Victoria Day weekend brought trips to the cottage, cheap domestic beer and fireworks bought from the back of the truck. It gives us all a tempting but entirely-too-short glimpse into what summer has in store. We're all itching to be back in long-weekend mode, but returning to work doesn't have to be all bad — treat your post-vacation withdrawals with some new album reviews, which you can find right here in this week's New Release Roundup. Give these reviews a read and keep in mind that the weekend will be here before you know it.
Kicking off our roundup is the review of wildly successful anthem-rock mainstays Coldplay's latest release, Ghost Stories. Coldplay veer to a ghostly, slightly softer, more emotional world with this release, different from their typical arena-filling sound. But you'll have to read the review to find out why whether the band has transitioned completely.
...And Then You Shoot Your Cousin is the latest by hip-hop pioneers and Tonight Show house band the Roots. The album features a swelling orchestra, battered glimpses into the group's hometown of Philadelphia and tangled narratives that are critical of politics and modern society as a whole. Read the review of this complex and sobering release from some of hip-hop's MVPs.
Bry Webb's Free Will is next in our roundup. The former Constantines frontman's latest solo album further shows off the cerebral side of his songwriting abilities that 2011's Provider first gave us a taste of. Click above to read our review of this contemplative folk release.
Upside Down Mountain shows the more mellow, less tortured side of Conor Oberst, the driving force behind emo outfit Bright Eyes. Oberst performs with a sense of contentment, blending in shades of country and folk a far cry from Bright Eyes' typically depressed lyrics.
For electronic music fans, we've got Plaid's Reachy Prints. Our reviewer thinks the album is beautiful and unearthly but feels too formulaic. He says "Plaid have pushed all the right buttons, but they've pushed those same buttons many times before." Follow the link to find the full review.
Finally, read our review of Friendly Bacteria, a minimalist, genre-blending album from Mr. Scruff. Does this late-career album find Scruff doing anything new, or resting on his laurels? Read our review to find out.
You can find some tracks of the albums reviewed above and lots more in our Rdio Genre Playlists:
Pop & Rock
Folk & Country
Dance & Electronic
Hip-Hop
Kicking off our roundup is the review of wildly successful anthem-rock mainstays Coldplay's latest release, Ghost Stories. Coldplay veer to a ghostly, slightly softer, more emotional world with this release, different from their typical arena-filling sound. But you'll have to read the review to find out why whether the band has transitioned completely.
...And Then You Shoot Your Cousin is the latest by hip-hop pioneers and Tonight Show house band the Roots. The album features a swelling orchestra, battered glimpses into the group's hometown of Philadelphia and tangled narratives that are critical of politics and modern society as a whole. Read the review of this complex and sobering release from some of hip-hop's MVPs.
Bry Webb's Free Will is next in our roundup. The former Constantines frontman's latest solo album further shows off the cerebral side of his songwriting abilities that 2011's Provider first gave us a taste of. Click above to read our review of this contemplative folk release.
Upside Down Mountain shows the more mellow, less tortured side of Conor Oberst, the driving force behind emo outfit Bright Eyes. Oberst performs with a sense of contentment, blending in shades of country and folk a far cry from Bright Eyes' typically depressed lyrics.
For electronic music fans, we've got Plaid's Reachy Prints. Our reviewer thinks the album is beautiful and unearthly but feels too formulaic. He says "Plaid have pushed all the right buttons, but they've pushed those same buttons many times before." Follow the link to find the full review.
Finally, read our review of Friendly Bacteria, a minimalist, genre-blending album from Mr. Scruff. Does this late-career album find Scruff doing anything new, or resting on his laurels? Read our review to find out.
You can find some tracks of the albums reviewed above and lots more in our Rdio Genre Playlists:
Pop & Rock
Folk & Country
Dance & Electronic
Hip-Hop
