Mickey Avalon
S/T
4.5/5

Motley Crue. Michael Hutchence. Mickey Avalon. They’re all part of that tiny clique of freaks in music who warrant staying as far the fuck away from as possible, for fear of infection and seduction in equal measures. Avalon ties the vibe to the tape with panache and it’s hard to argue with insta-classics like “Jane Fonda” or “Mr Right.” The Avalon sound is Har Mar begging for mercy at a bukkake festival. Not for everyone, but awesome for those who like that sort of thing.
- Kid Lupin

Converge
No Heroes
4.5/5 

I’d like to tell you I’m surprised with what Converge have put together here but I’m not. This band has always carved its own path as the hardcore band to be measured against (at least since When Forever Comes Crashing). On No Heroes Converge have moved away from the punk rock based sounds on “You Fail Me” into a chaotic melee of noise. The biggest change though is that on No Heroes lyrics are not focused on failed relationships, but instead on a failed society, which makes the feel of the record all that much darker. All that said the album leaves you feeling like Keanu Reeves, by the end all you can get out is a haggard “Whoa!”
- josh fucking last

Five Times August
Fry Street
2.8/5

Yawn. Sure Brad Skistmas – the whole of Five Times August – can sing and play a mean guitar, but he reluctantly falls flat with Fry Street, an album that is both well played and boring.
From the opening track “First Time For Everything,” Skistmas shows off his notable talents but continues using the same chords and beats throughout all the tracks on the album making it feel like one really long song rather than 11 individual tracks. If I wanted to hear a really long song I would drop some acid and put on “Stairway To Heaven” not go out and buy a pop album that would still be boring on an acid trip.
With a little help, and maybe a new producer, Five Times August could really turn out an album worth enjoying, until then take note of Skistmas and his talent but pass on Fry Street altogether.
-Julie Hunter

The Heart Attacks
Hellbound and Heartless
2/5

I wanted to like this. Three quarters of Rancid are on this album. Joan Jett is on this album. There is a guy who looks like Cheetah Chrome in the band. Another guy in the band is wearing a Discharge shirt on the cover of the album. They have a pretty rock’n’roll sounding name. There is even a CCR cover on the album. But outside of Maximum RnR, Turbonegro and maybe a few others, this style of rock gets pretty boring, pretty fast.
- jfl

Lennex
Part Math, Part Euphoria
2.5/5

Lennex definitely has a bit of an edge when it comes to self-promotion, due to the fact that their lead singer, Phil Ritchie, was a participant on the reality show Rock Star: Supernova. The first song on the album, “Drifting Away,” shows immediate promise with its driving opening guitar riff, catchy chorus vocals and professional production tendencies. As the disc progresses, two things become immediately apparent. First, there is far too much gloss applied in the editing, removing much of the human characteristic from each song. The band melodies seem too fluid to be real, and the vocals are so compressed that any emotion seems artificial. Secondly, Ritchie has a tendency to veer off-key and overextend his vocal range, like in “Bleeding My Heart Out” when it feels as though he is channelling his inner ‘dashhound in heat’ toward the end. This being said, if one can overlook the negatives the songs are fairly conducive to casual, radio-friendly listening, so if you’re aiming for something to fill a musical void, Lennex might be worth a try.
- Kate Davis

Natalie MacMaster
Yours Truly
4.5/5

When it comes to Celtic music you are either a fan or not. Clearly, by the 4.5 rating, I am a fan, and Natalie MacMaster makes it fun to be so.
From the old classics like “Danny Boy” and “Flea As A Bird” to Natalie’s own inspired songs “Farewell To Peter”(a tribute to the late Peter Jennings) and “Cape Classico” MacMaster shows that she is as talented a writer as she is a player.
With her unbelievable ability to turn a fiddle into a fun and enjoyable instrument to listen to and her collaborations with various artists including husband Donnell Leahy and Michael McDonald, MacMaster gives us an album that almost makes me want to take an Irish step dancing class – almost.
-Julie Hunter

Swan Lake
Beast Moans
3.5/5

Do you like Wolf Parade? Do you like Arcade Fire? Are you into the Montreal scene of Art Rock? Then you’ll like this. The epic sound of Swan echoes like it’s supposed to be the soundtrack to a movie about floating through space on drugs. It’s psychedelic and twisted and erratic, but still flows melodically. It’s very good music but has no commercial merit. It cribs the sound of late Beatles and makes it a little more sluggish and trippy. “The Partisan But He’s Got To Know” sounds like a terrifyingly beautiful children’s birthday party on acid. If you have given up drugs listen to this record and you’ll have a flashback.
- Jackson Main 

Vains Of Jenna
Lit Up/Let Down 
3/5

Apparently the 80’s are very very far from dead. It just lives in Sweden. In these four dudes, who are pulling off the craziest 80’s hair metal band the 21st Century has seen to date. The vocals are raw and crunchy, with a little of the Axl Rose wail mixed in for good measure. The guitar solos are present and fairly plentiful. Just look at a picture of these guys are you can imagine backstage parties with groupies and booze galore. It can’t hurt that Vains Of Jenna are keeping some pretty good company. As the first release off of Filthy Note, the new label opened by Mr. Bam Margera of Jackass fame, Lit Up/Let Down is definitely a statement. When you peel off the showy exterior of the band and the tracks as a whole, Vains Of Jenna aren’t as full of cheese as some may originally assume from their appearance. It may not be for everyone, but Vains Of Jenna are definitely going to have some rockers raising their fists.
- Stephanie Joudrey


Various Artists
American Hardcore Soundtrack: A History of American Punk Rock 1980-1986
5/5

Remember on the Simpsons when they had the contest to build dioramas? And Ralph’s project is just a bunch of Star Wars toys, still in the package? Remember principal Skinner’s response? “They’re all here!”
- jfl

Babyshambles
The Blinding EP
4/5

It’s impressive that Pete Doherty is still alive and that he pulled himself together long enough to record a 5 song EP. Even more impressive is that it’s really good. Doherty has evolved his sound past the Libertines and come around the corner building a character sound for himself that is eternally Doherty. He has managed to build a small album using album-building conventions but condensed it into six songs. Essentially he took out all the shitty filler an album may contain and simplified it down to the essential. A beginning, middle and an end.
Doherty’s simple song writing and understanding of convention has marked him as a great pop musician and if this EP is any indication the full length could be a very handsome record. Let’s just hope Doherty dies after he makes it and not before.
- Jackson Main

Desmond Dekker
...In Memoriam 1941 – 2006
4/5

Listening to Desmond Dekker takes me back to easier times, sitting around with friends getting high listening to The Specials and The Clash…ahh Desmond.
This new disc is a powerful time machine and sadly the last we shall get from the man who made Ska what it is today.
Going back in the studio to re record some of the hits that made the man what he was ...In Memoriam 1941 – 2006 is a fitting end to a great career. With re-recorded versions of his classics’ like “Israelites” and “007(Shanty Town)” all you really need to do is spin a fatty and sit back, just let Desmond do the rest.
If you’re a fan of real Ska not No Doubt-Madonna Ska then this is a must for your collection.
An' now rudeboys 'ave a wail
- Zugha

Josh Groban
Awake
2.5/5

Music is here to lift us up and inspire us. Josh Groban and his voice are here for pretty much the same reasons. His operatic vocals and slow melodies may not be for everyone, but it’s hard to say the man doesn’t have talent. He could fill any room with this voice. That said Awake is probably the perfect gift to buy your grandmother. With five tracks sung in Italian and Spanish, I can’t imagine many young people who aren’t also virtuosos sitting around listening to this in their bedroom. He’s enlisted the helped of Imogen Heap to write a track (“Now Or Never”), Ladysmith Black Mambazo (a South African chorus) sing back up on two tracks (“Lullaby” and “Weeping”). Amazingly, the most interesting track is one with Herbie Hancock and also closes the disc. Josh Groban can definitely sing, it’s just a matter of whether you have the patience for him or not.
- Stephanie Joudrey

Jay-Z
Kingdom Come
2.5/5

The self-proclaimed “Michael Jordan of recordin’” (as in, retiring at his best, then coming back to the game a fraction of what he once was) has returned, and he’s doing his best to make sure you don’t forget it. It’s impossible to listen to one track on this album without hearing “I’m back” or some variation of the phrase and, as such, it creates a bit of a distraction to what would have been a solid entry into the Jay-Z catalogue about six or seven years ago. As a comeback album though, it just makes you ask why. There’s nothing on this album that makes you think he really needed to return, and in that regard it’s a big disappointment. However, there is at least one track worth mentioning and it’s the closing track “Beach Chair” (produced by and featuring Coldplay’s Chris Martin). Sticking out like a sore thumb, the track is an interesting collaborative that somehow works and is worth a listen, but on the whole, “Boredom Come” may have been the more appropriate title and hopefully next time around he can prove to us why the world needed him back.
- Ryan O’Shaughnessy

Moka Only
The Station Agent
2/5

The new Moka Only release is a lesson in frustration toward what has potential to be a decent album, but falls short due to its overcrowded musical format. Consisting of 26 tracks, the longest just over two minutes long, the record is far too fragmented to really sink into. The interludes are barely distinguishable from the songs themselves, and some are so short that their presence is essentially unnecessary. Certain songs, such as “The Damn Summer/From The Grain” and “Quick Six/Upward Spiral,” use chilled, downtempo beats and old-school samples to encourage an underground urban hip-hop flow that is immediately likeable. However, their brief length doesn’t allow for any interaction with the tune, and you can’t help but feel a bit cheated that the mix is over just as you’re getting the feel for it. Overall, Moka would have done better to create two separate discs and flesh out the existing songs; but alas, what is left is a hint of true creative talent masked by an erratic, unpredictable composition arrangement.
- Kate Davis

Suicide Girls
Italian Villa
3.5/5

For those of you who don’t know, The Suicide Girls run quite the popular website that features many naked women in soft-core scenarios. This happens to be their second DVD release after 2005’s tour video. This documentary-style movie is set in a Tuscan villa (in Spain, according to Manko) where 25 of the European models have come to shoot while partying.
The appeal behind the girls is that they don’t look like your run-of-the-mill porn star; they look like the girls you would meet at a punk show or a rock club on Saturday night.
Italian Villa follows the girls around while they shoot various sets of photos (most of them get completely nude in the process) in the amazing scenery of Tuscany. Both the photographers and models explain what they wanted to do and how much of a good time they were having while drinking most of the day.
While this disc may not be for everyone, fans of the Suicide Girls will more than likely have a good time watching this flick.
- Dan Bilicki


Yusuf
An Other Cup
4.5/5

The Man Who Used To Be Cat Stevens has given the world a glorious disk to polish halos through the dark winter ahead. Like Springsteen’s Devils And Dust, An Other Cup is the sound of an artist who can see the big picture and articulate it flawlessly. Orchestral fight-music cover of Santa Esmerelda’s “Please Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” sits beside gorgeous acoustic whims that actually recall Nick Drake at a moment of clarity. “Greenfields, Golden Sands” will make you smile and cry simultaneously. Rejoice, rejoice! The Cat Is Back!
- Kid Lupin