Michael Penn is a less prolific, more Beatles-influenced version of Ron Sexsmith, whom I wrote about last week.
Like Sexsmith, Penn is as consistent as the sunrise — quality-wise — when it comes to delivering his brand of polished power pop.
But unlike Sexsmith, who reliably releases albums every couple of years or more, Penn is prone to long hiatuses.
I’m not certain, but this might be the first time a Random Weekend selection has been an instrumental track.
I guess that isn’t too much of a surprise because I don’t own a whole lot of instrumentals. A few classical CDs and a half dozen or so movie soundtracks, plus the odd instrumental track on albums that otherwise feature vocals.
But still, given some of the odd patterns that have emerged over the Random Weekend years, you’d expect them to come up at least once in awhile.
The last new album I plan to buy in 2013 is also one of the best. Guess who’s back… back again?
Yes, Eminem has returned with his first studio album since 2010’s Recovery and he is revisiting the record that exploded him into the cultural and political conversation at the turn of the millennium.
The Marshall Mathers LP 2 has a lot in common with its predecessor — so much so that it sometimes seems like it too was released in the year 2000. How else can you explain another Backstreet Boys reference?
Listening to a new Toad the Wet Sprocket album is like having a friend over for dinner whom you haven’t seen in 20 years.
It’s hard for me to be objective when assessing these guys because the albums they put out in the early to mid 90s made up the soundtrack of my 20s — notably, the first years I spent with my future wife.
Eight months ago I horrified my most loyal readers when I spent three weeks on a song-by-song exploration of Arcade Fire’s Grammy-winning 2010 album The Suburbs.
I wanted to better understand what made the band such critical darlings, and I actually did emerge from that experiment with a much deeper appreciation of the craft that went into that album.
Meet Me In Montauk 