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482 items by Will Hermes Will Hermes’ Profile on
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Body Talk Pt 1 | ALBUM REVIEW
"Don't fuckin' tell me what to do," chants reformed teen-pop prodigy Robyn. No worry, girl, things are under control. With help from Klas Åhlund — who co-wrote her 2005 cred-maker, Robyn — the singer drops a near-perfect...
July 19, 2010 12:40 PM ET -
"Jonathan Low" | SONG REVIEW
Finally, the marketing strategy behind Vampire Weekend's name becomes clear: A remarkably anthemic song for the soundtrack to Eclipse, this week's edition of the teen-baiting Twilight vampire saga. With 12-string acoustic guitar, swelling strings, and lyrics that...
June 29, 2010 11:36 AM ET -
"Macon" | SONG REVIEW
Coinciding with a fierce set at this year's Bonnaroo, Jamey Johnson offers another peek into his sprawling, two-CD The Guitar Song, due in September. "Macon" gives voice to a wired, pedal-to-the-metal trucker achin' for his woman, joining...
June 29, 2010 11:35 AM ET -
"Goodbye Girl" | SONG REVIEW
The latest in a sweet freebie MP3 series via Levi's jeans (hail the new music industry!) gets James Mercer back with his pre-Broken Bells group for a perfect Squeeze cover, guitar jangle replacing new-wave keybs while the...
June 29, 2010 11:31 AM ET -
"Ready to Start" | SONG REVIEW
Relentless snare thwaps; a bass-line melody that would fit in an Eighties goth-pop tune. Enter Win Butler: "The businessmen drink my blood/Like the kids in art school said they would," Butler croons. (Damn you, art-school kids: always...
June 29, 2010 11:24 AM ET -
"Everybody Loves the Sunshine" | SONG REVIEW
The Brazilian singer with the killer Bowie covers (see The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou) wraps his chocolate baritone around this blissed-out '76 Roy Ayers jam while Beastie Boys producer Mario Caldato Jr. makes the vintage synths...
June 29, 2010 11:12 AM ET -
The Sellout | ALBUM REVIEW
Like Erykah Badu's kooky big sis, Macy Gray has been balancing freakiness and mainstream shine since 1999. Despite the title, her new album is a softer sell — and more appealing — than 2007's Will.i.am-assisted Big. "Beauty...
June 22, 2010 11:20 AM ET -
Broken Hearts and Dirty Windows: Songs of John Prine | ALBUM REVIEW
Johnny Cash listened to John Prine songs for inspiration; Bob Dylan called them "Midwestern mind trips to the nth degree." Letting loose a new generation of rock-folk-country misfits like My Morning Jacket, Conor Oberst, Bon Iver's Justin...
June 21, 2010 3:25 PM ET -
"Mr. Peterson" | SONG REVIEW
On this ballad, Seattle newcomer Mike Hadreas conjures Morrissey as a haunted teen. "He made me a tape of Joy Division," Hadreas mewls, sketching a suicidal pedophile. Gus Van Sant: Your music supervisor needs to check this...
June 8, 2010 8:28 PM ET -
"Dear God 2.0" | SONG REVIEW
"This moody jam remakes the Monsters of Folk gospel-soul joint, adding fat ?uestlove beats and Black Thought's missive to God: "They said, 'He's busy, hold the line, please.'" Maybe try Twitter?
June 8, 2010 11:00 AM ET -
To The Sea | ALBUM REVIEW
Jack Johnson's sun-kissed acoustic-guitar melodies, stoner-dude tenor and unfailingly positive vibrations are like a fresh piña colada with a paper umbrella: You've experienced this before, it's a little corny, but it's pretty much impossible to hate. His...
June 1, 2010 3:15 PM ET -
"Swoon" | SONG REVIEW
Beloved British rave stalwarts rock the melancholy with indecipherable vocals and an awesomely squishy, spangled, descending-tone sample that hits your gut like cresting a roller coaster. A tune that definitely lives up to its title, for a...
May 25, 2010 2:35 PM ET -
Infinite Arms | ALBUM REVIEW
On 2007's Cease to Begin, Band of Horses became more of a one-horse town, with frontman Ben Bridwell carrying the load in the wake of partner Mat Brooke's exit. He sounds less lonely on the group's third...
May 17, 2010 11:45 AM ET -
"Hot N' Fun" | SONG REVIEW
The slinky dance cut rocks a fat, minimalist Eighties funk groove à la Liquid Liquid's "Cavern," with Ms. Nelly on the ephemeral hook. "We wrote this for a purpose," begins Pharrell. "Get high, get money, get sex,...
May 12, 2010 6:44 PM ET -
High Violet | ALBUM REVIEW
The National are rousing-rock sad sacks in a time-honored tradition: Joy Division, the Cure, Nick Cave. With their fifth set, perhaps the sad-sackiest yet, they embody their own era. Singer Matt Berninger's gorgeous baritone...
May 11, 2010 12:35 AM ET -
Backatown | ALBUM REVIEW
At 24, Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews is already a New Orleans MVP. Backatown is both deeply rooted and culturally omnivorous, opening with his 'bone hard-rocking a hip-hop groove, soon joined by a brass section, rock guitar and...
May 10, 2010 11:54 AM ET -
Planet Anthem | ALBUM REVIEW
The rave-schooled Disco Biscuits have been among Phish's heir apparents for a decade now, and with peers like STS9 opening for Jay-Z, maybe now is their time. Or not. At least their latest has big aesthetic balls:...
May 10, 2010 11:48 AM ET -
Leave Your Sleep | ALBUM REVIEW
As a member of 10,000 Maniacs and a solo artist, Natalie Merchant showed that her best traits were her refined taste and fetching, earthy voice. This handsome, long-brewing two-CD/book project flaunts both, setting poems and nursery rhymes...
May 10, 2010 11:43 AM ET -
So Runs the World Away | ALBUM REVIEW
"Black hole," sings Josh Ritter, "are your eyes as empty as they look?" Not the best come-on, perhaps. But roughly a decade after topping a new school of singer-songwriters, Ritter hit a creative wall, and his latest...
May 4, 2010 12:00 AM ET -
"Hold On" | SONG REVIEW
Christopher Mercer is a Leeds producer convinced dubstep can be ecstatic as well as stoned-somber. "Woo Boost" was one hot example. This joint with Dirty Projectors main diva Amber Coffman — a pro-forma r&b come-on set to...
April 28, 2010 12:00 AM ET
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