Microphone Fiends
Sushi, the Black Eyed Peas, and parrots on bicycles. It's all in a boozy night of competitive karaoke with the New Pornographers, the polite pop savants who turn ruthless and cutthroat -- especially if you call them the other N-word.
By Brian Raftery 08.23.07 3:00 AM
The karaoke gods are not smiling on Carl Newman.
SHARE THIS:
Interpol, 'Our Love to Admire' (Capitol)
New York's dapper devotees of doom resist a shift in style.
By Brian Raftery 07.10.07 3:00 AM
"Babe, it's time we gave something new a try," Paul Banks sings on "No I in Threesome," a surprisingly amorous track from Interpol's third album.
SHARE THIS:
The White Stripes, 'Icky Thump' (Third Man/ Warner Bros.)
A White man is pissed and wants to show us a thing or two.
By Brian Raftery 07.06.07 3:00 AM
Jack White makes a lot of strange noises on the appropriately titled Icky Thump: There's an unnerving, high-pitched guitar whine that's straight out of a Tom Morello fakebook (we'll call that one "the Squawk"); a brooding, bubbling-under-the-surface organ hum (to be dubbed "the Surge"); and a discomforting, annoyingly childish yelp (actually, on further examination, t
SHARE THIS:
Fields, 'Everything Last Winter' (Black Lab)
They'll cut out your heart with a delicate touch.
By Brian Raftery 06.07.07 3:00 AM
Not to be confused with Field Music, the Field Mice, the Field, or Korn bassist Fieldy, Fields are a British/Icelandic combo that take typically bright pop particles (male/female harmonies, quavering synth lines) and rearrange them into devastating laments.
SHARE THIS:
Fountains of Wayne, 'Traffic & Weather' (Virgin)
Now the lady at the DMV has got it going on!
By Brian Raftery 04.10.07 3:00 AM
Four years after "Stacy's Mom" provided these power-poppers with an unexpected Top 40 hit, Traffic & Weather find them eagerly plunging into every genre imaginable, from Euro-disco (the buoyant opener "Someone to Love," a.k.a. "Stacy's Daughter") to '70s-blue-eyed pop (the Billy Joel-biting "Strapped for Cash").
SHARE THIS:
Dr. Dog, 'We All Belong' (Park the Van)
Tickling the soft underbelly of classic pop rock.
By Brian Raftery 03.29.07 3:00 AM
A true DIY sleeper, Dr. Dog's 2005 debut was the sort of seemingly innocuous indie album that becomes more knotty and habit-forming with each listen.
SHARE THIS:
