DJ Shadow
The Outsider
Universal/Motown (2006)
Spending much of the time since 2002's ENDtroducing with his producing hat on, DJ Shadow has finally returned to our stereos with The Outsider. A return that sees him take a massive shift in style. Crass rapping styles, questionable lyrical content, and some gunshots filtering through the background adds just too much of a touch of Tim Westwood that is comfortable for one of the genres greatest exponents. "This Time" finds itself lost amongst the whole album. Essentially, a weak pop song with jazz influences, it is a radio friendly nightmare that trips over itself just too many times and staggers into "3 Freaks," a drum and bass influenced hip-hop track that is let down by obtuse lyrical content that never really goes anywhere and never really tries to. Indeed, its only "Turf Dancing", a return of sorts to the heavy electronica and sampling of the Shadow of old that stands out in the early stages, a gem hidden amongst raps that sound all too familiar. Broken up by the acoustic, bluesy "Broken Levee Blues," positive signs slowly begin to radiate through the second half of the album, but come all too late to bring The Outsider out of its … Read more
Pound for Pound
For Our Fallen Brothers
Surprise Attack (2006)
Pound for Pound hail from Springfield, Illinois, not to be confused with the hometown of The Simpsons, as the true … Read more
The Hold Steady
Boys and Girls in America
Vagrant (2006)
Do you remember being just a small child, rifling your dirty paws through the cereal box trying to fish out … Read more
She Killed Poetry
Shut Out the Silence
Imagine It (2006)
Mediocrity is not a hard thing to come by in the metalcore genre. In fact, since every metalcore band has … Read more
