Of Montreal, 'Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?' (Polyvinyl)
A giddy free-for-all from multitasking pop auteur.
By Caryn Ganz 02.13.07 4:00 AM
Athens, Georgia's Of Montreal have practically become a one-man psych band, and Kevin Barnes' pleasantly nasal voice -- many, many multitracked versions of it -- harmonizes on nearly every track of his eighth album.
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...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, 'So Divided' (Interscope)
With guitars intact, rockers find bliss in the details.
By Caryn Ganz 11.29.06 4:00 AM
Like teenagers discovering the munchies, My Chemical Romance and the Killers have realized the power of the classic-rock anthem, with its grandiose swagger and bulging chord progressions.
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Built to Spill, 'You in Reverse' (Warner Bros.)
Idaho ax wielders keep on truckin'.
By Caryn Ganz 05.09.06 3:00 AM
Built to Spill have always toked their own brand of jamrock. Since the early ’90s, when singer/guitarist Doug Martsch began writing singsongy melodies that searched his boyish voice’s upper registers while a tangle of guitars spun sprawling solos beneath him, the Boise, Idaho band has filled the space where flannel meets Birkenstocks.
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Madonna, 'Confessions on a Dance Floor' (Warner Bros.)
Madge goes disco -- again. Gay clubbers rejoice. Others, not so much.
By Caryn Ganz 12.01.05 4:00 AM
Madonna and George W. Bush may have less in common than Kabbalah strings and W.W.J.D. wristbands, but the pop politician seems to have learned a lesson from the president: When things are bleak on the home front, make waves abroad and appeal to your core constituency.
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Sons and Daughters, 'The Repulsion Box' (Domino)
Scottish murder ballads in the key of "Aieeeee!"
By Caryn Ganz 08.11.05 3:00 AM
Sons and Daughters didn't just title their first single "Johnny Cash" -- they somehow channeled Cash's dusty-trailed country folk, despite needing a time machine to examine the world he chronicled.
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