The Automatik

3CG Records

Every time I mention that I like Hanson, the collective response goes something along the lines of, “Aren’t those the little boys that sang that song? I hate them!” The infectiously catchy “Mmmbop,” the hit single that put Hanson on the bedroom walls of millions of teen girls, came out seven years ago, but for whatever reason, Hanson will always be eleven in the minds of most of the world. Listening to the music they’ve released since then would probably be a huge shock to music fans who still picture them as tow-headed, squeaky-voiced kids.
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Capitol, 2003

Now I’m not going to lie to you. I didn’t even like The Vines the first time I heard them. The friend who gave me Highly Evolved also provided me with a lot of gushing about how incredible it was. I listened to it and was not impressed.
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2004, Wrechord Records

Just because Mr. Falkner’s last proper album was 1999′s excellent Can You Still Feel? doesn’t mean he’s been sitting on his well-deserved laurels. Between conceptual “soundtracks” like Logan’s Sanctuary, the Bedtime with Beatles discs, working and touring with French band Air, and the unsigned TV Eyes, Falkner’s musical contributions have been good and plenty. But we still want more Falkner, so this five song EP, the appropriately titled Bliss Descending, is the kind of candy that isn’t going to spoil your supper.
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Maplemusic/Universal, 2004

It was bound to happen sooner or later. After gushing about Joel Plaskett’s genius songwriting and peerless vocal stylings as much as I have, I’d have to be disappointed eventually. Truthfully Truthfully is not a terrible album, or even a bad one. It’s just not a worthy follow-up to Down at the Khyber.
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Astralwerks

Considering that Air’s 2001 release, 10,000 Hz. Legend, was one of my favorite albums of 2001 and will probably end up as a favorite of this decade, I was both thrilled and hesitant to listen to their latest offering, Talkie Walkie.
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I have been alerted to this piece of crap from our dear “friends” at Pitchfork magazine. It’s a review of Sloan’s last album, Action Pact. I hope that the fact that this review came out today and the album came out last year is an indication of the delay of its U.S. release and not laziness or apathy.
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“Honesty,” a wise man once said, “is such a lonely word.” I don’t really know where I’m going with this one; I just thought it would be a clever intro to this piece.
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Brobdingnagian/Outside Records, 2000

When I love an album, I want to rant endlessly how it’s the greatest album of all time, and in some cases, that’s exactly what transpires. Only later do I look back and cringe at how I’ve smothered it in hyperbole. Yet I’ve owned Down at the Khyber for a couple of years now and my appetite for it grows with every listen. Sometimes I don’t even want to play it because it’s so great. I’m afraid that on the next listen, it will be revealed to be a Kubla Khan-esque creation of my subconscious that I’ll never be able to enjoy again.
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Self-Released, 2003

This is the first CD I’ve reviewed in a while which I didn’t actually purchase. Long gone are the zanier, zinier times, of trudging through crappy “punk” 7 inches and weird, under-produced cassette tapes. Hopefully my comments won’t cause it to be the last CD I am sent to review.
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Geffen, 2003

At their best, Rooney sound like Jellyfish, Jason Falkner, and vintage Weezer. At their worst, they’re sugary enough to give you a toothache; too much bubblegum and not enough bittersweet.
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