Posts by Lee Zimmerman

[rating=9.00] Melody and muscle aren’t always mutually compatible, given the fact that many times one precludes the other. Nevertheless, there are instances one trait can actually enhance to the other, as bands like Cheap Trick, the Raspberries, Queen and Green Day have proven in the past. Nada Surf falls into the same general category, although […]

[rating=7.00] Athens, Georgia band New Madrid is an unorthodox bunch to say the least, a group whose emphasis on chants, rhythms and squalling guitars places them more in the category of the avant garde as opposed to their once rootsy regimen. On Magnetkingmagnetqueen they go all out in their attempts to assert a brasher, more […]

[rating=8.00] An all star collective comprised of Will Kimbrough (vocals, guitar, banjo, mandolin, Harmonica), Anthony Crawford (vocals, guitar, piano, violin), Grayson Capps (vocals, guitar, harmonica), Corky Hughes (guitar, pedal steel, bass) and Savana Lee (vocals, snare drums), Willie Sugarcapps offers up an excellent sophomore set in Paradise Right Here, a set of songs that stays […]

[rating=7.00] There are many ways to tackle the blues. The music can be mournful, hopeful, Southern stirred or Chicago situated. Although it’s a well-defined form, it can be interpreted from a strict template or expanded by pushing at the parameters. As in any genre, there are those who pay reverence to precedents and others who […]

Another one gone. Another one whose influence exceeded the imagination and forever changed the musical landscape. Like Bowie, Haggard and Frey earlier this year, Prince’s death reminds us that certain artists are capable of making an everlasting impression, and when they leave us, there’s a hole that’s hard to fill. Prince, however, was more than […]

[rating=8.00] If the Hackensaw Boys had been around in any earlier era — say, the ‘20s or ‘30s — they might have been big stars. Known for their rousing blend of fiddles, banjos and high harmonies, they create a rousing party-pleasing sound that quickly turns any gathering into a scene of festive mayhem. That’s been […]

[rating=7.00] Woods have never been an easy band to put a handle on, a situation which can clearly thwart anyone looking for ready descriptions and easy to tag comparisons. Slow gaze outfits like Luna, Damon & Naomi and perhaps even early Pink Floyd come closest, but in truth, nothing they’ve done in the course of […]

[rating=8.00] Gabe Dixon has been around for a while, since 1999 in fact. After making a series of albums with his namesake Gabe Dixon Band, he gained notable prominence by playing keyboards and contributing backing vocals to Paul McCartney’s Driving Rain LP. After performing with Macca at the Concert For New York City, a fundraiser […]

Duran Duran can claim a storied history that spans the 40 or so years since they started life as part of Britain’s so-called “New Romantic” movement of the late 70’s and early 80’s. Coinciding with the tail end of the U.K. punk scene, that trendy, timely fad deviated from punk’s irreverent attitude but shared the […]

[rating=7.00] Coming quickly on the heels of the darkly determined Istanbul/Fog of War, By The Time Your Rocket Gets To Mars finds Jerry Joseph rekindling his better known signature style, one that’s equal parts rock ‘n’ roll with a profoundly populist stance. Joseph took a dire world view on Istanbul/Fog of War, a reflection of the sobering circumstance he […]

[rating=8.00] A style and sound can be deceptive. So it’s little surprise that with his parched vocals, weary demeanor and songs that bear a sense of worn, ragged reflection, Hayes Carll doesn’t come across like a man with an ample list of accomplishments. A recent Grammy nomination, a number of chart triumphs and some highly […]

[rating-6.00] Riding piggyback to Mumford and Sons as purveyors of the new populist folk, The Lumineers made a strong case their first time out that indeed, like the Mumfords, they’d be a band to reckon with. Their song “Ho Hey” practically became the new mainstream anthem, thanks to a catchy chorus that deemed it a […]

[rating=8.00] It’s one thing to be a chameleon. However it’s quite another to change your tack completely. The former J Geils frontman Peter Wolf is, shall we say, a Wolf in sheep’s clothing. Where once he specialized in fire and frenzy via the band’s stomping, rollicking blues; Wolf’s solo career’s found him ploughing the fertile […]

[rating=6.00] Though they’re finally — finally — getting their due with their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Cheap Trick could still be called the Rodney Dangerfields of Rock ‘n’ Roll. After all, respect has been a long time in coming for a band that’s been making records for more than four […]

[rating=7.00] “I find no interest in the methodical stabilities of the sane/For I delight in the shadowy corners of unhinged thought, eating up my bad brains.” That deranged passage from the tellingly titled “Prophet Incarnate” off his new album, the even more descriptively dubbed Revelations of a Mind Unraveling adequately illustrates the fearsome rampage that’s […]

[rating 7.00] Whenever you have a producer with the credence and credibility of Brendan Benson at the helm, you’re bound to get attention. Of course, from that point on you have to then prove that you’re worthy all on your own. On their sophomore album Automatic + Voluntary, MODOC (singer/guitarist Clint Culberson, lead guitarist Kyle […]

There are any number of bands that tout their allegiance to the heartland these days, but far fewer that can claim to have actually had their roots planted in those fertile environs. However, for those who have, there’s a certain honesty and assurance that’s gleaned from the values and purity instilled in those who have […]

[rating=8.00] Damien Jurado makes a sublime noise, one characterized by found sound, ambient textures and a added suggestion of shoe-gaze and cryptic folk. That’s what makes him a singular musician and a challenge to typecast. Adding to that difficulty is that fact that his albums verve unpredictably in different directions, going from traces of electronica […]

[rating=8.00] Bob Mould has a fearsome reputation, and it’s little wonder considering his body of work boasts some of the most aggressive riffs ever put to wax. That’s been his constant, not only in his seminal band Husker Du and its successor, Sugar, but also throughout his own solo output, which, with few exceptions, have […]

[rating=7.00] At the tender age of 22, Parker Milsap has accomplished quite a bit in a very brief career. His eponymous debut turned quite a few heads in high places, reaping him honors as a contender for Americana Emerging Artist of the Year, along with praise from the likes of The Wall Street Journal, USA […]