Illinois Entertainer February 2014 | Page 38

er that smolders but never ignites, a testament to Alcest’s finely-tuned craft. – Patrick Conlan Continued from page 24 SWITCHFOOT Fading West Plenty o New & fUs ed VINYL Your Import Rock Specialty Store! Thousands Of Import CD's, As Well As Regular USA Pressings of CD's & DVD's! • Specializing in Prog, 60's - 70's psychedelic rock, fusion and alternative titles. • Audiophile UK & European versions of your favorite 60's - 80's rock • Japanese, releases and remasters with extra songs, different tracks, with earlier release in Super titles now better than ever, dates. Audio format, DVD Audio, etc. Shop our releases and remasters we'll make sure it's 80's • Audiophile website, call ahead and of your favorite 60's - here. rock • titles now better than ever, in Super Audio format, DVD Audio, etc. We can also ship your order, quick service. • Rare www.musicmastersworldwide.com limited releases, titles you'll never find. • Shop our website, call ahead and we'll make sure it's here. 5230 Main Street • Downers Grove • We can also ship your order, quick service. (630)364-2277 630-515-1975 www.musicmastersworldwide.com www.musicmastersworldwide.com NEWHOURS: Tues-Fri:Tues, Wed, 11 :- 5pm10:30-6pm,Saturday" Closed Sun.& Mon. HOURS: Mon: 11-4; Wed • 11-6; Saturday: 10:30-5:30; & tore Hours: Monday: 11-4;FriThurs, Fri:Fri •11-5; Thurs: 11-5,Sunday & Monday Mon Hours: Tues - Saturday: 11-5; Sat: 11am-4:30pm • 10:30-5:30; Closed Sun 12-6, EWNew Hours: Tuesday Tues,11am-5pmSaturdayClosed Closed Sun ClosedSun. e-mail: [email protected] Gift Certificates available 5230 Main Street • Downers Grove 5230 Main Street • Downers Grove (630)364-2277 With 630-515-1975 630-515-1975 Coupon 10% OFF USED LP's Store Hours: Tuesday -- Fri 12-6,11 • 5pm 11am-4:30pm • Closed Sun.& Mon. NEW HOURS: Tues-Fri: 11am-5pmSaturdayClosed Sunday & Monday Mon & Mon. NEW Hours: Tues Saturday: - Sat: • 11-5, Closed SunExpires HOURS: 2/28/14 6/30/11 e-mail: [email protected] Gift Certificates available (Atlantic) LA-bred Switchfoot’s ninth offering could be hailed as the “return of surfrock.” The band’s new album Fading West is being released alongside a documentary of the same name, which is part surf film, part rock documentary, and part travelogue from their 2012 world tour, where the songs for this LP were birthed. Still present are the positive, life-challenging, spiritually-driven lyrics that have afforded the band crossover success between mainstream and Christian Rock charts. Along with that are more catchy guitar hooks and Jon Foreman’s recognizable raspy vocals that scream with passion on rockers like “Say It Like You Mean It” and comfort with authenticity on slower tunes like “The World You Want” and “Back to the Beginning Again.” This album is less aggressive rock than previous effort Vice Verses was though, instead going the route of more sweeping chorus-driven anthems like “Love Alone is Worth the Fight” and “When We Come Alive,” which prove to be just as compelling. – Carter Moss 7 VARIOUS ARTISTS Music From The X-Files (BSX) Next to the theme from "The Twilight Zone," the opening motif for "The X-Files" may be the spookiest piece of TV music ever penned. That haunting melody recurs throughout this 19-track tribute, which celebrates the 20th anniversary of the show's debut through inventive adaptations of works by the program's prolific composer, Mark Snow. An eerie instrumental suite from the episode "This Is Not Happening," performed by synthesizer savant Dominik Hauser, is a highlight, as are the halfdozen cues from the show's two spin-off flicks. Augmented by illuminative liner notes from film-music maven Randall D. Larson, the recording is a fascinating and altogether fitting homage to this often macabre yet always memorable adventure. -- Jeff Berkwits 6 ALCEST Shelter (Prophecy) Despite some of the initial sonic trappings, Alcest quickly evolved from an experimental black metal outfit to a pioneering, transcendental blackgaze band, laying the groundwork that would allow bands like An Autumn For Crippled Children and Deafheaven to prosper. (Corpsepainters never considered Alcest kvlt anyways). With Shelter, the last remnants of metallic influence have been obliterated by crystalline guitars and billowing atmospherics. Hell, even Neil Halstead (Slowdive/Mojave 3) sings on one track. First single “Opale” is heartbreakingly beautiful, the celestial crush of soaring melodies and hushed vocals shimmer in a brilliant kaleidoscope. With restraint and glowering power, “Deliverance” closes the album with an epic whisper, a slow-burn- 38 illinoisentertainer.com february 2014 7 JOHNNY WINTER True To The Blues: The Johnny Winter Story (Legacy) He may be turning 70 later this month, but Johnny Winter is still the undisputed leader of the electricity-doused rock n’ blues scene. Countless cases in point come from this much deserved four CD box set from the Texas guitarist/singer/producer, which complies highlights from no less than 27 albums on multiple labels spanning 1968-2011. Throw it all together and that’s 56 tunes chronicling the original guitar slinger’s own snarling sounds, alongside a feast of jaw-dropping collaborations with fellow masters from multiple generations (including frequent collaborator Muddy Waters, Vince Gill and Derek Trucks to name a few). Collectors can take additional stock in a few previously [