Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2009
| Subscribe to Newser's RSS feeds RSS | Follow Newser on Twitter Twitter

NEWS ABOUT: music review

music review stories: 76 news summaries

41 - 60 of 76 Stories | << Prev 1 2 3 4 Next >>

Switch to grid view »

NEW RELEASE

 Beyoncé 
 More Gimmicky 
 Than Fierce 

Diva shows split personality on new double album

Nov 18, 08 11:47 AM CST
(Newser) - Beyoncé’s latest, I Am … Sasha Fierce, consists of two discs: one with “some lovely ballads” and the other “aggressive, sexual, and, well, fierce,” writes Leah Greenblatt in Entertainment Weekly. But despite a few gems, “the collection might have been better served had she... More »

MORE ABOUT:
music • pop music • Beyonce • music review

NEW RELEASE

 New Kids Score Block Party 

New album could be best yet from reunited '90s boy band

Sep 2, 08 10:46 AM CDT
(Newser) - Critics applaud the comeback album from reunited boy band New Kids on the Block, which, while it “may not break any ground musically,” is in fact “the best album of their multi-platinum career,” writes Glenn Gamboa in Newsday. “The best cuts” on The Block “... More »

MORE ABOUT:
music review • album • New Kids on the Block • boy bands

MUSIC REVIEW

 Tokio Hotel Rocks
 Screaming
 Tweens

With big hair, big riffs and MTV buzz, Germans threaten to go mainstream in US

Aug 24, 08 10:53 AM CDT
(Newser) - Having dominated Europe, German rockers Tokio Hotel are threatening to go mainstream in the US, if the reception their riff-heavy pop metal earned among screaming preteens in San Francisco this week is any indication. "The best way to describe the glam-metal-emo-pop-tween group," Aidin Vaziri writes in the Chronicle,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Britney Spears • San Francisco • Germany • MTV • pop music • Tokio Hotel • Miley Cyrus • heavy metal • Jonas Brothers • music review

music review

Bubble-Grunge? Cyrus Oddly Downbeat on Breakout

'Downer' tunes far cry from feel-good Hannah Montana

Jul 22, 08 12:20 PM CDT
(Newser) - As Miley Cyrus’ second album under her own name hits stores today, the 15-year-old admitted on Good Morning America that her now-infamous Vanity Fair photos were a “mistake.” But just like those racy pics, the tougher tunes and “feel-bad downers” on Breakout are anathema to her bubbly... More »

MORE ABOUT:
album release • Hannah Montana • Miley Cyrus • music review • celebrity interview

 Country Fans to
 Crossover
 Simpson:
 Cross Back 

'No twang' in singer's country tunes

Jul 21, 08 11:08 AM CDT
(Newser) - Struggling pop star Jessica Simpson’s country crossover got off to a rocky start Saturday when her debut performance at Wisconsin’s Country Thunder Festival drew a decidedly mixed reaction from the crowd, the Kenosha News reports. "I just don't hear the country in her; I don't hear the... More »

MORE ABOUT:
music industry • Wisconsin • celebrity • country music • Tony Romo • Jessica Simpson • music review

music review


 Rage Frontman's
 New Band
 Sounds
 Familiar 

One Day As A Lion's new track doesn't fall far from the tree

Jul 20, 08 6:05 PM CDT
(Newser) - Rage Against the Machine fans probably won’t be disappointed with One Day As A Lion, the new project from frontman Zach de la Rocha: It sounds, well, "pretty much kinda-sorta exactly like Rage Against the Machine,"  writes Gary Moskowitz in Mother Jones. The first song,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
music • music review • Beastie Boys • Rage Against the Machine • Zach de la Rocha • Mario C • Jon Theodore • Mars Volta

MUSIC REVIEW

 My Morning Jacket 
 Spreads Rock Gospel 

At Radio City Southern rockers strut spiritual side, showcase 'arena-rock ascendance'

Jun 23, 08 4:33 PM CDT
(Newser) - My Morning Jacket is officially an arena-rock force, Nate Chinen raves in the New York Times. The Southern-rock darlings walked the line between spiritual and sanguine before a sold-out Radio City Music Hall on Friday, playing the majority of new album Evil Urges, which "features some of its strongest... More »

MORE ABOUT:
concert • music review • indie rock • My Morning Jacket • Radio City Music Hall

 Dion's AC/DC Tribute 
 'Worst Cover Ever' 

Crooner's version of You Shook Me All Night Long called 'vile'

Jun 23, 08 11:59 AM CDT
(Newser) - Celine Dion's rendition of AC/DC's You Shook Me All Night Long has been voted the worst cover ever, according to Total Guitar magazine. The UK mag called the duet Dion performed with Anastacia in Las Vegas 6 years ago an "offense" against music. "The No. 1 worst cover... More »

MORE ABOUT:
music • music industry • Celine Dion • music review • cover song • Anastacia

MUSIC REVIEW

 Scarlett's
 Waits Tribute:
 Unnecessary,
 But Not Bad 

Johansson revisits legendary croaker's catalog

May 14, 08 1:15 PM CDT
(Newser) - “Even the most sympathetic critics,” writes Tom Breihan for the Village Voice, have to grant that Anywhere I Lay My Head, Scarlett Johansson’s Tom Waits tribute album, “is a fundamentally ridiculous enterprise, almost stunning in its total lack of need to exist.” That said, Breihan... More »

MORE ABOUT:
music • celebrity • Scarlett Johansson • music review • Tom Waits • tribute record • cover song

MUSIC REVIEW

 Keys' Attack Releases Old Rut 

Garage band figures out how to expand

Apr 2, 08 10:33 AM CDT
(Newser) - The Black Keys had hoped collaborating with Ike Turner would finally push the band out of its tired “garage minimalism,” writes Pitchfork’s Roque Strew. Though Ike died in December, the band already had material that expanded its sound. Attack & Release is its “most adventurous album... More »

MORE ABOUT:
minimalism • Ike Turner • blues • music review • Black Keys • Danger Mouse • Gnarls Barkley • Attack & Release

OPINION

Winehouse More Than a 'Genius Junkie'

Queen of 'retro soul' not just cribbing from the past, says Frere-Jones

Mar 2, 08 5:09 AM CST
(Newser) - It's tempting to chalk up the popularity of singer Amy Winehouse to her headline-grabbing bent for self-destruction, writes Sasha Frere-Jones in the New Yorker. But that would be a mistake. He takes a closer look at Back to Black, with its "perfect" single "Rehab," and finds much... More »

MORE ABOUT:
music • pop music • Amy Winehouse • R • Sasha Frere-Jones • Dap-Kings • Sharon Jones • Mark Ronson • music review

Black Crowes Squawk at Sham Maxim Review

Magazine gives
2.5 stars to an album
it never heard

Feb 27, 08 2:42 PM CST
(Newser) - Pick a number, any number: Maxim's 2.5-star rating—out of 5—for the Black Crowes' latest album was little more than a guess, the magazine admitted yesterday. No advanced copies were released, the San Francisco Chronicle reports, but that didn't stop Maxim's critic from decreeing in the March issue... More »

MORE ABOUT:
music • magazine • journalism • Maxim • reviews • Black Crowes • Chris Robinson • Warpaint • music review

NEW RELEASE

Thriller Revives 'Prettiest Star'

25th anniversary reissue both 'lame' and 'legendary,' critics say

Feb 12, 08 4:32 PM CST
(Newser) - Thriller's 25th anniversary reissue shows why Michael Jackson was once "the coolest, slinkiest, prettiest pop star alive,” Rob Sheffield writes in Rolling Stone. Six “lame” remixes by stars like Fergie, Akon, and Kanye West apparently indicate the best-selling album of all time "cowed" the cover artists,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Kanye West • Michael Jackson • Akon • Fergie • Thriller • music review

NEW RELEASE

Xiu Xiu's Women Breaks Ground

Intense indie musician drops electronics in 6th album

Jan 30, 08 2:06 PM CST
(Newser) - One of indie music’s most intense projects, Xiu Xiu is always innovating, and sixth album Women as Lovers is no slouch—at least its first half, says Tiny Mix Tapes’ Julie. Frontman Jamie Stewart has dropped electronics, hired a virtuoso drummer and reversed his recent “stasis.” But... More »

MORE ABOUT:
electronics • Beatles • lyrics • indie pop • Xiu Xiu • Jamie Stewart • music review

NEW RELEASE

Critics Split on Jukebox

Some love Cat Power's 2nd covers record; others dismiss it

Jan 22, 08 3:17 PM CST
(Newser) - Indie crooner Cat Power's second album of covers is dividing critics. Many agree that Jukebox is a state-of-the-career effort, but they part ways on where the musician (real name: Chan Marshall) stands. After transforming from blues folkie to soul singer and overcoming depression, the Marshall who “savored” her songs... More »

MORE ABOUT:
depression • Bob Dylan • Hank Williams • Chan Marshall • Cat Power • soul • blues • music review

NEW RELEASE

Magnetic Fields Score Again

Stephen Merritt makes a glorious return to his indie pop roots

Jan 16, 08 6:13 PM CST
(Newser) - The Magnetic Fields have hit the jackpot on their eighth album, Distortion. Frontman Stephen Merritt ignored his penchant for “cleverness and theatricality,” turned up the “1960s pop fetish,” and let the feedback roll. It’s a rebound from 2004’s i, says Pitchfork’s Matt LeMay,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Magnetic Fields • Stephin Merritt • Jesus and Mary Chain • post punk • indie pop • music review

NEW RELEASE

Sia's Real Problems Pleases

First album from songstress in 4 years is a winner

Jan 10, 08 12:13 PM CST
(Newser) - Folk and acid-jazz queen Sia Furler has returned with her first record in four years, and critics are singing the praises of Some People Have Real Problems. The New York Sun’s Bret McCabe pokes fun at Furler for signing with the Starbucks label—provenance of “laid-back background music... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Starbucks • Beck • folk • music label • Sia Furler • Zero 7 • acid jazz • Some People Have Real Problems • music review

NEW RELEASE

Blige Airs Growing Pains

8th record a celebration of "hard-won happiness," says Boston Globe

Dec 18, 07 5:13 PM CST
(Newser) - Mary J. Blige has moved on from empowerment to soulful diva on her first disc in two years, the Boston Globe’s Joan Anderman writes. "A celebration of the artist's hard-won happiness," Growing Pains won Anderman over by "revealing her weaknesses." Blige still urges listeners to... More »

MORE ABOUT:
hip-hop • relationship • R • Mary J. Blige • music review

NEW RELEASE

All Rivers Cuomo, All Alone

Rarities record is half-great

Dec 18, 07 2:52 PM CST
(Newser) - Onetime geek gods Weezer have been nothing but disappointing this century, PopMatters’ Evan Sawdey says, so thank heaven for Alone, lead singer Rivers Cuomo’s solo “album of one-offs, hard-to-finds, and unreleased material.” Much of the record dates from the band’s Pinkerton golden age, and the eight... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Weezer • Rivers Cuomo • solo record • Pinkerton • music review

NEW RELEASE

Cat Power Grows Up

Always talented, Chan Marshall gains confidence

Dec 6, 07 10:09 AM CST
(Newser) - Singer-songwriter Chan "Cat Power" Marshall, has always been talented, but over time she has developed the confidence to be masterful, writes New Yorker music critic Sasha Frere-Jones. Frere-Jones traces Marshall's career from the mid-'90s to the present, when "now that she knows better who she is, perhaps she’... More »

MORE ABOUT:
music • Chan Marshall • Cat Power • music review

41 - 60 of 76 Stories | << Prev 1 2 3 4 Next >>


from our news partners