Send "Cursive " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Drownedinsound |
 It’s a desultory, even trite point with which to begin, but happiness just doesn't become some songwriters. Tim Kasher – who, alongside Cursive, has fronted The Good Life for the last nine years – falls emphatically into this category. Through his musings on relationships, creativity, politics and religion (mostly relationships), he has gifted us a brace of astonishing work over the years; as literate as it is visceral, as deeply affecting as it is relayed with a commendable ear for a hook. Cursive remain his primary concern, and following numerous line-up changes, the odd temporary hiatus and at least one bona-fide modern classic, that their sixth album is suddenly upon us is cause for merriment indeed. Clocking in at just over 40 minutes and comprised of ten songs, Mama, I’m Swollen manages to synthesise almost every strength of the band while tangibly pushing them ever forward. An enviable awareness of space only hinted at in the past is present, lyrical concerns are ranging and articulate as ever, and the sonic dexterity exhibited is something to revel in. This album feels like a simultaneous departure and tacit acknowledgement of erstwhile achievements. Although it might initially come off as perplexing (the frenetic riffs that mark their sound are few and far between), a few listens in the breadth of ambition on display becomes startlingly apparent....full text |
| Billboard |
| The electronic duo MSTRKRFT made a name for itself with a specific sort of synthetic noise that sounds like the worst feedback you've ever heard, sampled and looped in varying keys and levels of volume. On its 2006 debut, "The Looks," the pair bent and tweaked it into aggressive, yet super-catchy dance-pop that picked up where Daft Punk left off, and set the stage for the more palatable Justice's success. The follow-up "Fist of God," its first release on Steve Aoki's Dim Mak, opens with those familiar sonic belches. But instead of a robot voice bleating about the din, it's R&B diva Lil Mo, smoothly intoning "You don't know what love is." John Legend, N.O.R.E. and even Ghostface Killah all turn up too, on tracks that vary from nostalgic hip-hop to lilting soul—without ever losing their booming electronic underpinnings. The combination of old-school melody and post-mod dissonance is risky, bold, and one of the most exciting releases of the year so far. —Kerri Mason...full text |
| Slantmagazine |
| Cursive, Omaha's little band that could, did. The band refined their sound and vision after an unremarkable late-'90s inception to become one of the most respected acts in independent music. By blending Midwest emo—as originally defined by Braid, Promise Ring, Boy's Life, and others—with unique musical turns like ungainly chord progressions and horn-and-cello arrangements, Cursive created a distinct sound. Vocalist/head honcho Tim Kasher proved himself a superb lyricist with an appropriately gruff voice—the perfect complement to his band's rough-hewn music. With a trio of career-defining records (2000's Domestica, 2003's The Ugly Organ, and 2006's Happy Hollow), Cursive stubbornly followed their muse with no regard for commercial or critical gain, and in doing so birthed a bastard sound they could righteously call their own. Mama, I'm Swollen is Cursive's most straightforward record in nearly a decade. Though retaining the brass section and ancillary instrumentation found on their previous two albums, the band adopts more standard song structures here. Ugly Organ and Happy Hollow had their share of odd songs that sounded as if the band was trying too hard to be different. On their newest, Cursive plays it a little safer. There's sill room for variety, from full-out rockers to bluesy shuffles, but the streamlined approach pays off with the band's most consistent album. With a steady, muscular rhythm draped in discordant guitars, and Kasher howling like Ian MacKaye ("Don't want to live in the now, don't want to know to what I know!"), album opener "In the Now" sounds like a lost track from Fugazi's Repeater. The band then pulls an about-face with the relatively somber though simmering "From the Hips," which builds toward a climactic end that's strengthened by a rousing saxophone melody, while the dour "What Have I Done?" recalls the Replacements's sadder moments, the self-deprecating lyrics capturing Paul Westerberg's similar alcohol-soaked grim worldview: "I was out there in the world, but the world was passing me by." Rare is it that a singer can put these sentiments to music and paint such vivid portraits evoking feelings of utter defeat and total despair (think Springsteen and Waits). Always a devotee of the concept album, Kasher depicts a middle-aged man steeped in failure and facing a hell teeming with personal demons. He declares, "I'm at my worst when at my best/Trying to look and think and talk and sing and read and write like all the rest."...full text |
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