Posts by Jeff Strowe

[rating=6.00] 28-year old South Carolina native, Chaz Bundick is a musician who likes to keep on the move. Over both his four-album career with Toro y Moi and his side projects, Les Sins and Sides of Chaz, Bundick has embraced an eclectic range of styles: funk, R&B, and psych-pop liberally mingling amongst the funky coolness […]

With “No Shade in the Shadow of the Cross,” Sufjan Stevens hearkens back to the gently lilting, folk-inflected stylings of his masterworks, ‘Illinois’ and ‘Michigan.’

[rating=7.00] Near the close of the 1990’s and at the peak of their success, the gentlemen of 6 String Drag packed up their instruments and called it a day. Although respectively hailing from various Southeastern locales, the group called Raleigh, North Carolina their home, and for a few years proved to be one of the […]

[rating=8.00] As somewhat of a chameleon, Josh Tillman can be a daunting character for fans and critics to examine. His snarky quips and blunt provocations contrast often with his gleaming sincerity and rapt attention to the complexities and confusion of our 21st century lives. “White people problems” as the kids these days say, can often […]

[rating=7.00] Twenty-odd years into their career, Cracker is still going at it, as they return this month with an ambitious look into the dualities of their home state of California. Appropriately titled, Berkeley to Bakersfield, it’s a double album that offers forth two entirely separate takes on the Golden State sound and allows for a […]

[rating=9.00] Although singer Rhett Miller, himself, tends to look barely a day over 20, his band, Old 97’s, have used this past year to celebrate 20 years in the business. Not 20 years with a few hiatuses here and there or new members being shifted in and out, but instead a solid two decades together […]

[rating=8.00] For the first time since 2011, TV on the Radio are back with a new album Seeds, albeit under vastly different circumstances. The three year timespan has brought numerous changes to the band: the unfortunate passing of bassist Gerard Smith, the parting of ways with longtime label Interscope, and the members’ geographic relocation from […]

As someone who attends concerts on a regular basis, it can become fairly easy to lose inspiration or to simply slog through the evening’s proceedings with a bit of ho-hum nonchalance. The spectacle of live music is usually enthralling and it’s a joyful highlight to be able to check out bands and artists from across […]

Oftentimes, and especially in the fall months, sports and music will overlap. For fans of both, this means having to sacrifice the viewing of a baseball playoff or a Monday Night Football game when a good band is in town. Or perhaps it’s the opposite: eating purchased tickets to watch your team play. Fortunately, last […]

From 1996 to 2003, beloved Americana icons The Jayhawks cut and released three albums of material-Sound Of Lies, Smile, and Rainy Day Music without the services of founding member Mark Olson. Despite the music’s generally warm reception and the bevy of great song selections put forth, this period has traditionally been overlooked by many fans […]

[rating=6.00] In a few short years, alt-J have grown from college dorm hall buddies messing around with GarageBand to full-blown rock stars working with some of music’s heavyweights. Their debut release An Awesome Wave captured Britain’s prestigious Mercury Prize in 2012, and immediately catapulted the band into larger venues and bigger headlining slots, while also […]

Each year more music festivals are popping up in cities, both large and small, across the country. For every Bonnaroo, Coachella, and Lollapalooza, there is a two or three day affair that takes over a couple neighborhood blocks and offers its’ citizens the opportunity to support local business enterprises, sample eclectic foodie creations, and most […]

Dallas’ Deep Ellum district serves as the centerpiece of the city’s arts and entertainment happenings. This weekend, Sept. 26-28, the neighborhood hosts the third annual installment of the Index Festival, which will feature over 100 bands and artists spread across three outdoor stages and six surrounding indoor concert venues. Boasting an eclectic lineup, with acts […]

[rating=5.00] Boy, how the mighty have fallen. Once one of the world’s biggest and mightiest bands, U2 have stumbled upon hard times lately. Not financially nor commercially, of course, as their latest release will certainly attest, but definitely from a critical perspective. The first two decades of the band’s career saw them expertly walk the […]

[rating=6.00] Often peppy, never dull, and at times ambitiously prolific, Bishop Allen are back after a long (for them, at least) five year hiatus. In that interim, the band members worked on film and television scores, copiously demoed tracks, and left behind their longtime Brooklyn surroundings for a fresh start amongst the lush greenery of […]

[rating=7.00] As the banjo picker in his dad Del’s legendary Del McCoury Band, there’s hardly any need for introduction; Rob McCoury is undoubtedly bluegrass royalty. With decades worth of shows under his belt and countless recordings mastered to tape, both with the family band and his own offshoot, The Travelin’ McCoury’s, Rob has perfected both […]

[rating=6.00] It’s been nearly a decade since Conor Oberst followed up a few preceding years of solid work with his masterpiece, I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning. That album, released under his Bright Eyes moniker, has stood up nicely over the ensuing years, and continues to be cited time and again by critics and fans alike, […]

[rating=8.00] I saved Latin! What did you ever do?” utters Rushmore’s quirky protagonist Max Fischer during a climactic moment of the excellent 1998 film. And, while the question was exclaimed rhetorically at the time, the folks at American Laundromat Records, can actually come back with a retort. In a move that surprisingly hasn’t previously been […]

Before Megafaun and before Bon Iver, there was DeYarmond Edison; four good friends banging out rustic Americana and folk rock deep in the heart of Wisconsin. A little less than a decade ago, these friends moved south to North Carolina and musically began to splinter off. Brothers Brad and Phil Cook, along with drummer Joe […]

Touring behind his new self-titled solo album, longtime New Yorker Dean Wareham returned to The Bowery Ballroom Saturday night to face an eagerly awaiting packed house. With a career now entering its’ fourth decade, Wareham is no stranger to these parts or the road for that matter, having toured hard and heavy with his previous […]