brian, Author at Pop Rock Nation

About brian

Tutor, parent, cat-feeder, and voice-actor Brian Block listens to too much music and glides through life mostly on the strength of his good looks. If he can see farther than others, it is only by standing on the shoulders of giants, an environmentally sound form of public transportation.

#49 album of 2012 – DRRT by Lost Lander

Artist: Lost Lander

Album: DRRT

“Alternative orchestral synth rock Portland”, announces Lost Lander’s Bandcamp tags: a fair place to start. Their songs – calm, pretty, elegant, and fond of long, glistening notes – remind me of “laptop-pop” bands like Postal Service and Owl City. But the ways the comparison fails are important too. Matt Sheehy’s voice is deeper and more strained, and Lost Lander are an actual band. Patrick Hughes’s drums thump and pitter-pat and crash and echo; […]

By brian|January 9th, 2013|Mini-Reviews|0 Comments

#50 album of 2012 – Riverhood by Holobody

Artist: Holobody

Album: Riverhood

Riverhood opens with two distant echoed voices in solemn harmony. The song, aptly, is called Unfold. Finger-snaps join, then foreground voices: Luke Loseth, tenor, sings a long, agile melody while his sister Charlotte, soprano, wordlessly decorates around him. Piano enters, heavily echoed; so do less-identifiable drones. It’s a gorgeous track. It merges smoothly into Hurricane Season, what hip-hop might have been if invented by Brian Eno to help his 10-year-olds play when they weren’t in aggressive moods: […]

By brian|January 8th, 2013|Mini-Reviews|1 Comment

You’ve probably never heard of it: a friendly introduction

Brian Block introduces himself
(and his 30 favorite albums)
Hi! My name is Brian Block. I’m new here; pleased to meet you. I wear silly hats; I own silly cats. I read too much; I teach; I had Attention Deficit Disorder before it was cool. I raise two small children who don’t have Attention Deficit Disorder even though it is cool now.

I used to write long, passionately in-depth music reviews at a website called Epinions. I don’t […]

By brian|August 20th, 2012|News|2 Comments

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