Lake Street Drive: Bad Self Portraits

Lake Street Drive's new album, Bad Self Portraits, is an upbeat, unusual, funky, bluesy, jazz-influenced pop collection. Lead singer Rachael Price has some killer pipes. Fave tracks: "You Go Down Smooth" and "Just Ask." http://media.mtvnservices.com/embed/mgid:cms:video:colbertnation.com:432876The Colbert Report Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Video Archive Buy @ Amazon Lake Street Drive Official Site http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=1638028599/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/artwork=small/transparent=true/

St. Vincent

Turns out the first single from St. Vincent's self-titled release was very representative of the album's overall sound. "Digital Witness" is the stand out track and one of my favorite songs of the year so far, but tracks like the opener "Rattlesnake" and "Regret" share the same kind of dissonant, off kilter, futuristic art-rock style....

Pharrell: GIRL

Like most of the human population, we in the Muruch household love Pharrell's cheery smash "Happy" from the Despicable Me 2 soundtrack. The irrepressibly upbeat, Oscar-nominated tune is also featured on former Neptunes and N.E.R.D. singer-producer Pharrell's new sophomore solo album, GIRL. From the Jackson meets Timberlake vibe of the opener "Marilyn Monroe" through the...

A Great Big World: Is There Anybody Out There?

The hit heartbroken single "Say Something" is by far the standout track on A Great Big World's Is there Anybody Out There? The album includes both the original, plaintive melody and the Christina Aguilera duet version. The rest of the album has a lot of warmth and charm - of the quirky, Ben Folds variety....

Muruch’s Top 25 Albums of 2013

It's that time of year again! Below are my personal favorite albums of 2013. This year the list fell together fairly easily - due both to the excellence of the following albums and the lackluster nature of their competition. Though I'm shocked by my #1 album, which only recently knocked two other favorites from the...

Declan O’Rourke: Mag Pai Zai

Irish singer-songwriter Declan O'Rourke's Mag Pai Zai is an album I kept meaning to review but never seem to remember until I stumble upon it again. The problem is the standout tracks are so brilliantly amazing they cast a very dark shadow over the weaker tracks. Subsequently, the album is not very memorable as a...

Elton John: The Diving Board

Elton John released The Diving Board, his first solo album in seven years, back in September but I only recently bothered to listen to it and now I'm kicking myself for taking so long to hear this beautiful, masterful record. Elton is one of those artists I often take for granted, mostly because his public...

Richie Havens: …His Last Songs

As I wrote when Richie Havens died earlier this year, the legendary folk singer – best known for opening the original Woodstock festival – had one of the most distinctive and lovely voices in all of music history. Before his death, Havens completed recording two final studio albums: Mixed Bag for Kids and ...His Last...

Beth Hart & Joe Bonamassa: Seesaw

By: Brendan Seesaw is the follow-up to Beth Hart and Joe Bonamassa's 2011 album, Don't Explain, and features a diverse selection of covers originally recorded by artists such as Tina Turner, Al Green, Billie Holiday and Nina Simone. Ultimately, it's a hit and miss collection, but the hits will knock you out. Seesaw includes a...

Hellogoodbye: Everything is Debatable

Hellogoodbye's third album, Everything's Debatable, will be released on October 29th via Old Friends Records. Everything is Debatable resurrects the electro-pop style of their debut, Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs!, and adds a strong dose of New Wave and Neo-Disco to the mix. It may surprise some readers to learn that I like Hellogoodbye. They aren't...