Album Reviews | Turntable Kitchen

Musical Pairings: Ghibli – Rare Pleasures

May 16th, 2012

I was introduced to the music of Edmonton-based producer Thomas Michael, who records music under the nom de plume Ghibli, via a post by the always awesome Tim of Smoke Don’t Smoke. What struck me immediately about the music was how unique and yet familiar Ghibli’s latest album Rare Pleasures sounds. Indeed, Michael hashed the [...]

The Sampler Platter: Featuring The Weeknd’s “Loft Music” & Beach House’s “Gila”

May 11th, 2012

I’ve been toying around with ideas for a new ongoing series here on Turntable Kitchen for some time now, but I’ve not been sure what format that would take. I’ve also been looking for a series that would give me an opportunity to post more r&b and hip hop on the site (I love hip [...]

TK008: The Record Company – This Crooked City / Tallahassee Lassie 7″

May 10th, 2012

It can be easy to forget that rock ‘n roll originated as the mutant offspring of the blues. With a few exceptions (such as The Black Keys) that blues influence is either missing or completely obscured from a large portion of today’s rock music. I think it’s obvious that I have no beef with modern [...]

Musical Pairings: The American Analog Set – Know By Heart

May 9th, 2012

The American Analog Set has been extremely quiet lately (as in: they haven’t released an album in seven years). But it wasn’t always that way. Songwriter Andrew Kenny formed the Austin, Texas-based indie rock band nearly sixteen years ago in 1995. Initially the band was named The Electric Company, but they were subsequently forced to [...]

Served Three Ways: Three Covers of Blackstreet’s “No Diggity”

May 8th, 2012

Blackstreet was formed in 1991 by singer producer Teddy Riley. Interestingly, Riley named the group by combining the names of two of his original group members, Chauncy Black (a.k.a. Chauncy Hannibal) and Joseph Stonestreet. However, Stonestreet only released one single with the group (1993′s “Baby Be Mine”) before departing for his own reasons. Subsequently, he [...]

Musical Pairings: Lemonade – Diver

May 7th, 2012

Brooklyn-by-way-of-San Francisco trio Lemonade have already proven themselves adept at both short-order improvisation and eclectic synthesization. Indeed, mere weeks after the trio formed drummer Alex Pasternak was asked if he was in a band and if he wanted to play an upcoming party. His band, Lemonade, had a name but hadn’t yet actually written any music [...]

Single Serving: Wildcat! Wildcat! – Mr. Quiche

May 4th, 2012

Los Angeles, California-based Wildcat! Wildcat! consists of Jesse Taylor, Michael Wilson and Jesse Carmichael. Apparently, the trio have been playing together since they were 14, a claim supported by the fluid, laid-back give and take of their melodically sidewinding debut singles. “Mr. Quiche” is the most recent of the pair, and it features warbling, summer-day synths; hand-clap [...]

Single Serving: Ender Belongs To Me – Memory EP

May 3rd, 2012

Ender Belongs To Me is an enigmatic experimental-pop duo hailing from Brooklyn that weave together ebullient and highly textured sound collages. Their latest offering is the Memory EP which was recorded over a period of years with a revolving cast of guest vocalists. The collected grooves sound like pop jams slightly scuffed, warped, and degraded [...]

Musical Pairings: Aesop Rock – None Shall Pass

May 2nd, 2012

There are some artists whose names are total head scratchers for me. Broken Social Scene (a band I adore) fits that category. The name distorted my expectation of their music. I expected something more hardcore, or at least, something obnoxiously emo. Conversely, Ian Matthias Bavitz’s nom de plume, Aesop Rock, is a perfect moniker for [...]

Served Three Ways: Three Covers of Justin Timberlake’s “My Love”

May 1st, 2012

I can very clearly remember the moment I realized that Justin Timberlake’s FutureSex/LoveSounds didn’t suck. For it’s first month or more of existence I lived a FutureSex/LoveSounds-free life (seriously, I’d been living under a rock or something). I’d nonetheless convinced myself it wasn’t for me and that I wouldn’t like it. After all, Justin Timberlake just wasn’t [...]

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