Peter Buck, Mike Mills, and Michael Stipe hit the ground running on their most relevant album in fifteen years or so with “Living Well Is The Best Revenge”- possibly the rawest and punkiest they have sounded since Chronic Town back in ‘82 (Alternate descriptions: 1. It really puts the “rapid” back in rapid eye movement, 2. Accelerate indeed!). Things slow up to more traditional R.E.M. speed with the Monster-ous...

Here, I’ll just come out and say it: Consolers Of The Lonely by The Raconteurs is the worst album that Jack White of The White Stripes has ever been associated with. That being said, it’s really not that bad. The Raconteurs, if you’re not familiar with them, feature Mr. White and softy solo artist Brendan Benson, along with Patrick Keeler and Jack Lawrence from The Greenhornes, a fine band from Detroit. The ’Teurs...

On her third and latest album, Canadian country girl Kathleen Edwards confesses that “choosing my words carefully has never been my strength.” It can only be assumed that she is singing about her private life and not her artistic persona, as her first two albums were winners for their lyrical content as much as their music. Her previous record, 2005’s Back To Me, seemed like a let-down only because her debut,...

Athens, Georgia and the 1980′s seem inextricably linked in the minds of many rock fans. Athens is the boho/college town that birthed the B-52′s, R.E.M., and many other pleasant-but-not-so-ultimately-memorable jingle-jangle bands of the Reagan age (Guadalcanal Diary, anyone?). Sure, Athens hasn’t done much for rock music since, oh, 1988 or so, but it’s a charming cultural outpost in a state that...

More quickies! Some records from the last few months that I neglected to put under the microscope: VHS Or Beta- Bring On The Comets (Astralwerks) Retro/dance-happy Tennesseans return with their third album and bring their A-game right out of the gate. Bring On The Comets has the throwback track listing on the back- six songs, space, six more songs (like record sides, dude!)- and it works as a dividing line between premium...

In years of listening to Marah records, I’ve never picked up on a religious theme, so it seems odd to note several holy allusions on their sixth and latest album- starting with the album title itself. Angels Of Destruction! comes with a rockin’ title track that does a stellar job of channeling sticky-fingered Stones of the early 70′s… and while there’s nothing holy about that, brown sugar,...