Yet seemingly cognizant of how "played" that distinction may be, the band's third full-length, last year's Dear Science, is a noticeable shift away from driving guitars to...
Decemberists

The Hazards of Love (Capitol)

By Michael D. Ayers
Apr 9, 2009

Smarty-pants Colin Meloy has yet once again topped his prior output, this time bringing his Portland group Decemberists to bear on a 17-song concept album. People will no doubt label this a "rock opera," but Meloy is actually drawing more from the traditional folk world than anything. His words and...
M. Ward

Hold Time (Merge)

By Michael D. Ayers
Feb 19, 2009

Following recent success with his Zooey Deschanel partnership in She & Him, M. Ward continues his path down the AM Gold aesthetic with Hold Time, his sixth proper record. A hallmark of Ward's sound is a very timeless feel that, production-wise, could be from the early to mid-1900s and, arrangement-wise,...
Lucinda Williams

Little Honey (Lost Highway)

By Michael D. Ayers
Dec 4, 2008

Lucinda Williams can get very personal on her recordings, for better or for worse. Last year's West was a melancholy collection about the loss of her mother. It was also a rather downtrodden buzzkill if you weren't in the mood for it. With Little Honey, Williams lightens up a bit,...
Jolie Holland

The Living & The Dead (Anti-)

By Michael D. Ayers
Nov 27, 2008

In both her physical worlds and her musical worlds, Jolie Holland has always been a bit of a drifter. A Houston native who spent a while in the Bay Area, she recently packed up and headed east for Brooklyn and, in the process, tweaked her sound toward a more country-rock...
Hot Chip

Made in the Dark (Astralwerks)

By Michael D. Ayers
Mar 7, 2008

London's Hot Chip has a well-deserved reputation as a stellar live act that can sell out large clubs and draw huge festival crowds, but the band has struggled to make a killer record that exemplifies its members' vast studio-equipment knowledge. Previous recordings sounded too polished, but Made in the Dark...
The New Pornographers

Challengers (Matador Records)

By Michael D. Ayers
Aug 30, 2007

The New Pornographers have a leg up on most groups, in that two of their members are accomplished solo artists: Neko Case has her alt-country thing, and Dan Bejar has Destroyer, his retro-weirdo Bowie thing. Together with New Porns' principal A.C. Newman, they make near-perfect power-pop albums, culminating with 2005's...
Queens of the Stone Age

Era Vulgaris (Interscope)

By Michael D. Ayers
Jul 12, 2007

Like a Beyoncé album, Queens of the Stone Age records typically have two awesome tracks and are otherwise filled out by mediocre ones. The act's latest effort, Era Vulgaris, is no different. Lead single "Sick, Sick, Sick" is a simple power-guitar anthem that speeds along during the verses, then slows...
Ryan Adams

Easy Tiger (Lost Highway/Universal)

By Michael D. Ayers
Jul 12, 2007

Ryan Adams' well-documented, newfound sobriety hasn't changed anything about the artist really. He's still consistently unsure of himself, pondering relationships and his role in them, and now coping with his own flaws. Easy Tiger sounds like a culmination of his last five years; it recalls the Grateful Dead sound he...
Björk

Volta (Elektra)

By Michael D. Ayers
May 10, 2007

At this point in her career, Björk probably isn't going to win over any new fans. Those who didn't like her before won't start with this release. Volta is challenging, confusing and likely to grate on the nerves, similar to the beatbox-driven Medulla. Björk has always relied on the patience...
Arctic Monkeys

Favourite Worst Nightmare (Warner Brothers/Domino)

By Michael D. Ayers
Apr 26, 2007

Ah, it seems like yesterday these English lads were the toast of the town, the leaders of the hype pack. Oh, wait. It pretty much was just yesterday. Over the last year, we've learned that the Arctic Monkeys are brats: arrogant onstage, snotty in interviews and whiney on record. Of...
Adult, Parts & Labor

Saturday, April 21, at Hailey's, Denton

By Michael D. Ayers
Apr 19, 2007

Adult are indeed all grown up—a married couple from Detroit, whose latest album is entitled Why Bother?, which might not have been the best marketing decision, but hey, who looks at titles anyway? If you do bother, you should imagine Siouxsie Sioux (or maybe PJ Harvey) backed by some of...
Amy Winehouse

Back to Black (Island)

By Michael D. Ayers
Mar 22, 2007

Mary J, Joss Stone, Alicia Keys take note: All Amy Winehouse did was hire a live band, have Mark Ronson put a retro, '60s girl group/Motown spin on the sound and produce an album that's remarkably fresh. Nothing is really new, but because contemporary R&B has been so slickly packaged,...
Dalek

Abandoned Language (Ipecac)

By Michael D. Ayers
Mar 8, 2007

Before Public Enemy moved into the realms of action figures and VH1, they were cutting-edge for two primary reasons: subversive, political lyrics and edgy, envelope-pushing beats. In more recent years, Def Jux's artists had been doing the same thing, but they seem more interested in collaborations now. Beat patriarch DJ...
Lily Allen

Alright, Still (Capitol)

By Michael D. Ayers
Feb 1, 2007

The "queen of MySpace" has finally landed stateside, giving hope to every bedroom MC this side of Lubbock. But what really drives Allen's success—and it seems to be overlooked—is not her number of "friends" but her partners in production, Futurecut and Mark Ronson. Allen's lyrics are no doubt "cheeky"; her...
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

Some Loud Thunder (Self-released)

By Michael D. Ayers
Feb 1, 2007

The DIY success of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah was surely a promising story way back in 2005. Garage bands and dudes with nasally voices regained faith in the can-do spirit that so often is squashed. Some Loud Thunder sees Clap Your Hands remaining label-less and should have record labels...
Frida Hyvönen

Until Death Comes (Secretly Canadian)

By Michael D. Ayers
Dec 7, 2006

Sweden's continuing export of solemn singer-songwriters isn't showing any signs of slowing up. Like her copatriot counterparts Jose Gonzalez and Jens Lekman, Frida Hyvönen is a loner; a stripped-down ivory tickler, who maybe falls somewhere between our own Fiona Apple and Tori Amos. But while she croons like the aforementioned,...
Swan Lake

Beast Moans (Jagjaguwar)

By Michael D. Ayers
Dec 7, 2006

Composed of one part Wolf Parade, one part Destroyer and one part Frog Eyes, this hotly anticipated indie "super group" isn't so much super as surreal. Not in a "wow, I can't believe we should be so lucky" surreal way, but more in a sonic, "this is really kinda weird,...