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SHARK SANDWICH – Fast Album Reviews for Those on the Go
August 5, 2016 – Vol. 17
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Music reviews come in all sizes, but you’re busy and do not have time for flowery language… or sentences, really.
Spinal Tap gave the world the greatest album review of all time:
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Welcome to our “Shark Sandwich” — razor-sharp reviews that sum up an album in five sentences or less.
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Russian Circles – Guidance
Russian Circles are a hard review. Enigmatic, thematic, dramatic, metallic… instrumental rock songs. Take Sophia and Black Hearts Procession, cram them together with a thunderstorm, and you might start to get an idea of their sound. Guidance is an album that must be listened to completely, and not chopped up. They don’t make it easy for you, but in the end the ride is completely worth it.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 whistles
Best Song: It’s basically all one track, so…
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Dinosaur Jr. – Give a Glimpse of What Yer Not
Come on, who doesn’t love Dinosaur Jr.? Now that it is established that everybody loves this band, Give a Glimpse of What Yer Not isn’t venturing out into new territory. What Dinosaur Jr. is delivering in 2016 is incredibly solid rock and roll that is perhaps slightly more accessible than in years past, smoother, and the perfect antidote for the summer doldrums. The guitars are loud, the vocals are delivered fully weary of this world, and the tight rhythm section holds it all together.
Rating: 4 out of 5 whistles
Best Song: “Good to Know”
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Angie Stone – Covered in Soul
Angie Stone has been around, y’all. She has the history, the chops, the gravitas to release an album of her interpretations of songs from the 60s – the 80s. I’ll put it this way: you’ll never have to quickly skip ahead of her versions of Phil Collins‘ “In the Air Tonight” or the Guess Who’s “These Eyes” when you pull up next to another car at a red light. That is saying something. Thanks, Ms. Stone.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 whistles
Best Song: “Every 1’s a Winner”
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Jeremy & the Harlequins – Into the Night
You gotta give props to a band that name checks Elvis in 2016, and sounds like a young Bruce Springsteen and the East Street Band jamming with Duane Eddy. This reverence for rock and roll of years past doesn’t appear to be an act for Jeremy & the Harlequins. The album opens so strongly with “Into the Night,” one could be forgiven for thinking they wouldn’t be able to maintain it for a whole album. There are few minor stumbles, but I am happy to report that Into the Night largely keeps up the emotion front to back.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 whistles
Best Song: “Into the Night”
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All artists are available on iTunes, Amazon, GooglePlay, and wherever else better music is sold, streamed, downloaded, or performed on tour.
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NewsWhistle music contributor Chad Werner is “ahead of the curve, behind the times.” You can contact this rock n’ roll sphinx at chad@newswhistle.com (e-mail) or @scooternotmoped (Twitter).
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Lead-In Art Courtesy of Luis Louro / Shutterstock.com
