The News Review:

- Dream maker
- Yawned in Bars page 1 – Music – Village Voice – Village Voice
- Globalfest 2008 – Music – Review – New York Times

Dream maker
Malaysia Star – Jan 15, 2008
While Portnoy says he is at his drums “only when I have to be” he is still driven to be on top of things because “I have to live up to these awards. ” He likes to “play all styles of rock such as Ringo Starr-like drumming and industrial drumming. ” He is all ears to all forms of music too from the Beatles and U2 to heavy metal bands Slayer and Lamb of God. Asked what he would be if he was not a drummer he says he would be a producer as he’s “very meticulous” and likes to oversee details. Indeed a check of his personal website (www. com ) reveals that he lists even small details like his favourite cities.

Yawned in Bars page 1 – Music – Village Voice – Village Voice
Village Voice – Jan 15, 2008
Not to say maturity has been entirely unkind to Marshall—the production here as on 2006′s The Greatest is remarkably intimate: You can practically smell the cigarettes fuming in the studio ashtrays. But also like The Greatest Jukebox’s few truly memorable moments—such as the shimmering “Silver Stallion” which takes the jaunty country-rock tune popularized by the Highwaymen and turns it into a late-night whisper à la her version of “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”—are dwarfed by the merely adequate ones. The most captivating cover here isn’t a cover at all: “Metal Heart” first appeared on 1998′s Moon Pix arguably Marshall’s most clear-eyed expression of that mix of trepidation and intrepidity that once defined her music. n the original Marshall’s vocals are double-tracked fluttering timorously between plucked guitar chords and the song has a nervousness to it simmering but never boiling. n this version “Metal Heart” fits snugly amid the Billie Holiday and the Janis Joplin having been transformed into another smoky ballad with Marshall belting “Metal heart you’re not worth a thing. ” The transformation is more touching than powerful: condemning someone to a “very sad sad zoo” sounds silly here forcing us to compare the naive Marshall of years gone by with this awkwardly grown-up version. You can hear in her voice that she remembers those days of naked beguiling expression even if she can’t quite re-create them… Not to say maturity has been entirely unkind to Marshall—the production here as on 2006′s The Greatest is remarkably intimate: You can practically smell the cigarettes fuming in the studio ashtrays. But also like The Greatest Jukebox’s few truly memorable moments—such as the shimmering “Silver Stallion” which takes the jaunty country-rock tune popularized by the Highwaymen and turns it into a late-night whisper à la her version of “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”—are dwarfed by the merely adequate ones. The most captivating cover here isn’t a cover at all: “Metal Heart” first appeared on 1998′s Moon Pix arguably Marshall’s most clear-eyed expression of that mix of trepidation and intrepidity that once defined her music. n the original Marshall’s vocals are double-tracked fluttering timorously between plucked guitar chords and the song has a nervousness to it simmering but never boiling. n this version “Metal Heart” fits snugly amid the Billie Holiday and the Janis Joplin having been transformed into another smoky ballad with Marshall belting “Metal heart you’re not worth a thing. ” The transformation is more touching than powerful: condemning someone to a “very sad sad zoo” sounds silly here forcing us to compare the naive Marshall of years gone by with this awkwardly grown-up version. You can hear in her voice that she remembers those days of naked beguiling expression even if she can’t quite re-create them.

Globalfest 2008 – Music – Review – New York Times
New York Times – Jan 15, 2008
” And with just those voices and percussion they did remarkable things. They sang rich chordal harmonies and joyfully ricocheting counterpoint. There were drones and dissonances akin to Eastern European music sustained solo vocal lines related to Arabic music and Gregorian chant and percussive call-and-response hinting at Africa — all the connections of a Mediterranean hub. The music was equally robust and intricate a local sound ready for export. That’s the undercurrent of Globalfest which runs during the annual conference of the Association of Performing Arts Presenters and doubles as an audition. Globalfest revels in the vague (or open-ended) term “world music” as it mixes local and national styles with international hybrids. There was local pride from Puerto Plata an 84-year-old Dominican guitarist turned singer… The Tuaregs whose separatist rebellion was defeated by Mali and Niger developed music that merges modal African riffs with stark electric-guitar rock. Aminatou Goumar who usually shares lead vocals was unable to appear leaving Mr. Ag Keyna to lead what sounded like a power trio plus a percussionist (playing hand drums and metal castanets). The songs — about the rebels and expatriate sorrows — revolve around Mr. Ag Keyna’s high voice starkly hypnotic riffs and snaky lead lines working up to a trancelike momentum. They don’t need to be heard as world music. With the right bookings Toumast could be a sensation on the stoner-rock circuit.