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Soundcheck Podcast

Music Talk

A weekly review of the best new music from the staff of The Hartford Courant. Your hosts are Eric R. Danton, Courant Rock Critic, and Stephen Busemeyer, a Courant editor and CD reviewer. Guest commentary is brought to you by Eric Gershon, a Courant business reporter who has written about music for the Boston Phoenix and other publications; Babe Zero, a former Courant photo editor; Elizabeth Zuhl, a graphic designer at The Courant, and Regine Labossiere, a writer at The Courant who has unprintable accents in her name.

Location:

Hartford, CT

Description:

A weekly review of the best new music from the staff of The Hartford Courant. Your hosts are Eric R. Danton, Courant Rock Critic, and Stephen Busemeyer, a Courant editor and CD reviewer. Guest commentary is brought to you by Eric Gershon, a Courant business reporter who has written about music for the Boston Phoenix and other publications; Babe Zero, a former Courant photo editor; Elizabeth Zuhl, a graphic designer at The Courant, and Regine Labossiere, a writer at The Courant who has unprintable accents in her name.

Twitter:

@nickcaito

Language:

English

Contact:

285 Broad Street Hartford, CT 06115 860-241-6200


Episodes

Craig Finn: Clear Heart Full Eyes

2/9/2012
Clear Heart Full Eyes is the first solo effort from the Hold Steady's singer and lyricist Craig Finn. Is it an exercise in egoism? Is it a true departure from the successful Hold Steady form? We discuss!

Duration:00:20:43

Kathleen Edwards: Voyageur

1/30/2012
Voyageur, the latest from Kathleen Edwards, shows the influence of a new producer (think Bon Iver). But how does this record stack up against her earlier, more alt-country efforts? We discuss.

Duration:00:17:59

Dex Romweber Duo: Is That You In The Blue?

8/10/2011
Drop everything. This is the most kickass album you've heard all year. "Is That You In The Blue?" is the second record for the brother-sister duo, and it's clear here why Dex was a -- or the -- major influence on Jack White. Just drop everything, listen to the podcast and get yourselves at least 10 percent cooler.

Duration:00:19:59

Bon Iver: Bon Iver

8/2/2011
The eponymous second full-length release from Wisconsin-based Justin Vernon, performing as Bon Iver, is a departure for the critically acclaimed rocker. Do we dig it? Yes, Meh, and Meh-Plus.

Duration:00:18:29

Iceage: New Brigade

6/22/2011
New Brigade is the first album from Iceage, a bunch of Danish kids from, surprisingly, Denmark. Is it punk? Some of us think so. Some of us, not so much. But regardless of label, is it worth a listen? Tune in and find out.

Duration:00:18:07

The Antlers: Burst Apart

6/13/2011
Burst Apart is the second full-length record from Brooklyn-based The Antlers, and it's on our short list of albums of the year.

Duration:00:21:29

Amanda Shires: Carrying Lightning

5/31/2011
Amanda Shires, a Texas singer-songwriter with a flair for fiddle and ukulele, has us generally all a-swoon over Carrying Lightning, her most recent release.

Duration:00:21:59

Fleet Foxes -- Helplessness Blues

5/26/2011
Helplessness Blues, the second full-length record from Fleet Foxes, is a smart and challenging blend of folk and pop, old and new. Whether you love it or not, you won't regret giving it a go.

Duration:00:17:29

TV On The Radio: Nine Types Of Light

5/15/2011
Nine Types Of Light, the latest from Brooklyn's TV On The Radio, is a mix of beats, hooks and surprising emotional depth and complexity -- or so we would have you believe.

Duration:00:20:29

Wye Oak: Civilian

4/27/2011
Civilian, the third effort from Baltimore duo Wye Oak, has us divided, and animated. It's a unique sound, to be sure -- not quite folk or rock but ... well, listen in as we try to describe it and devolve into name-calling.

Duration:00:18:52

Destroyer: Kaputt

3/28/2011
Canadian indie rocker Dan Bejar has us all a-dazzle with Kaputt, the latest from his Destroyer project. While he's a member of the New Pornographers, we find similarities in this effort with those of bands such as Roxy Music and Prefab Sprout. Take a listen; you won't be disappointed.

Duration:00:21:11

Roky Erickson with Okkervil River: True Love Cast Out All Evil

3/13/2011
It's a collaboration borne of Austin, Texas-based musicians -- Roky Erickson, a pioneer of psychedelic rock, and Okkervil River, critical darlings of the indie-rock set who have performed with The Decemberists, the New Pornographers, The National and others. The result? Listen up.

Duration:00:18:59

The Decemberists: The King Is Dead

3/6/2011
The King Is Dead, the latest from The Decemberists, features familiar themes and voices (and guitars, in the case of R.E.M.'s Peter Buck, who joins). Or is it a departure? And is it charming or repulsive? For such a great record, we really can't agree on much.

Duration:00:19:59

The Top 10 Records of 2010

12/19/2010
Your friends at Soundcheck have consulted and agree: 2010 has been one of the best years for music in at least a decade. From Frightened Rabbit and Beach House to The National and Rush, there's been something for just about everyone. Here, we give you our top 10 records of the year, and one added honorable mention that really put a ribbon on it. Thanks for listening!

Duration:00:59:21

Superchunk: Majesty Shredding

12/14/2010
Majesty Shredding, the long-awaited ninth album from old-schoolers Superchunk, rocks pretty hard. But is that a good thing? We shred through the cheese.

Duration:00:18:59

Robyn: Body Talk -- The best in dance pop?

12/5/2010
Swedish dance-pop phenom Robyn recently released Body Talk, actually a trilogy of EPs released during 2010. As far as electronic dance records go, we agree that Robyn is doing it better than anyone else these days -- including Lady Gaga. That's right. Oh, and she uses a lot of four-letter words, so, you know, fair warning.

Duration:00:18:34

Cee Lo Green: F**k You -- The best song of 2010?

11/29/2010
Sure, F**k You is a terrific single -- but how does the rest of Cee Lo's latest record, The Lady Killer, measure up? How about among the best of 2010? You heard that right.

Duration:00:16:19

OFF! Punk rock returns!

11/21/2010
Old-school punkers OFF! are releasing a collection of 16 songs in under 18 minutes that prove punk is alive and well. Or, is this just more evidence that punk died decades ago, despite this effort from former members of Black Flag, Circle Jerks, Burning Brides and others to reclaim their glory days? Fair warning about some colorful language here.

Duration:00:10:25

Warpaint: The Fool

11/14/2010
The Fool, the first full-length effort from the L.A. all-female quartet Warpaint, is a dreamy blend of texture and tone. We approve -- and not only because we, too, are a dreamy blend of texture and tone.

Duration:00:14:19

Grinderman: Grinderman 2 -- A whole lot of rock.

11/9/2010
Grinderman is the band that succeeds Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, in that it comprises Nick Cave and former members of the Bad Seeds. So is this just another Bad Seeds record, or something new? Check it out, dear listeners.

Duration:00:14:14