Philippe Lazaro

October 21, 2010

Sufjan Stevens Branches Out With Age of Adz

By Philippe Lazaro

One of music’s most inventive yet elusive artists breaks his five years of silence with a very unexpected sound.

May 20, 2010

Folk Ensemble Impresses Extravaganza Attendees

By Philippe Lazaro

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros lived up to their reputation, and brought their vintage, traveling folk band act to the stage in a most crowd-pleasing manner.

May 6, 2010

They’ve Got It Together ***

By Philippe Lazaro

The greatest challenge that comes with trying to praise The New Pornographers’ latest release is that the album may actually be the band’s best yet — something that is certainly a difficult thing to say.

March 4, 2010

Gorillaz Gone Wild ****

By Philippe Lazaro

A sure-fire way for an artist to build up anticipation is to release nothing but excellent music and to only release an album once every half-decade. This is exactly what the Gorillaz have done in order to excite fans ov...

February 25, 2010

A Winning Round of Songs ****

By Philippe Lazaro

One of the indie-folk world's most eccentric artists has released this year's most ambitious project to date. Joanna Newsom's latest release, Have One on Me, is an impressive three-disc effort that allows the musician to...

January 28, 2010

“Chip” Off the Old Block ****

By Philippe Lazaro

A band that's put out a couple records and developed a solid fan base can usually take one of two seemingly contradictory paths -- consistency or musical evolution. Hot Chip's One Life Stand shows how a band can accompli...

January 21, 2010

This Spoon Isn’t So Sharp **

By Philippe Lazaro

Austin-based band Spoon has garnered a reputation for dependability, releasing solid album after solid album for the last 10 years or so. The band's last effort, 2007's bizarrely titled Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, was one of their m...

January 14, 2010

Weekend Delights Again ****

By Philippe Lazaro

Despite the backlash from its much-hyped debut album, the NY-based Vampire Weekend avoids showing any signs of a sophomore slump with its latest album, Contra. The foursome of Ivy-Leaguers preserves the same elements tha...

October 1, 2009

Mountain Goats Explore New World ***

By Philippe Lazaro

If you have trouble finding the new The Mountain Goats' album when it is released Tuesday, you might want to try and see if it was mistakenly stocked in the Christian music department. No, the trio hasn't transitioned in...