2006 July | one times one
opinions were like kittens i was giving them away. -modest mouse
there's nothing as something as one. -e. e. cummings

OTO Rating: 7/10       This third album from minor indie renowns The Long Winters narrowly strikes the space between “mellow” and “relaxed.” Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Track listing: 01 Pushover 02 Fire Island, AK 03 Teaspoon 04 Hindsight 05 Sky Is Open 06 Honest 07 Clouds 08 Rich Wife 09 Ultimatum 10 [...]

OTO Rating: 6/10      Throughout Devic’s long career, they’ve managed to stay on the right side of shoegaze, which is equivalent to walking a razor-thin line. Shoegaze can so easily slide into the doldrums that those who excel in it are often worthy of applause. This album, unfortunately, is not. Instead it’s a slow and [...]

OTO Rating: 8/10       It’s been a long time coming. Venus Hum’s last album arrived three years ago, and the time in between hasn’t been easy. Lead vocalist Annette developed a painful condition that nearly finished her career, while the other two members found themselves scattered across the United States. And now, after separation, illness, [...]

OTO Rating: 4/10       It’s a tricky thing, a live album. Really, a live show and a recorded album are two completely different art forms; one as distinct from the other as film is from theatre. To capture the energy and ambiance of the former in a format that rewards perfection and nuance . . [...]

OTO Rating: 4/10       From acoustic fingerpicking to methodic riffs orbiting in space, Canadian musician Dave Hart’s mission to pack dutiful compositions full of DIY drum programming and noise comes to fruition on his BOA Records release Diversity. The album’s title certainly begs for listener attention and comparison, but while the record is most assuredly [...]

OTO Rating: 7/10      Maybe you missed the eighties the first time around. Or maybe you were too young – too busy with Light-Brites and Cabbage Patch Kids to enjoy the John Hughes films and the Smiths. Well, thanks to NYC four-piece Elefant, it’s not too late. Now you can grab your neon and your [...]

OTO Rating: 10/10       Yes, I know what you’re going to say. That a perfect score is ridiculous, that it takes an extraordinary album to get so high a rating, that this is a sophomore album, and we all know how terrible those are, right? You could bring up Irving’s over reliance on musical history, [...]

OTO Rating: 6/10       Marykate O’Neil’s first album, released four years ago, was an amiable blend of folk and pop, something fundamentally more than the so-called “singer-songwriter” genre. How disappointing, then, that her sophomore effort falls into all the wrong holes; O’Neil’s spark seems to have departed, leaving only Byrdsy pop and overstated lyrics in [...]

OTO Rating: 8/10       Most compilations of b-sides and rarities often feel tossed off – a mere cash-in at a timely moment, a way to unload below-par songs, or an excuse to tour yet again. What’s startling about this collection (which spans nearly a decade) is how cohesive, valuable, and relevant it is. This is [...]