"There's a Theorbo in the Rock Bin"
The New York Times, April 18, 2010
A review of new albums by three category-defying groups: Clogs, Slow Six and Redhooker (pictured). Each group blurs an increasingly meaningless boundary between contemporary classical music and alternative rock; each disc, in its own way, is more or less a departure for the group in question.
Left on the cutting room floor, perhaps for the best, is a phrase that concluded the opening paragraph in early drafts of the essay: "…you're almost grateful that Internet search engines are replacing perplexed store clerks as the chief source of consumer guidance." And because this was putatively a classical CD review, likening singer Shara Worden to Maria Malibran stayed in, but a Pitchfork reference came out.
As usual, I'm providing web links here for your shopping convenience. (Note that I'm not an affiliate and do not profit from any sales.) But since these three discs — and, for that matter, the complete discographies of these groups — are available for streaming on Lala, I've also assembled a custom playlist with representative tracks from each album.
Clogs – The Creatures in the Garden of Lady Walton (Brassland)
Amazon / Amazon MP3 / Barnes & Noble / eMusic / iTunes / Lala
Slow Six – Tomorrow Becomes You (Western Vinyl)
Amazon / Amazon MP3 / Barnes & Noble / eMusic / iTunes / Lala
Redhooker – Vespers (Soft Landing)
Amazon / Amazon MP3 / iTunes / Lala
Night After Night 
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