Record Reviews

Brakes, Pepi Ginsberg, and Power Douglas

Rating: Solid, like the Liberty Bell.

Lower Merion hometown heroes the Brakes’ newest is taken from a duel residency at Manhattan’s Knitting Factory and Ardmore’s Milkboy. With jamming and improvisation kept to a minimum, the band seems to favor consummate composition and their innate ability to work a groove. With several cuts that will be familiar to fans, newer ones like “Into the Ground” and “Big Money” feature the type of booty-friendly choruses and musicianship that send the ’XPN faithful running for their checkbooks. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the year’s first summer-cookout record. (John Steele)

Rating: Excellent, like John Oates’ mustache.

One-time Philly resident Pepi Ginsberg has gracefully slipped into the all-male roster of local label Park the Van for her third album, recorded by Dr. Dog’s Scott McMicken. Her conversational rasp and folky sprawl will recall Patti Smith for many, and the bouncy piano and drums bear Dr. Dog’s paw prints, but Red marks a big step from the self-released albums preceding it. Steeped in vintage ’60s and ’70s vibes, Ginsberg’s songs are fascinating oddities that pull us in with that ruffled, world-weary voice. (Doug Wallen)

Rating: Solid, like the Liberty Bell.

Power Douglas’ MySpace page says they’re from Gentrified, N.Y. If gentrification weren’t such a dirty and loaded word, it would be a pretty apt description of the music. It’s a little bit gritty, with traces of Old World melodies mixed with new-fangled sounds. Beats draw heavily on ’70s funk, while melodies are a melange of dub, trip-hop and hip-hop. TV on the Radio’s Tunde Adebimpe sang and composed vocals for three tracks, while King Britt acted as executive producer, rounding out a pretty badass debut. (Katherine Silkaitis)