Menos El Oso / Minus the Bear

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"This release, like much of Minus the Bear's previous material, is nearly flawless. The band has tapped into such an original sound, with their layered, single-note guitar playing, driving drums, and superior bass lines, that not many can argue with them. Oh, and the vocals are pretty much flawless as well. This is a band that continues to completely impress, and has only gotten stronger with each release they have put out." ( from Rocknworld.com )

Minus The Bear don't just make exceptional, well played out music, they pour so much feeling into the song you just can't help but feel identified with one of them. This album is just full of beautiful music you won't stop listening to.
Enjoy.

Clandestino / Manu Chao

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"The first solo album released by the former frontman of Mano Negra, Clandestino is an enchanting trip through Latin-flavored worldbeat rock, reliant on a potpourri of musical styles from traditional Latin and salsa to dub to rock & roll to French pop to experimental rock to techno. Chao's voice tends to be a bit nasally, but the best songs ("Mentira," "Mama Call," and the silly novelty "Bongo Bong") here benefit from his infectious, freewheeling delivery which incorporates balladry, chorus vocals, rapping, and tossed-off spoken-word passages. Just about every track has odd sampled bits from what sound like pirate radio-station broadcasts (a possible link to the title). There are so many great ideas on this record that it's difficult to digest in one listen, but multiple plays reveal the great depth of Manu Chao's artistry. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide" (from msn.com)

This is some relaxing stuff. Seriously, it's a creative genius even though Manu Chao portrays more of a critic, like a demand, to goverment n stuff, he's a rebel through the music, and it suits him quite well. I love his music, and his ideas published in it.
You should give him a listen, I'll bet you won't regret it.

Zeitgeist / The Smashing Pumpkins

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"By that standard, Zeitgeist, performed entirely by Corgan and Chamberlin, is a Pumpkins record – and a good one. Lyrically, Zeitgeist is the least self-absorbed record Corgan has ever written, although not quite the electric newspaper some song titles suggest. There is more fear of frying than actual fight and social remedy in "Doomsday Clock" and "For God and Country," the latter sounding more like Corgan's pledge of allegiance to the Cure. The closest thing to victory over Dick Cheney is the promise in "Starz" – "We cannot die. . . . We are stars/We are" – which rocks better than it reads, with Robert Fripp-like snakes of guitar and a closing frenzy of staccato power chords and Chamberlin pummeling his cymbals into splinters.

The best thing about Zeitgeist is that Corgan is back to what he does best: hard-rock architecture. His wall-of-guitars overdubs are exhilarating in their details: the harmonized squeals in "7 Shades of Black"; the creeping buzz of "Tarantula"; the long, howling solo, sinking in echo, in "United States." The Pumpkins were never more exciting in the Nineties than when Corgan unleashed his inner Tony Iommi all over his inner Robert Smith. That is what happens on Zeitgeist, which makes it a strong new start for Corgan and Chamberlin, no matter what they call themselves. " (from Rolling Stone.com)

A comeback from any band probably won't sound this good. This album proves that one CAN go back to it's roots, displaying the power felt by previous top-chart Smashing Pumpkins records, even if it wasn't critically acclaimed.
I still like it, and you should to. They still continue to define a genre, with really good music in an unique way.
:)
You know what to do.

I Bet You Like Drugs Instead Of Sex / Rachael

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Have you ever felt you needed some breathing room? If you have, this EP is your breath of fresh air. Rachel brings fresh sounds to the scene, making you get pumped, or just mellowing out, relaxing to the groove. After hearing this I can't wait for the LP to come out, it's like, the music you love just got a taste of the present and it plays in perfect harmony. Rachel won't just make you feel you're "going up in smoke", it will leave you wanting for more. So stop, relax and give it a listen. Support the music.

Antics / Interpol

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"New York's Interpol released a landmark debut album that shook up the indie world and strongly influenced many of the genre's major players. Drawing on the musical flourishes of that album, the band have crafted a follow-up every bit as dynamic and no less brilliant. Returning to the dark and moody landscape inhabited by Turn On The Bright Lights, Antics is just as atmospheric as its predecessor, but is a much different album. Interpol has allowed themselves a little more breathing room this go around, and the songs sound cleaner and less dense. The melodies remain as sharp as ever - if not sharper - while the music feels somewhat stripped down, even taking on an immediate, almost-live, feel." (from ugo.com)

Interpol have outdone themselves with almost every track they play. Not only is their sound amazing but it fills u up with excitement and practically makes the music come alive. This is their second album, but oh is it awesome.
Just listen to it and leave me a comment with a smiley face in it. I'll know what happened. :)

Neon Bible / Arcade Fire

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"The Arcade Fire's follow-up to 2004's Funeral looks and sounds like an elaborate riddle. The oblique lyrics are overwhelmingly ominous; the murky liner notes—with their flip-book images of a young girl on stage and costumed synchronized swimmers in inky water—look like production stills from a David Lynch film; and the music portends something sinister. Through Neon Bible, the band is seemingly sending a beacon to other reasonable people forced underground by the world's insanity. It's almost like a musical version of Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. The penultimate song "No Cars Go," which originally appeared on the group's self-titled EP, shows the Arcade Fire at its Arcade Fieriest: A gloriously triumphant passage fills the final two minutes, built with a propulsive beat and bass line, and a chorus of voices that recalls the beginning of Funeral's "Wake Up." A hopeful hymn amidst songs that radiate despair, "No Cars Go" makes the similarly triumphant "Rebellion (Lies)" from the first album sound like a funeral dirge. If there weren't some reason left to believe, it'd be pointless to make such a gorgeous album." (from avclub.com)

I think all that can be said is said. There is no point refusing to beleive that this album is just extremely well thought out music with a deeper meaning.
Just listen to it, see if you can resist falling in love with it.

Houses Of The Holy / Led Zeppelin

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"When George Harrison met John Bonham, the Beatle told the Led Zeppelin drummer, "The problem with your band is you don't do any ballads." Singer Robert Plant and guitarist Jimmy Page could have taken umbrage -- they had already written the gorgeous "Going to California" two years earlier, for God's sake. Instead, they rose to the challenge. "The Rain Song" is seven minutes of exquisite heartache, complete with Mellotron strings from John Paul Jones. And in tribute to Harrison, the opening two notes are recognizably borrowed from his ballad "Something."
Led Zeppelin took the title of Houses of the Holy from their term for the oversize arenas and stadia where they played live. After five years together, they were ambitious and confident enough to believe they could meet any musical challenge; this album even includes a swinging take on reggae, "D'yer Mak'er." "Over the Hills and Far Away" builds in intensity just as relentlessly as "Stairway to Heaven." And "The Ocean," the love song for Plant's baby daughter that closes the album, is a mighty stomp that could rattle the teeth of fans in the last row of Madison Square Garden. The epic scale suited Zeppelin: They had the largest crowds, the loudest rock songs, the most groupies, the fullest manes of hair. Eventually excess would turn into bombast, but on Houses, it still provided inspiration. "(from RollingStone.com)

One of the best albums from them and of all time.
Paige pulls it off and so does all the band, emotional, sensational, just plain awesome.
Go get your Led out.

Tiger & The Duke / The Sound Of Animals Fighting

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"Describing The Sound Of Animals Fighting may well be one of the hardest things to do in this review, let alone reviewing the actual CD itself. TSOAF are a group of musicians from well known bands like Finch, Circa Survive and RX Bandits. Their identities were kept secret during recording as not to deal with issues with copyright and contract and such, and the band members were each given nicknames of animals.There are 14 members of the band, and I won't go into great detail with them all. Anthony Green (ex-Saosin/Circa Survive) and Rich Balling provide vocals, Matt Embree and Chris Tsagakis (RX Bandits) play lead guitar and drums, and Randy and Derek (Finch) pull out rhythm guitar and bass.The first noticable thing about this "album" is that it only has 4 proper songs. The rest are interludes, intros and outros. Technically, there is only 19 minutes worth of music played by the musicians above on the record, but oh boy is it good.The fact that these musicians have teamed up is amazing to me, and it's great to see Anthony Green back screaming his lungs out to what can only be described as "progressive rock". Each song is a new level for the team of musicians, providing a new taste of the band's creative minds." (from Sputnikmusic.com)

The amazing sound given birth by these terrific musicians makes you wanna grab and instrument and learn something yourself. Take a deep breath and enjoy one of the best sounds out there right now. It's filled with technicalities and a whole lot more to keep your ears plunged into it for a while. ;]

Death Cult Armaggedon / Dimmu Borgir

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"Death Cult Armageddon" was without a doubt one of the most highly anticipated metal releases of 2003 and I was one of those who were awaiting this album with tense curiosity. "Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia" (yet another completely meaningless title created with the help of a dictionary I guess...) was a groundbreaking album for Dimmu Borgir as they took a step towards a more aggressive and less symphonic sound. That trend partly continues with their new album as they try to construct a bridge between symphonic arrangements and aggressive guitars. In my humble opinion I must say that they have found a perfect balance between the two on this album. Thanks to the 46 piece Prague Philharmonic Orchestra the symphonic arrangements sound more professional and majestic than ever before and this is probably the most ambitious black metal album ever recorded to this day. It is extremely difficult to point out something that could have been done better on this album and it will be very interesting to see what Dimmu Borgir will produce the next time. I would not have said no to an even heavier sound in a couple of songs, more aggressive vocals from Shagrath and perhaps more focus on creating memorable guitar riffs but compared to most other releases of the year "Death Cult Armageddon" is nothing less than audial art taken to perfection." (from Tartarean Desire)

OM*G. As odd as it may seem, this is a great album by great artist. They might not be your favorite genre, but hey, it's still really good music. It just makes you wanna bang your head and let out the monster in you, get's you all pumped and ready to go. You should give it a listen, if you can. This ranks as one of the highest in any metal library you may have. If you don't have one... take this as a start. =]

Crystal Castles/Crystal Castles

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"With all of the turmoil surrounding Toronto-based, electronic pop duo Crystal Castles and their dispute with artist Trevor Brown, it’s easy to hang a cloud over their music. Apparently, the two parties are dead-locked in a legal issue regarding the band’s illegal or legal use (depends on who you ask) of one of his paintings. Surprisingly, the digipak album comes with a small poster of the questioned painting at hand — oh the things you learn when you purchase music instead of downloading everything! Well, that’s another topic for another day. Through all of this, it is worth noting that with their self-titled debut, Ethan Kath and Alice Glass have concocted one of the best electronic albums of the year.

The album is filled with soft and mellow songs like “Magic Spells” that are utterly captivating. Sampling Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five’s classic song, “The Message,” the way Kath manipulates the sounds is astounding. Other songs like the abrasive and edgy “Alice Practice” are nice offerings of punk rock music. The story is that this song was a complete accident as Kath recorded Glass one day when she was warming up, laid it to some frenetic video game sounds and hyper beats and mashed everything together. The fruition is a loud and screeching song that adds dimension to the album’s overall electronic sound.

The band takes their name from the fictional castle in the “She-Ra” animated series and are notorious for combining a fresh mix of grimy beats, melodic undertones, punk and rock music and video game sounds. The band placed an Atari 5200 sound chip inside one of their keyboards to help in creating these distinctive and interesting tones.

What really holds the album together is the way it is stylishly sequenced. Change of paces happen and come in at just the right times. After the water-bubble sounds of “Knights,” the next song, “Love and Caring,” features the catchiest drum beat on the album along with Glass’ shrieking vocals and yes, more video game sounds! And the bookends are brilliant choices: “Untrust Us” begins with an infectious melody line and encompasses some of Glass’ prettiest vocals; “Tell Me What to Swallow” ends the album with showcasing a human side to the band as they strip everything down and get away from all of the machines to create a somber and gentle, ethereal ending. Glass practically whispers the words and the music is lifting and placid.

Whatever ends up happening with the Castles’ legal issues, we shouldn’t overlook what a strong album this is. With Crystal Castles’ infectious, eclectic music, this is easily one of the highlights of the year and a great addition to the super-genre that is electronic music."

Find the full review here

What do you get when you throw in an atari, a gameboy, and LSD into the mix? What the f***, right? Well, the answer is actually quite simple: Crystal Castles. I seriously fell in love with the album on the first playthrough, and with each time I listen to it, the love grows. Admittedly, it's not for everyone, but those in the mood for something trippy might find that the Canadian duo is right up their alley =]