10/15/09 – Ursa Major

I wasn’t expecting to like this at all.  My opinion of Third Eye Blind was not a pleasant one after hearing, “Do-do-do, do-d-do-doo!” thousands of times.  Ursa Major has lifted my opinion of 3EB in a big way, though.  I found myself liking every single track, which is pretty rare.  The album is great – if you’re in the mood for some good, well-written pop/rock, check this out.

10/12/09 – The Outsider

So I had heard the name DJ Shadow before, but I can’t for the life of me remember where.  I figured it was just another hip-hop mixtape-type release, and I was only a little right.  The Outsider spans a surprising number of genres in its relatively short length, and each different genre is insanely well-done.  Shadow definitely shows you that his production spans far and wide – it’s very impressive.

7/28/09 – Tinted Windows

When I heard “Kind of a Girl” – it gave me high hopes.  One would assume that getting together an amazing group of rock musicians (James Iha, Adam Schlesinger, Bun E. Carlos) and Taylor Hanson would produce some pretty amazing results, right?  Instead, it sounds like a serious attempt to fit as many pop stereotypes onto one album as possible.  I expected so much more.

7/27/09 – Modern Science

This entire album is fun… almost too much fun.  (It’s kind of an pop-electro-funk hybrid.)  The sound is SUPER polished for a local act, and… I wouldn’t be surprised to see them get picked up by a major label sometime soon.  The only thing I disliked is that the album ends with a ballad… such an upbeat, danceable (and again, fun) experience ending on a down note leaves a little bit of a sour taste in my mouth.

7/25/09 – Ocean Eyes

I really dislike when albums are semi-decent… except for one glaring thing that ruins the whole experience for you.  “Ocean Eyes” is actually a pretty interesting listen… it sounds like the bastard sound child of Hellogoodbye and The Postal Service.  So what ruins it?  There isn’t a single moment on the album where Adam Young’s voice isn’t pulled through auto-tune.  *sigh*  Kids and their technology these days.

7/21/09 – Nothing Rhymes With Woman

So I picked this album up because I’d heard good things about Carbon Leaf.  Sad to say, halfway through the first track I wanted to switch it off and listen to something else.  I gave it a chance, though, and nothing came close to saving this album for me.  Think of the most generic parts of southern rock, folk, and country, slap some hokey lyrics in there… and this is what you’d get.  Just… no.

6/9/09 – The Rebirth of Venus

There are “feel-good” albums, and then there’s anything created by Ben Lee.  I think he’s mastered the concept.  While there’s nothing particularly fantastic or catchy about this album, it’s a solid pop album that’ll leave you with a smile on your face.  The bonus disc of covers is a rare gem – Ben Lee covering the song The Ataris wrote about him is the most surreal thing I’ve heard in a while.

6/7/09 – Attics To Eden

For every original act out there, you figure there’s got to be a hundred that copy the sound.  Madina Lake (on this album, anyhow) sounds like every emo-pop-punk band you heard in the late 90’s/early 00’s.  All the lyrics sounded pretty contrived, and I really don’t see the appeal of this stuff to anyone over the age of 16.  Hey, someone’s got to be the “filler” at Warped Tour, right?

5/14/09 – 21st Century Breakdown

Y’know how when you make a carbon copy of something, the copy comes out looking a lot like the original; but there is a pretty substantial loss of quality?  That’s what Green Day’s latest album feels like to me.  Seems like they made a carbon copy of American Idiot.  There are a couple standout tracks (“East Jesus Nowhere” and the Hives-ish “Horseshoes and Handgrenades”) but otherwise most of it is sadly forgettable.

2/9/09 – It’s Not Me, It’s You

It’s rare that a sophomore album outshines an absolutely stellar first album.  That said, Lily Allen pulled it off with “It’s Not Me, It’s You.”  The music is still as infectiously poppy and downright quirky as it was on the first album, but where she really put in the work was in the writing of the album – some songs are downright dark, which is a nice side to see.  I think I have a little bit of a crush.