Author Archives: Skott Bennett
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Two U2 nerds on the significance of ‘All That You Can’t Leave Behind,’ 20 years later
Twenty years to the day that U2 released its landmark album All That You Can’t Leave Behind, Roman Gokhman and I jumped on Zoom to talk about what the album means to us as fans, its cultural impact and legacy, and how it changed the course of U2’s music–for better or worse–in…
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Matt Berninger of The National makes a break for it on ‘Serpentine Prison’
The painted portrait of Matt Berninger on the cover of his new solo album seems straightforward and on-brand enough for The National’s frontman. The image of him sitting quietly and alone in the corner of a gray room could easily pass for what one might imagine he does for…
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ALBUM REVIEW: The Jaded Hearts Club twists and shouts through ‘You’ve Always Been Here’
In 1966—against a backdrop of protest, riots, violence and thousands of Americans dying for no reason at all—The Four Tops released their signature song “Reach Out I’ll Be There” to a world gripped with anxiety and pain. On the song Levi Stubbs shouts reassurance to a friend in need,…
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ALBUM REVIEW: Surfer Blood chases a missed wave on ‘Carefree Theatre’
Ten years and four albums on from its debut, Surfer Blood returns with Carefree Theatre. The album has a back-to-the-roots ethos about it, and rightly so. It coincides with both the band’s return to its first label, Kanine Records, and frontman John Paul Pitts moving back to his hometown…
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ALBUM REVIEW: Doves’ decade of silence ends with ‘The Universal Want’
There’s a moment that comes about halfway through “Prisoners” that says everything about where Doves–and many of their fans–find themselves at the end of this brutal and heartbreaking summer of 2020. A frenzied and urgent guitar solo gives way to a sparse acoustic guitar-and-strings interlude. And then Jimi Goodwin’s…