If you’ve never heard the name Rufus Wainwright, you’re probably not alone. He’s been an active part of the music scene for years now, but that particular sort of radio-heavy popularity has always eluded him, although he did come close in 2007 with Release the Stars, his most successful, high-profile album to date. After that, following the death of his mother, musician Kate McGarrigle, he put out a somber collection of heavy tunes entitled All Days Are Nights: Songs for Lulu. And now he’s back with an excellent return to his pop-based roots.
Michael Wense Reviews Out of the Game by Rufus Wainwright
Posted on 13, May
Josh Vollmer Reviews Sweet Heart, Sweet Light by Spiritualized
Posted on 20, Apr
Spiritualized’s experimentation with ‘spiritual’ song elements like these makes it a difficult band to pigeonhole, although calling them space rock is likely as close as you could get. Equal parts Velvet Underground, The Jesus and Mary Chain, and New York Philharmonic, they straddle a line between minimalist song structures and lush orchestration. On weaker efforts, their approach can sometimes lead to songs that are muddled, lacking focus and ultimately forgettable. This is not the case with Sweet Heart, Sweet Light, the group’s best collection of songs since 1997′s Ladies and Gentlemen…We Are Floating In Space.
Manda Bollenbach Reviews Sounds From Nowheresville by The Ting Tings
Posted on 6, Apr
Sassy. Feisty. Loud. The sophomore album Sounds from Nowheresville by English duo the Ting Tings is shaking things up with even more fun than their last release (2008′s We Started Nothing). The new wave influenced pop songs Katie White and Jules De Martino write are undeniably catchy (remember their song “That‘s Not My Name”?) and this latest release gives a taste of some of their best work, as well as some new sounds.
Luke Naliborski Reviews Cirque Du M.J.
Posted on 10, Feb
I had the opportunity to go see the Cirque Du Soleil – Michael Jackson: The Immortal performance at the Scottrade Center on Wednesday, February 8th. I’ve been a fan of Cirque Du Soleil for a long time and was very excited to go see one of their performances accompanied by the music of one of my all-time favorite artists.
Top Played Artists of 2011
Posted on 9, Feb
With the close of each year, there are tons of “Best of the Year” lists to be had. I wanted to do something a little different for this list, however: the 10 artists listed here aren’t necessarily the best of 2011, and the albums they’ve released aren’t necessarily the best of 2011. Heck, some of these artists didn’t even release albums in 2011. This list is simply comprised of the artists most frequently played in the St. Charles Slackers over the course of 2011. These are the voices we occupied ourselves with the most these past 12 months, and whether they’re the best (or worst) of what this year- or any other- has to offer, is up to you to decide.
Josh Vollmer Reviews Audio, Video, Disco by Justice
Posted on 3, Feb
I’ve never been huge on dance music. Specifically electronic or techno dance music, although you will never see me ‘tearin’ it up’ in ‘da club’ to the latest pop stylings either. Fifteen years ago I would have said that the reason I dislike the house genre is because it lacked soul. That DJs don’t make music, because the real music is already on the record they’re spinning, and no amount of mixing or rearranging will qualify the output as a real original creation.
