ARTIST NEWS
Rolling Stone.com Reviews:
Rolling Stone.com recentley reviewed two Redeye Distribution releases, giving them both high praise.
Dolorean - Violence in Snowy Fields Andres Parker - Tell It To The Dust. See below for content of reviews. Dolorean Violence in the Snowy Fields (Yep Rock) On Dolorean's second full-length album, the Portland-based indie-folk collective moves away from the sparseness that characterized its homemade debut. Through the use of layered instrumentation and slick recording techniques, the band perfects a sound that is at once gloriously polished and incredibly intimate. Violence is a diverse affair complete with everything from barroom stompers to acoustic weepers. But it's at its absolute best when it melds country-inflected rock with chamber pop, as on "Dying in Time" and "Put You to Sleep" where sweeping string atmospherics complement precise guitar-strumming. The band's name is a play on the Latin word for pain, but front man Al James is no mere sad sack peddling heartache. Sure, he has melancholy ballads in spades, but he injects them with a subtle humor reminiscent of master songwriters like Jim O'Rourke and the Webb Brothers. Quite simply, this is smart and pretty music. (ERIC STEUER) Anders Parker Tell It to the Dust (Baryon) Casting aside some of the fidgety experimentalism that made his last album, Songs in the Northern Key, fabulous or frustrating (depending on your point of view) Anders Parker, the singer-songwriter formerly known as Varnaline, has crafted a resolute set of songs that moves fluidly from rugged country-indie to scorched-earth rockers to frosted cabin-in-the-woods-style ballads. Tell It to the Dust is bursting with cameos, including Kendall Meade (Mascott) and Jay Farrar (Son Volt), both of whom especially lend credence to Parker's already elemental songs. "Keep Me Hanging On" is one of those songs that's so perfect, it seems more born than written; Parker's dry, slightly bruised vocals stirs up Meade's supple, simple alto until they match the same emotional pitch. "Doornail (Hats Off to Buster Keaton)" is a maelstrom of a song that leaves blisters in its wake. Tell It to the Dust is Parker's obvious bid for recognition -- and proof that he should get it. (MARGARET WAPPLER) |

