album reviews

Have you HEARD The Sound of Sunshine yet? If your answer is no, you have to go listen to it right now. You can do so here.

Are you back yet? Did you open it in another window and have it playing at the moment? OK, good. As you might guess, this a must-buy album.

Michael Franti & Spearhead hit the Top 40 nation with his single "Say Hey" from his last album All Rebel Rockers. From the moment that song became a hit, Franti & Spearhead took flight. Talk about seizing the moment! I remember reading about him in a CA newspaper about a year ago, he was asked about working on new material and he said something along the lines of "...Our single 'Say Hey' is now in the Top 40. Since that’s blowing up, we’re trying to stay out on the road."

Turns out, they didn't need to stop performing to create a new album. In fact, that's exactly what they needed to keep doing. A lot of the songs in The Sound of Sunshine were completed on the road. Franti & Spearhead spent their winter as the opening act for John Mayer's Battle Studies tour. Perhaps the opportunity to perform for so many Mayer-lovers did a world of good, introducing Franti to many that otherwise wouldn't be found as part of his audience. Continue reading after the jump.

Austin-based indie-pop quartet The Sour Notes welcomed 2009 by releasing a new album, Received in Bitterness, and playing a celebratory show at Rudyard's in Houston. Read what Cereal had to say about the album and view photos from the Notes' Rudyard's show after the jump.

Seattle-based experimental indie rock quintet Minus the Bear recently released an EP entitled Acoustics. The seven-song recording includes re-workings of six previously released tracks, plus one new song. The re-takes are mostly from the band's 2007 full-length, Planet of Ice, but one song each from Highly Refined Pirates and Menos El Oso are also included.

Read Cereal's thoughts on Acoustics and download an mp3 of new song "Guns & Ammo" for free after the jump

There are several album reviews we've been meaning to write for some time now, but just haven't found the time (and/or proper discipline) to get the words onscreen. We've slapped ourselves on our collective wrists and, tails between our legs, pledge to improve. This post will kick things off with Cereal's take on The Sour Notes' debut effort, The Meat of the Fruit.

Read the review after the jump

It did not take too long for me to get quite addicted to the percussive, mayhem-based Philadelphia group Man Man. I admit that I have listened to their 2006 album Six Demon Bag seven times this week just to prepare for the musical punch-to-the-face I knew I was about to receive from their new release, Rabbit Habits. After spending all of yesterday with the new album, I have somehow become an even bigger fan.

Read more about Man Man's Rabbit Habits after the jump

Recently the world saw the release of the sophomore efforts from both Gnarls Barkley and The Raconteurs. These super-sized side-projects both have had huge success with their 2006 debuts, and have both been heralded for their live performances. Since these bands have had such similar timelines, I decided to turn their album reviews into a bloody battle for supreme sophomore side-project domination!

See who wins after the jump!

She & Him is a new collaborative musical project between actress Zooey Deschanel and alt-singer/songwriter M. Ward. Before you roll your eyes at the mention of yet another actress attempting to break into the music industry, give She & Him's debut, Volume One, a listen. Chances are you'll be pleasantly surprised by their folk/alt-country/indie-pop concoction.

Full album review after the jump

The Bedlam in Goliath is the fourth full length LP from progressive rockers The Mars Volta hitting an all time high for the group, at #3 on the Billboard charts. Readers familiar with the group's catalog will not be disappointed with their most aggressive album to date. Latin-infused psychedelic textures are the Volta's signature sound. Drawing on past experiences of death and addiction for their previous records, The Bedlam in Goliath echoes a strange run in with a Ouija type game called the Soothsayer. Lead singer Cedric Bixler-Zavala purchased the game while on a trip through Jerusalem.

Keep reading

Aussie pop singer Sia released her new album, some people have REAL problems, on January 8th.

Get Cereal's take on the album after the jump