Cloudspeakers

Pantha du Prince
Black Noise

What do the experts say?

Hari Ashurst (Drowned in Sound): “When taken in all its sprawling glory, the record is intense and rewarding, and when it stops the silence becomes grandoise – if you let it Black Noise might just change the way you listen to the world.”

Ben Hodgwood (Music OMH): “If techno with a soul is what you’re after, then look no further than this.”

Sam Olson (onethirtybpm): “Dig a little deeper into the concept, and you start tripping over stuff about “highly speculative acoustic architecture” and how silence is music and how this mysterious ‘black noise’ can be heard like a sonic omen before a natural disaster.”

READ all reviews

LISTEN to full album stream

Tindersticks have just released their latest album Falling Down a Mountain.

This is what the music critics said about the album:
Ian Watson (Dotmusic): ” …but somehow it adds up to something greater, the album as a whole bristling with creativity and the joys of trying something new.”

Nigel Kandall (Times): “In an age of MP3 cherry-picking, it’s refreshing to hear a work that sounds so deliberately constructed for consumption in its entirety.”

Chris Roberts (Uncut): “Instead, what Tindersticks sound like on this subtly strong album is a band with restored self-belief, again loving doing what they do better than anyone else.“

Read all reviews of Falling Down a Mountain

Listen to full album stream

The latest release by Owen Pallett (Heartland) is receiving great reviews along the leading music webzines and blogs. Here are some quotes from the reviews.

Kate Harper (Chartattack): “It’s going to be very, very hard for there not to be a Polaris Music Prize repeat for Pallett with this one.”

Nitsuh Abebe (Pitchfork): “This stuff is rich with ideas, and they’re offered in the kind of rich, warm sound that should be accessible to more fans than ever before.”

Read all reviews on Owen Pallett – Heartland

Listen to full album via Soundcloud
Owen Pallett – Heartland by DominoRecordCo

Vampire Weekend – Contra

Darren Carle (The Skinny) was the first to review this release: “Contra doesn’t contain as much pop smarts as their eponymous debut, but then that record was such an explosion of ideas and styles that this seems more considered by comparison.”

READ all reviews at Cloudspeakers

WATCH ‘Cousins’

Delphic – Acolyte
Simon Price (Independent) was the first to review this album: “Acolyte is on kissing terms with magnificence.”

READ all reviews at Cloudspeakers

WATCH ‘Doubt’

Laura Veirs – July Flame
Clash Music was the first magazine to review this album: “The album showcases Veirs’ warm vocals, deft guitar picking and country-inflected songwriting.”

READ all reviews at Cloudspeakers

WATCH ‘I Can See Your Tracks’

For more reviews on the latest releases, check Cloudspeakers.com

1.

Animal Collective

Merriweather Post Pavilion

What did the experts say?

Mark Richardson (Pitchfork): “… Merriweather Post Pavilion remains drenched in their idiosyncratic sound, a record that no one else could have made.”

Lavinia Jones Wright (Billboard): “… “Merriweather Post Pavilion” is so gorgeously confident that it fulfills expectations and more.”

Shawn Reynaldo (XLR8R): “Now they’re both just the frontmen of a group that happens to be making some of the most interesting and compelling music around.”

READ all 70 reviews

2.

Raekwon

Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… Pt II

What did the experts say?

Sobhi Abdul-Rakhman (Sputnikmusic): “Every cut is worth its weight here; every lyrical performance is equally inspired as its production counterpart.”

Nathan S. (DJ Booth): “Let’s just hope hip-hop doesn’t have to wait that long for another album this close to perfection”

Adam Kennedy (BBC): “Nobody else relates street stories with Raekwon’s eloquence.”

READ all 33 reviews

3.

Grizzly Bear

Veckatimest

What did the experts say?

Sean O’Neal (The A.V. Club): “… it’s teeming with life, mystery, and surprise-the biggest of which may be its potential for crossover success.”

Tom Zimpleman (Dusted): “It’s also the album that seems most likely to win them an even bigger audience.”

Christian Hoard (Rolling Stone): “… an opulent, intimate rumble built on churning acoustic riffs, haunted croons and precise string parts.”

READ all 83(!) reviews

4.

The xx

XX

What did the experts say?

Michael Cragg (MusicOMH): “Debut album of the year? It’s beyond doubt.”

Lou Thomas (BBC): “An enigmatic, moody blend of smoky crooning, nimble keyboards and treble-heavy riffs.”

Petra Davis (The Quietus): “The album accomplishes a great deal with relatively few tools”

READ all 64 reviews

5.

Wild Beasts

Two Dancers

What did the experts say?

Huw Jones (Daily Music Guide): “Wild Beasts are back – even though they’ve hardly been away – with another truly exceptional album.”

Dan Cairns (Times Online): “… it produces one of 2009’s indisputable masterpieces.”

Gareth Grundy (The Guardian): “… the quartet’s second album is a wonderful, successful revival of indie rock’s once staple but often forgotten values of wit and intellect”

READ all 49 reviews

6.

Mastodon

Crack the Skye

What did the experts say?

Will Hermes (Rolling Stone): “Mastodon are a full–on metal band for people who think they’re too cool to like metal.”

Andre Mihsin (CHARTattack): “This isn’t some pretentious wankfest we’ve heard from other bands.”

J Bennett (Rock Sound): “There is only one word for the new Mastodon album and that word is ‘fucking stunning’.”

READ all 53 reviews