Posts by Jeremy Lukens

[rating=6.00] With his debut album, the aptly titled In the Lonely Hour, London singer Sam Smith spends just under an hour bemoaning the loneliness, sorrow and self-doubt that love leaves in its wake. Packed with smooth R&B crooning and energetic dancehall grooves, the album has enough variety to become more than simply a vocal showcase, […]

[rating=7.00] Cemetery Dares, the debut album by Brooklyn-by-way-of-St. Louis band Modern Rivals, is an ambitious mix of sun-drenched psychedelic pop. At times basking in the warm reverb and at other times exploring the foggy sonic terrain of 60s psychedelia, it is a solid if slightly busy effort produced by Kyle “Slick” Johnson (Cymbals Eat Guitars). “Angel […]

[rating=6.00] Considering that the latest album by Sarah McLachlan, the queen of the mournful piano ballad, is largely inspired by personal tragedy, one might expect an unrelenting deluge of misery. Luckily, that is not the case, as McLachlan includes enough hopeful moments to break through the pain. Shine On is McLachlan’s eighth studio album and […]

For their first show of the Spring tour, Amos Lee and his band treated the capacity crowd of Orlando’s Plaza Live to a performance that was energetic, eclectic, and intimate, showcasing all the traits that made fans fall in love with Lee following his 2005 debut. It was a relaxed set, with Lee telling a […]

[rating=7.00] Cosmos, the third album by Yellow Ostrich, finds the band exploring new territory sonically. For starters, it is now Yellow Ostrich’s second release as a full band. What started as a solo project by frontman Alex Schaff is now a four-piece rock band fleshed out by drummer Michael Tapper, bassist Zach Rose, and Jared […]

Led Zeppelin have announced plans to reissue their first three albums with four previously unheard tracks set to accompany each release. New song ‘La La’ will appear on the second disc of ‘Led Zeppelin II’, while the additional audio disc accompanying ‘Led Zeppelin III’ will feature ‘Jennings Farm Blues’, ‘Bathroom Sound’ and ‘Keys To The […]

[rating=7.00] Recorded over two days at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee, Acoustic at the Ryman showcases the soft, melodic side of Band of Horses. The album is warm and inviting, a reimagining of ten tracks from each of the band’s first four albums, with an emphasis placed on the slow crooners from each. Considering […]

[rating=6.00] Trent Dabbs’ eighth release, The Way We Look at Horses, treads familiar territory for the Nashville singer-songwriter. It is a collection of songs dealing with concepts of love, loss, death, and spiritual discovery. The title track references equine therapy and how a spiritual connection with horse and rider can help uncover buried feelings and […]

[rating=6.00] Sophomore albums find themselves in an awkward situation of trying to recapture the success of the debut while still being able to stand on their own, avoiding becoming a Xerox of everything that worked the first time. With Cults, their 2011 debut rode on a wave of buzz following the viral success of “Go […]

[rating=7.00] Philadelphia indie rockers Man Man have always sought to push the envelope. With the release of their fifth full-length album, they do that by taking their music in a direction no one expected: the mainstream. To say that On Oni Pond is the band’s most accessible work is putting it mildly. The band that […]

[rating=6.00] Ben Shepherd has spent his career in the shadows. He spent most of his career as almost an afterthought in Soundgarden, the steady bassist always upstaged by Chris Cornell’s soaring vocals and Kim Thayil’s rapid-fire guitar solos. Perhaps it’s fitting then that Sheperd’s debut solo album is under the cryptic moniker HBS. One thing […]

[rating=8.00] Two years after the release of 2009’s Tonight: Franz Ferdinand, the Glasgow band went on hiatus with no definite plans of regrouping. The band was burned out, weary from nonstop touring and jaded by an album that was both a critical and commercial disappointment. It took a lot of soul searching to determine whether […]

[rating=9.00] When Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks formed the Tedeschi Trucks Band in 2010, it was cause for celebration. On a personal level, the married couple would no longer have to endure separation during long tours. Musically, the new band maximized the strengths of each while downplaying their weaknesses. Trucks, whether playing in his own […]

[rating=8.0] Yellowbirds’ sophomore album marks Sam Cohen’s first foray into a full band collaboration since the dissolution of Apollo Sunshine in 2009. Yellowbirds’ 2011 debut, The Color, was essentially a solo album, written and conceived simply because Cohen’s overactive mind couldn’t stop writing songs. Not surprisingly, the release felt small and intimate. After traveling with […]

Folk singers like Marling are often called “storytellers” to the point that it has become a cliché, but if her previous releases were collections of short stories, Once I Was an Eagle is Marling’s debut novel.

After two years of exhaustive touring supporting their debut LP, Pickin' Up the Pieces, Fitz & the Tantrums faced the daunting task of recording a follow-up album that would live up to the newly heightened expectations without simply releasing a carbon copy of the music that made them famous. Perhaps as a way of delegating that problem, front-man Michael Fitzpatrick this time opted against producing the album himself, instead handing the reigns to Tony Hoffer (Beck, The Kooks).

It only takes a few seconds for Dark Horses to establish the tone of their debut album. Black Music begins with swirling directionless noise, creating a desolate landscape. Lisa Elle’s distant vocals then join the mix, her pained voice combining with the flowing ambiance to create an uneasy feeling like waiting for expected bad news. The fact that the crescendo never happens leaves all the built-up tension unresolved and it lingers throughout the remainder of the LP.

Dear Miss Lonelyhearts, CWK's fourth release, finds the band continuing to look forward rather than imitating their older music. Once again, the album is too slick, with only hints of the grungy garage minimalism of their grand debut Robbers & Cowards. The good news is that they pull off the pop music much better this time. Yes, the drums are played in time, Willet’s vocals are in key, and the songs are more streamlined and predictable, but at least this time they have hooks. At least this time around, the pop songs are interesting.

Bands 42 years into their career usually don’t offer many surprises. However, no one knew what to expect from Aerosmith’s 15th studio album, Music from Another Dimension! Would it be a loud blues-rock album a la Honkin’ on Bobo; a bland pop-rock release a la Just Push Play? Would it sound like raunchy rock from the guys who became known as the Bad Boys from Boston or more like an album fronted by a former American Idol judge?

Enjoy the Company ends on a bittersweet note, with a tease of how good the record could have been.