music reviews<\/b> by Natalie Kardos<\/i><\/p>\n
Driftless Pony Club<\/b> Cholera<\/i>
\nThe Driftless Pony Club show off their (modest) mousey roots on this CD that\u2019s characterized by abrupt tempo changes and vocals that alternate between singing and shouting. But even with their roots showing as obviously as bleached blonde\u2019s, they manage to carve out an original sound that stands all on its own. The musicianship is outstanding, especially in regards to the rhythm section. In fact, the only downside to the album is the lack of confidence during tempo changes in a few of the songs. However, this band is still quite young, and with time they will (hopefully) mature and fully be able to realize the type of music they are aiming for. Better to aim high and miss slightly than to attain mediocrity. [http:\/\/www.driftlessponyclub.com] – NK<\/p>\n
John Ralston<\/b> Needle Bed<\/i>
\nIf you think Needle Bed sounds somewhat like a collaboration between Elliott Smith and Ben Lee, you may be on the right track. This is rainy day pop music to bring out the depression in all of us. At times beautiful, with multi-tracked vocals and pretty piano lines, and at times overblown (can anyone really feel this bad all the time?), the album is best listened to while curled up on the couch with a hot cup of tea and a good book in hand. [http:\/\/www.john-ralston.com] – NK<\/p>\n
Vinyl Radio<\/b> Fancy with a Pistol<\/i> EP
\nListening to this EP, you get the feeling that this band is a helluva good time live. The songs are in the vein of punky honkey-tonk (punky-tonk?); however, at times, like on \u201cThe Glimmer is Dimmer\u201d it sounds like the band is just going through the motions in the studio. You get the feeling (or at least hope) that they step it up a bit when there\u2019s interaction with a live audience. They are musically solid (although the keys could stand to be a little more prominent in the mix) and not lacking in humor \u2013 the last song of the EP, ironically titled \u201cMessin\u2019 Around,\u201d lifts the piano lick from Journey\u2019s \u201cFaithfully.\u201d An acceptable joke, given the talent that backs it. [http:\/\/www.myspace.com\/vinylradio] – NK<\/p>\n
Wendy Starland<\/b> Dancing with the Sea<\/i>[Single]
\nWendy Starland strikes me as just another pretty face with a pretty voice to match. A pretty, yet bland and uncharacteristic voice. The type of voice that you hear once, maybe ask who it is, and then almost immediately forget. This would be forgivable if her music was at least memorable\u2026but to me, it sounds like something you\u2019d hear in an elevator at a Sandals Resort. It\u2019s been engineered to be pleasing to the ear \u2013 the better to open TV shows with, or to sell cars. Or to bore me to death. [http:\/\/www.wendystarland.com] – NK<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
music reviews by Natalie Kardos Driftless Pony Club Cholera The Driftless Pony Club show off their (modest) mousey roots on this CD that\u2019s characterized by abrupt tempo changes and vocals that alternate between singing and shouting. But even with their roots showing as obviously as bleached blonde\u2019s, they manage to carve out an original sound that stands all on its […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[315],"class_list":["post-251","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-archive","tag-music-reviews-by-natalie-kardos-driftles"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":292,"url":"https:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/2007\/05\/18\/show-reviews-by-natalie-kardos\/","url_meta":{"origin":251,"position":0},"title":"Show Reviews by Natalie Kardos","author":"admin","date":"May 18, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"All these shows were in San Diego, CA. Bright Eyes @ Soma, 5-8-07 Damien Rice @ SDSU Open Air Theater, 5\/1\/07 Mono @ Casbah 4\/29\/2007 Explosions in the Sky @ Epicenter, 4\/27\/2007 Show reviews and pics by Natalie Kardos Bright Eyes @ Soma, 5-8-07 I have to admit, I was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "archive"","block_context":{"text":"archive","link":"https:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/category\/archive\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":280,"url":"https:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/2007\/04\/10\/the-thermals-show-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":251,"position":1},"title":"The Thermals show review","author":"admin","date":"April 10, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"The Thermals @ The Casbah,, 4\/5\/2007 Review and pics by Natalie Kardos \u201cHardly art\/hardly garbage.\u201d So spoke the Thermals in \u201cNo Culture Icons\u201d off of their first album, More Parts Per Million. And so goes their music. Hardly art, insofar as it\u2019s punk rock and thus rebelling against traditional art\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "archive"","block_context":{"text":"archive","link":"https:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/category\/archive\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":281,"url":"https:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/2007\/04\/10\/the-frames-show-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":251,"position":2},"title":"The Frames show review","author":"admin","date":"April 10, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"The Frames @ The Belly Up, 4\/6\/2007 Show review and pic by Natalie Kardos Even though Irish band The Frames has been around since 1990, they\u2019re just starting to make waves over here in the United States. Those ripples were readily apparent last night at the Belly Up Tavern. Even\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "archive"","block_context":{"text":"archive","link":"https:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/category\/archive\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":265,"url":"https:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/2007\/03\/18\/music-reviews-the-cinematics\/","url_meta":{"origin":251,"position":3},"title":"music reviews – The Cinematics","author":"admin","date":"March 18, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Music reviews, by Natalie Kardos The Cinematics \u2013 A Strange Education With their full-length debut album A Strange Education, The Cinematics throw their hat into the dance-rock ring. Their highly polished variation on this now-familiar theme includes glitzy guitar licks, glimmery chords, and cymbal-centric drumming. Many of the songs, including\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "archive"","block_context":{"text":"archive","link":"https:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/category\/archive\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":287,"url":"https:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/2007\/04\/21\/ted-leo-at-epicanter\/","url_meta":{"origin":251,"position":4},"title":"Ted Leo at Epicanter","author":"admin","date":"April 21, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Ted Leo and the Pharmacists @ The Epicenter, 4\/10\/2007 story and pics by Natalie Kardos Goaded by Pitchfork\u2019s claim that \u201cno rock band currently touring puts on a better live show than the Pharmacists,\u201d I decided to brave the journey up to Mira Mesa and the first all-ages venue that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "archive"","block_context":{"text":"archive","link":"https:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/category\/archive\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":272,"url":"https:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/2007\/04\/01\/jj-grey-mofro-show-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":251,"position":5},"title":"JJ Grey & Mofro show review","author":"admin","date":"April 1, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"JJ Grey & Mofro @ Belly Up Tavern, 3-30-07 Show review and photo by Natalie Kardos JJ Grey hails from the part of Florida that most people never think about. Not the Florida where old people go to retire, to drive their Buicks and Cadillacs at mind-numbingly slow speeds down\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "archive"","block_context":{"text":"archive","link":"https:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/category\/archive\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"http:\/\/pics.livejournal.com\/reviewermag\/pic\/00016qbp\/s320x240","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=251"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=251"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=251"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=251"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}