http://dir.salon.com/topics/music_reviews/?source=rss&aim=music_reviews en-us Copyright 2007 Salon.com. Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:10:00 PDT By Heather Havrilesky Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:10:00 PDT http://www.salon.com/ent/critics_picks/2009/10/07/meshell_ndegeocello/index.html?source=rss http://www.salon.com/ent/critics_picks/2009/10/07/meshell_ndegeocello/index.html?source=rss Meshell Ndegeocello's unpredictable eighth album curses the darkness, then dives right in By Heather Havrilesky Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:10:00 PDT http://www.salon.com/ent/critics_picks/2009/07/29/bibio/index.html?source=rss http://www.salon.com/ent/critics_picks/2009/07/29/bibio/index.html?source=rss Bibio's eclectic new album sounds like an unholy threeway between Fleet Foxes, Beck and Funkadelic By Stephanie Zacharek Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:10:00 PDT http://www.salon.com/ent/critics_picks/2009/07/23/phoenix/index.html?source=rss http://www.salon.com/ent/critics_picks/2009/07/23/phoenix/index.html?source=rss Winsome, accessible pop songs from a band so cool they're willing to be ridiculous By Heather Havrilesky Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:10:00 PDT http://www.salon.com/ent/critics_picks/2009/07/21/bowerbirds/index.html?source=rss http://www.salon.com/ent/critics_picks/2009/07/21/bowerbirds/index.html?source=rss Bowerbirds make restless lullabies about the joy of holding hands among the squirrels and the poison ivy By Kevin Berger Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:10:00 PDT http://www.salon.com/ent/music/review/2009/04/07/neko_case/index.html?source=rss http://www.salon.com/ent/music/review/2009/04/07/neko_case/index.html?source=rss On her new album, "Middle Cyclone," the feral songstress sounds like a minstrel along Cormac McCarthy's apocalyptic road. By Stephanie Zacharek Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:10:00 PDT http://www.salon.com/ent/music/review/2009/02/26/lily_allen/index.html?source=rss http://www.salon.com/ent/music/review/2009/02/26/lily_allen/index.html?source=rss On her gleeful new album, the British pop star defends her right to have good sex and be just a girl -- in the best possible way. By Louis P. Masur Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:10:00 PDT http://www.salon.com/ent/music/review/2009/01/27/springsteen/index.html?source=rss http://www.salon.com/ent/music/review/2009/01/27/springsteen/index.html?source=rss This should be Bruce's promised land. So why is his vision of America still so bleak? By Simon Reynolds Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:10:00 PDT http://www.salon.com/ent/music/review/2008/11/29/kanye_gnr/index.html?source=rss http://www.salon.com/ent/music/review/2008/11/29/kanye_gnr/index.html?source=rss Axl Rose and Kanye West dropped their larger-than-life albums this week. And one of them lives up to the hype. By Michaelangelo Matos Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:10:00 PDT http://www.salon.com/ent/music/review/2008/10/21/of_montreal/index.html?source=rss http://www.salon.com/ent/music/review/2008/10/21/of_montreal/index.html?source=rss Channeling Prince and David Bowie, Of Montreal's Kevin Barnes has become an unlikely sex symbol. By James Hannaham Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:10:00 PDT http://www.salon.com/ent/music/review/2008/09/30/tvotr/index.html?source=rss http://www.salon.com/ent/music/review/2008/09/30/tvotr/index.html?source=rss With their passionate new album, "Dear Science," TV on the Radio stake their claim as a great American rock band. By Michaelangelo Matos Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:10:00 PDT http://www.salon.com/ent/music/review/2008/08/19/fiery_furnaces/index.html?source=rss http://www.salon.com/ent/music/review/2008/08/19/fiery_furnaces/index.html?source=rss The Fiery Furnaces know how to make perfect pop songs, and they know how to rock -- but on their first live album, they just want to tear things apart. By Judy Berman Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:10:00 PDT http://www.salon.com/ent/music/review/2008/08/07/conor_oberst/index.html?source=rss http://www.salon.com/ent/music/review/2008/08/07/conor_oberst/index.html?source=rss Singer-songwriter Conor Oberst was my guilty pleasure for years. But now that he has changed from angsty teen to Johnny Cash wannabe, why can't I enjoy his music? By James Hannaham Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:10:00 PDT http://www.salon.com/ent/music/review/2008/07/28/nine_inch_nails/index.html?source=rss http://www.salon.com/ent/music/review/2008/07/28/nine_inch_nails/index.html?source=rss Trent Reznor doesn't just want you to steal his new songs, he wants you to tear them up. By Michaelangelo Matos Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:10:00 PDT http://www.salon.com/ent/music/review/2008/07/14/hold_steady/index.html?source=rss http://www.salon.com/ent/music/review/2008/07/14/hold_steady/index.html?source=rss The Hold Steady are a New York indie rock band for people who hate New York indie rock bands, and their new album chronicles the country's dark underbelly. By Jess Harvell Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:10:00 PDT http://www.salon.com/ent/music/review/2008/06/19/lil_wayne/index.html?source=rss http://www.salon.com/ent/music/review/2008/06/19/lil_wayne/index.html?source=rss He insists he's "the best rapper alive" -- and many agree. But can his smash-hit new album really redeem a flagging genre? By Stephanie Zacharek Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:10:00 PDT http://www.salon.com/ent/music/review/2008/05/28/scarjo/index.html?source=rss http://www.salon.com/ent/music/review/2008/05/28/scarjo/index.html?source=rss On her debut album the velvety-voiced actress's dreamily erotic charms are not lost in translation. By James Hannaham Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:10:00 PDT http://www.salon.com/ent/music/review/2008/04/30/madonna/index.html?source=rss http://www.salon.com/ent/music/review/2008/04/30/madonna/index.html?source=rss On "Hard Candy," the 49-year-old disco queen gracefully walks a tightrope between sex, motherhood and aging. By James Hannaham Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:10:00 PDT http://www.salon.com/ent/music/review/2008/04/17/portishead/index.html?source=rss http://www.salon.com/ent/music/review/2008/04/17/portishead/index.html?source=rss The moody British band is back, but they've ditched sensual black grooves and embraced their inner goth. By Jess Harvell Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:10:00 PDT http://www.salon.com/ent/music/review/2008/04/15/punk/index.html?source=rss http://www.salon.com/ent/music/review/2008/04/15/punk/index.html?source=rss Forget the slick mall-punk that rules the radio. If you like your music chaotic and bratty, you need to hear Times New Viking and Be Your Own Pet. By Miles Marshall Lewis Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:10:00 PDT http://www.salon.com/ent/music/review/2008/04/03/gnarls_barkley/index.html?source=rss http://www.salon.com/ent/music/review/2008/04/03/gnarls_barkley/index.html?source=rss Are Gnarls Barkley's wacky costumes and goofy antics just a smoke screen for the massively successful duo's angst? By Kevin Berger Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:10:00 PDT http://www.salon.com/ent/music/review/2008/03/31/destroyer/index.html?source=rss http://www.salon.com/ent/music/review/2008/03/31/destroyer/index.html?source=rss Why the dark and madly poetic Destroyer is my favorite rock band in ages. By Zach Baron Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:10:00 PDT http://www.salon.com/ent/music/review/2008/01/25/magnetic_fields_cat_power/index.html?source=rss http://www.salon.com/ent/music/review/2008/01/25/magnetic_fields_cat_power/index.html?source=rss Disguised as Magnetic Fields and Cat Power, Stephin Merritt and Chan Marshall are still playing games with the singer-songwriter archetype. By Simon Reynolds Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:10:00 PDT http://www.salon.com/ent/music/review/2007/12/08/britbox/index.html?source=rss http://www.salon.com/ent/music/review/2007/12/08/britbox/index.html?source=rss "The Brit Box" evokes an era of pale, sensitive, eyelinered boys -- and the Anglophiles who loved them. By Bomani Jones Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:10:00 PDT http://www.salon.com/ent/music/review/2007/11/06/jay_z/index.html?source=rss http://www.salon.com/ent/music/review/2007/11/06/jay_z/index.html?source=rss The hip-hop icon's inspired new release, "American Gangster," is his best album in years -- and the best rap album of 2007. By James Hannaham Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:10:00 PDT http://www.salon.com/ent/music/review/2007/10/31/britney/index.html?source=rss http://www.salon.com/ent/music/review/2007/10/31/britney/index.html?source=rss Spears calls us out in her new album, "Blackout," giving bad sex a half-assed hard sell. Do we still want a piece of her?