Tuesday Test Drive

A Hawk and a Hacksaw Délivrance
A Hawk and a Hacksaw - "I Am Not a Gambling Man"
from Pitchfork..."As the group continues to draw inspiration from their travels and friends, they challenge themselves with baffling rhythmic tricks and collaborative ideas that fuse traditional melodies with their own distinguishing attributes. The gloriously sprightly energy of Délivrance is so ebullient and full of character that by the time it's over you feel like you've caught a glimpse of the type of joyful festivity that always feels most rewarding after a long journey."


Amazing Baby Rewild
Amazing Baby - "Smoke Bros"
from MusicOMH..."There's also the feeling that, in this rather fickle world, maybe Amazing Baby's time is already behind them. What would have sounded fresh and intriguing a year ago, now inevitably sounds like a tired copy. The lack of a killer song - their version of a Time To Pretend, if you will - only adds to that impression."


Deer Tick Born On Flag Day
Deer Tick - "Easy"
from Obscure Sound..."Although Born on Flag Day is more cohesive and accessible than War Elephant, I cannot help but yearn for the gritty ambitiousness that made Deer Tick’s debut so memorable. Perhaps if they can combine the melodic advantages of Born on Flag Day with the multifarious nature of War Elephant, McCauley and Deer Tick can live up to the ample potential that has deservedly been bestowed upon them."


Foreign Born Person to Person
Foreign Born - "Early Warnings"
from Citizen Dick..."Overall this is about as good of an indie pop record as you will find these days, assuming that you look at it in the proper frame of reference. If you are trying to find the meaning of life in a rock record, you have come to the wrong place. If, on the other hand, you are looking for beautifully arranged songs with soaring hooks, powerful riffs, hypnotic bridges, and captivating choruses you will find all of that and more on this album."


God Help the Girl God Help the Girl
God Help the Girl - "Come Monday Night"
from The Line of Best Fit..."God Help the Girl is, at best, a fascinating mixed bag, and at worst, the most inconsistent record Stuart Murdoch has been involved in since his other foray into soundtracks work, 2002’s Storytelling. Like that record, there are inconsequential instrumental interludes and meta-narratives galore (just compare “Musician…”, a plea from a frustrated fan to her musical heroes, with “Big John Shaft”, a plea from a frustrated director to his dwindling audience). However, just as with Storytelling, the album’s various mis-steps only serve to make its best moments leap out of the speakers."


Patterson Hood Murdering Oscar (and Other Love Songs)
Patterson Hood - "I Understand Now"
from Snob's Music..."I can't help but feel a small sense of disappointment listening to Murdering Oscar. Whereas many singers choose to use their solo albums to explore music that is different from their main project's, Hood really has made a slightly brighter Drive-By Truckers album."


Pete Yorn Back and Forth
Pete Yorn - "Close"
from Entertainment Weekly..."But for a couple of moody rockers, Pete Yorn's Back and Forth is largely acoustic, marrying '70s Cali folk-rock to the modern-day Nebraska sound (Bright Eyes collaborator Mike Mogis produced)."


Regina Spektor Far
Regina Spektor - "Fidelity"
from Culture Bully..."Ultimately, it might be easy for people to write Regina Spektor off as either another Starbucks-friendly piano chanteuse or as another ultra-quirky indie-folk weirdo. To be fair, she could fit into either category, but the way she crams these two sub-genres together is what makes her special."


Sunset Rubdown Dragonslayer
Sunset Rubdown - "Idiot Heart"
from The Yellow Stereo..."Despite the bitterness and overall roughness that seems to permeate these tunes, at the very core lies some pretty solid pop hooks and sensibility. And those female backing vocals? Come on now! Hearing such a small, added detail like that is almost like a revelation to me."


Tortoise Beacons of Ancestorship
Tortoise - "Prepare Your Coffin"
from Slant Magazine..."Beacons demonstrates that Tortoise is still more than capable of releasing an exciting album. A few tracks still find the band veering off into aimlessness, and the album, return-to-form that it is, still pales next to the band's best work. To be sure, Tortoise has written masterpieces before, and this is not one of them, but as a consistently engaging and vital record in its own right, it suggests that the band might have another one in them."