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The Con by Tegan and Sara

Published: 2007-07-23 Provider: Artist Direct

"Slow Motion Addict" by Carina Round

With dark melodies and electric vocals, British singer Carina Round's criminally underrated album The Disconnection garnered comparisons to PJ Harvey. Slow Motion Addict employs the same jolting riffs and near-discordant melodies of her debut, but here producer Glen Ballard crafts Round's fearless intensity into a more structured form, giving the songs a new depth of sound. Varied and inventive, the album is infused with yearning lyrics and driven by a jagged hunger; balancing the songs' raw emotion with a sense of melodic control. Establishing her presence with aggressive guitars and a haunting high melody, opening track "Stolen Car" builds around a tense electronic undertone and crescendos reminiscent of Canadian pop duo Tegan and Sara's recent work. This intensity remains throughout as Round delivers a sequence of taut, complex songs that are both immediate and memorable. Meanwhile, the slower tracks are not soft, but coiled with this

Published: 2007-08-16 Provider: Artist Direct

Tegan and Sara Plan Never-Ending Tour

Tegan and Sara have announced two tours in support of last year's The Con LP. The first covers a lot of ground in Europe from

Published: 2008-02-25 Provider: Artist Direct

"Field Manual" by Christopher Walla

Chris Walla, Death Cab for Cutie guitarist and producer for acts like The Decemberists and Tegan and Sara, has put out solo material before—usually lo-fi recordings released under a pseudonym. Field Manual, his first proper solo record, gets the full treatment of Walla's trademark shiny production. And from a strictly musical standpoint, the album is characteristically strong. It's filled with melodic washes and intricate instrumentation, though Walla does occasionally sound silly when he's trying too hard to rock, as on "Archer v. Light." However, what's been reported about Field Manual ad nauseam is that it's a political record—which is true. At the same time, Walla's politics seem to be intensely private. There's no flag burning here, nor does he call out Bush by name. The most direct comment made is in reference to the post-Katrina FEMA trailers on "Everyone Needs a Home," but even then he just wants to fall asleep next to the love of his

Published: 2008-01-31 Provider: Artist Direct