David Childers & the Modern Don Juans – Burning in Hell

North Carolina product David Childers & his Modern Don Juans have been at it all over the South and all over the world for over a decade, and here on their eighth album, Burning In Hell, they are no doubt at their finest.
2005’s Jailhouse Religion saw the very top of Europe’s Americana chart, although just calling the Modern Don Juans “Americana” is like just calling Tom Waits folk.” A fiery mix of hellbilly, rock and country music back to the moment of it’s origin in the Appalachian hills, David Childers & the Modern Don Juans have an authenticity about them that almost makes you wonder if the prison uniforms they sport on their Jailhouse Religion album cover are just costumes or not.
From Johnny Cash-like prison laments on the opening “Mama” to the front-porch pass-me-that-jug-of-lightning vibe of “Ranio,” David Childers and his band prove that outlaw country is far from dead. “Little Summertime Girl” belongs on 88.7 right alongside The Old Crows and The Avetts, although these boys may kick a little too much ass for Americana radio. This is the way music is supposed to be. Four ½ stars.

Graboids – Infinite Delay

Add a new genre to the ever-widening array of musical labels affixed to bands these days: Space Metal. Charlottesville, Virginia’s Graboids have been put out quite an accomplished work, especially for a band that recently played a Boone show in front of maybe a dozen (very lucky) people.
On Infinite Delay, Graboids four-piece instrumental style brings to mind the work of everyone from bands like Murder By Death and Comets on Fire to bands like Mars Volta and Godspeed, You Black Emperor. The slow-building, churning songs often fly past the eight-minute mark, carried incredibly well by the all-around solid instrumentation in the group, with bits of atmospheric early-Pink Floyd psychadelica in the mix as well.
In all honesty, this may be the best album I’ve ever picked up from a bar show. This is an album that you can play start to finish; you can let it fade into the background or you can listen to it on headphones at 2 in the morning like a Volta record.
The lone exception to the instrumental flow of the album is the often-hilarious and incredibly not-bad rap effort on “Top of the Network.” It’s not exactly what you would expect from a vocal-less purveyor of psychedelic prog-metal, but not many in the rap game can consistently rhyme four syllable words like that. It’s pretty sweet. Check these guys out on Myspace, check out this album and check out a show too. Fans of any of the bands mentioned above will be quite happy. Four ½ stars.

Album Review for Grizzly Bear – Yellow House

At the outset of Yellow House, with the tinkling piano and slow-building ambiance, it’s easy to see why many in the music world are hailing Grizzly Bear as 2007’s version of Arcade Fire. Sure, comparisons can be made. Both have an affinity for strings and intricate detail. However, while Arcade Fire dabbles in epic, Grizzly Bear forms their low-fi grandiose around the hushed and echoed, down to the last note.
Not content with being labeled members of the relatively new “freak-folk” genre (see Joanna Newsom, Devendra Banhart), the band has suggested clever new genre titles such as “cave-core” on their Myspace page. The band takes the approach of feeling out their songs: The flow and feel of the songs from beginning to end must be perfect, and is as important as the flow of a novel. Within the album you’ll hear everything from banjo to piano commonly incorporated, even an adaptation of a 1930’s waltz written by the lead singer’s great aunt (The haunting “Marla”).
This is a fantastic album upon first listen, but it really just gets better from there. From the wailing choruses on “Knife” and “Central and Remote” to the detached epic “Colorado,” there is not a single weak spot on this album. Had I gotten it before Christmas, it would have been very high in The Idiot’s Top 10 of 2006. This album, quite frankly, is addictive. You’ll forget half of what you’ve ever listened to the first time you make it through Yellow House, and that’s not a bad thing. Catch these guys at the Local 509 in Chapel Hill March 3rd. I give this album 5 stars. Big ones.

Album Review for Nas – Hip-Hop Is Dead

That’s quite an ominous title for someone putting out a rap album, but this New York MC is quite adept at making it live for at least another hour or so. The continuing adaptation of rap to beats with pianos and strings and other things baroque shows that, if anything hip-hop is more alive than ever.
From the opening track, Nas brings the fury in a variety of ways. From the boom-boom gangsta aspects of “Money over Bullsh*t” and “Not Going Back” to the 60’s soul inklings on “Where Are They Now?” Nas shows he is not afraid to widen his hip-hop horizons. Jay-Z drops in for a fantastic collaboration on the orchestra-laced “Black Republicans,” but the best song on the album is the title track, which transforms Iron Butterfly’s 1968 hippie anthem “Inna Gadda Da Vida” into a bass-heavy gem with a fantastic beat, in what is probably the catchiest thing I’ve heard come out of rap since I started paying attention.
This album drags a bit on the back half, as it seems what would have been an excellent 45 minute album got spread a few tracks too thin. It’s still a solid work though, and I give it four stars.

Album Review for The Shins – Wincing the Night Away

Here on The Shins third album, a brilliant follow-up to the brilliant Chutes Too Narrow and Oh, Inverted World, we see, if anything an expansion upon the success of the band’s first two albums.
On Wincing the Night Away, The Shins go bigger, if not wholly better. The music is very decidedly standard Shins, but they’ve branched out here in a way I can’t seem to quite put my finger on. On the whole, the songs seem grander and bigger, maybe even slightly, slightly heavier. From the opening “Sleeping Lessons” to the fantastically catchy “Phantom Limb,” you get the feeling that you’re listening to the soundtrack of something quite important. “Sea Legs” branches out in an almost-synth way, while I can’t shake the fact that “Turn on Me” is some long-lost track from The Adventures of Pete & Pete.
The Shins have a remarkable and rare proclivity for creating albums that don’t require you to even touch the fast-forward button. They’ve turned in yet another gem here. Though they’ve given us three fantastic albums in the past 6 years, the way these guys are going, their best may still be yet to come. Four ½ stars.

The Clipse-Hell Hath No Fury

After six long years of waiting, The Clipse, Malice and Pusha-T, are finally back with their sophomore record, “Hell Hath No Fury”. Discovered in 1993 by Pharrell Williams, these Virginia by way of the Bronx natives and brothers are as hot as it gets. Originally signed by Elektra Records in 1997, their Neptunes produced debut album, “Exclusive Audio Footage” had one released single, “The Funeral”. Though the song was well received by fans, the single did not do well commercially and the album was shelved. In 2001, Clipse signed to Arista records via Pharell Williams Star Trax Entertainment imprint. The end product was there first actually released debut record, “Lord Willin” (which debut at number 1 on the hip hop charts). Around this time, they rhymed on Justin Timberlake’s hit song, “Like I Love You”. The Clipse were poised for bigger and better things when label drama slowed their quickening momentum once again. After label restructuring, corporate prioritizing and much frustration, they started their on label, “Re-Up Records”. Known for their molassified lyrical flow and street wise “not ashamed that we used to sling” bravado, The Clipse have taken their game to the next level. Almost every track on this disc is a bonified club banger. It’s really sad that the corporate side of the music business gets in the way of us receiving music when we are supposed to get it. Oh well, better late than never…5 Stars