Artist: Jukebox the Ghost Album: Everything Under the Sun Year: 2010 Grade: A- In Brief: Jukebox the Ghost is one of the best bands that should have been on my radar in the 2010s, but weren’t. Their brand of energetic, piano-based power pop was highly engaging from the get-go, and their second album, dropped right at the dawn of that decade, might still be their signature work. There’s so much buoyancy and theatricality here, such a love of life that overflows from their songwriting, but also enough wit and charm and pathos to make it grounded, believable, relatable. No band can be all things ..read more

Artist: The New Pornographers Album: Continue as a Guest Year: 2023 Grade: C+ In Brief: An acute case of mid-tempo-itis and a strong sense of “been there, done that” prevents the latest effort from The New Pornographers from ever taking flight. They can add electronic touches and smooth horn breaks to their songs all they want, but all the intriguing textures in the world aren’t making up for the slow erosion of their once playfully subversive personality. If they wanted to expand their musical palette and explore more subtle territory, that’s fine, but they’ve done both of these things many ..read more

Artist: Jukebox the Ghost Album: Cheers Year: 2022 Grade: B+ In Brief: Sometimes a band you’ve never heard of comes along with just the right combination of lyrical wit, clever musicianship, strong vocal harmonies, and killer hooks, and you can only ask yourself, “Why haven’t I heard these guys before, and how are they not printing money at this point with these insanely catchy songs?” Alas, the world of indie music is vast, and sometimes delightful bands like Jukebox the Ghost slip under a lot of people’s radars. I hope I can make them register a blip for at least a few more. Jukebox the Gho ..read more

Artist: Paramore Album: Paramore Year: 2013 Grade: B+ In Brief: Paramore’s self-titled record did what self-titled records are meant to do. It reintroduced listeners to a band that had experienced success in the pop-punk/emo scene, and was now eager to break out of it. What’s most surprising about this album is how urgent and in-your-face the drums are despite the then-recent departure of the band’s founding drummer, how the big pop hooks never seem to sacrifice the raw energy of a song, and how many different things the band is willing to try over the course of a seventeen-track, hour-long p ..read more

Artist: The New Pornographers Album: In the Morse Code of Brake Lights Year: 2019 Grade: B- In Brief: This album brings back some of the sonic diversity that Whiteout Conditions lacked, especially with violinist Simi Stone upgraded to full membership. But song-for-song, it just doesn’t hit nearly as hard, and I think part of the problem is that despite all the singers in this band, we’re really only hearing the artistic voice of Carl Newman. No longer having Dan Bejar around kind of exposes his limitations as full-time band leader. “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” That s ..read more

Artist: Paramore Album: After Laughter Year: 2017 Grade: B+ In Brief: As one of the many rock bands giving themselves a “pop makeover” these days, Paramore does a good job of keeping the music band-oriented and making the lyrics contrast quite sharply with the bouncy music. This is an album that cleverly uses the sugar rush to make the sour parts sting even more. Whether it could be – or should be – a permanent shift in style for the band remains to be seen. I should probably start this review with another one of those disclaimers that this is gonna be one of those reviews from the perspectiv ..read more

Artist: Martel Album: Impersonator Year: 2014 Grade: B+ In Brief: Martel joyfully embraces his claim to fame as a Freddie Mercury doppelganger on this album, while also asserting his own identity apart from it. In doing so, he gets to fully indulge his more theatrical tendencies, and he comes up with a solid collection of power pop and riff-heavy rock songs that remind me of what his old band Downhere might have sounded like, if only they had let loose a little more often. Marc Martel is one of those musicians whose career seems like the equivalent of Dr. Jekyll and Mister Hyde. Not in the se ..read more

Artist: The New Pornographers Album: Brill Bruisers Year: 2014 Grade: B In Brief: Easily their most fun record since Twin Cinema almost 10 years ago. I love how energetic this record is and how the shared lead vocals on several tracks add to the sense of camaraderie. There might be one or two clunkers, but amidst 13 tracks, they’ve got a little room to fiddle around. I’ve been keeping tabs on The New Pornographers for about three album cycles now, and I’m often fascinated by how the various members of this group will break off and do their own thing for a few years, and th ..read more