ALL Reviews

The Polyphonic Spree: Salvage Enterprise

The Polyphonic Spree: Salvage Enterprise

Ryan Reed on November 30, 2023
The Polyphonic Spree emerged in 2000 as a vehicle for Tim DeLaughter’s wide-eyed orchestral-pop vision, with the players dressing in white stage robes and building enormous crescendos through woodwinds, strings, keyboards and choirs. But the core of what made the project so special—the imagination, the symphonic-level splendor—has probably also kept them in a cultural cage. […]
Pharoah Sanders: Pharoah

Pharoah Sanders: Pharoah

Jeff Tamarkin on November 27, 2023
The backstory of this 1976 recording by the late tenor saxophonist Pharoah Sanders is so fascinating and convoluted that it takes a 64-page booklet—included in the box set—to unravel it all. In short, Sanders entered the studio determined to make an album for India Navigation Records producer Bob Cummins that was different than anything the […]
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard: The Silver Cord

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard: The Silver Cord

Ryan Reed on November 22, 2023
There’s a fine line between “fun creative prompt” and “tired gimmick,” but fortunately King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard have always steered clear of the latter. Over the course of 24 studio albums, they have (among numerous other experiments) explored the rarely charted realms of microtonal tuning, edited jams into structured songs and established strict […]