MUSIC REVIEWS

Review by Nick Ruble  -  Pelican, the Chicago-based post metal quartet, is set to release their first album in three years Ataraxia/Taraxis in just days. Being an instrumental metal group, Pelican’s sound is definitely alluring to a far greater crowd than just the die-hard metal heads – you get all the technical, raw and downright heavy riffs and licks but without someone screaming in your ear the entire time. With a total of four tracks, the album is fairly short even for an EP but is thoroughly enjoyable from beginning...

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Review by Nick Ruble  -  It’s an ever-growing trend – rapper turned rock star, that is. Lil Wayne tried his hand at the genre back in 2010 with Rebirth, ultimately failing miserably. Now it appears that Cleveland-based rapper Scott Mescudi (Kid Cudi) and record producer Oladipo Omishore (Dot da Genius) have rolled out a similar album, entitled WZRD. The main problem with the “rapper turned rock star” phenomenon is that of production style and quality. Based on both WZRD and Lil Wayne’s Rebirth, it seems an awful lot like...

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Review by Nick Ruble  -  Bruce Springsteen decided to change things up a bit on his most recent album Wrecking Ball, which has received a shockingly positive critical response. He’s been a rock idol for decades and that’s what makes me think a lot of people are afraid to throw any real criticism in his direction. It’s not that it’s a horrible album; there’s just nothing too special about it.

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Review by Nick Ruble  -  Having been trained in the Suzuki method since the young age of four, Andrew Bird is all but average when it comes to playing the violin. Thoughts of classic orchestral performances (or the “fiddling” of country music at best) are what come to mind for most when the word “violin” comes up in conversation, but this modern composer has his own way of doing things. “Never write anything down! That’s key, because ideas remain fluid, and they’ll grow and change inside your mind as...

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Review by Nick Ruble  -  After a long hiatus followed by a celebratory reunion in 2009 The Cranberries teamed up once more to record their latest album Roses. The album was originally intended for release in 2004, but a damper was put on things when the members decided to go separate ways later that year. It all may have been for the best though, considering the maturity and experience they’ve each acquired as solo artists over the decade it’s been since writing anything together. Roses is a lovely evolution of the...

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Review by Nick Ruble  -  After eight months of recording in the basement of a former jazz club in Berlin, the new wave duo from Salford, The Ting Tings, were finished with their second album Sounds From Nowheresville. To determine the album’s cover art, the group held a contest called Show Us Yours – the winner being Milan Abad’s depiction of Jules De Martino and Katie White as a couple of fashionably dressed skeletons. Six of the album’s 10 original songs were scrapped due to an agreement between both members...

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