Posts by Mike McMahan

Calling PussyCake (2021) a rock ‘n’ roll movie is a bit like calling Friday the 13th a movie about summer camp. It misses the point. PussyCake embodies the spirit of the music. The horror movie—firmly entrenched in the grindhouse tradition—is the story of an all-female rock quartet: the titular PussyCake. And if you can’t guess […]

Sean Lennon and Les Claypool return with the third album from The Claypool Lennon Delirium, The Great Parrot-Ox and the Golden Egg of Empathy—an ambitious concept record that both skewers and warns of the accelerating rise of AI. This isn’t just a listening experience. The double album arrives with a lavishly illustrated 24-page comic book […]

You might know Michael “CAVS” Cavanaugh from his day job, drumming for King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard. But the percussion wiz has just dropped his second solo album, and you could say it’s a “trip” in every sense of the word. Engaging and lushly arranged, the all-instrumental Sojourn takes listeners on a journey through […]

Snarky Puppy will host the GroundUP Music Festival this weekend, March 13–15, at the Miami Beach Bandshell. The eclectic lineup goes well beyond performances from the festival’s hosts, featuring artists like Flying Lotus, Rickie Lee Jones, Patrice Rushen, Isaiah Sharkey, and Bilal among others. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the festival, which has […]

The satirical romp Josie and the Pussycats (2001) is a fun movie. But is it a great rock ‘n’ roll movie? Eh, not so fast on that second one. Welcome back to Glide’s quest for what makes a good rock ‘n’ roll movie. Last month, we looked at Almost Famous, a great launching pad because […]

A good rock ‘n’ roll movie remains a tough prospect. Why? It’s a question that has remained elusive for years, and for 2026, the rabbit hole beckons. That’s why, coming to you from the screening room at Glide Magazine HQ, we’ve decided to do a bit of research. Every first Friday of the month, we’ll […]

He may have burst on the scene in the late ‘80s via Living Colour and that awesome “Cult of Personality” riff, but guitarist Vernon Reid has gone on to participate in a variety of projects from a head-spinning number of genres from jazz to electronic. Reid is back with a new solo album, Hoodoo Telemetry, […]

Colatura may be a pop band at heart, but those melodies come part and parcel with a sharp veneer of noise. It’s a testament to that ambition that the band’s new EP, If I’m Being Honest, feels as open as it does. Breezy melodies co-exist with wave pools of guitar racket in what is somehow […]

Producer bob junior keeps it on-brand no matter how you encounter him. You gotta admit, it’s friendly-sounding name. And appropriate, given that he’s got a new album called friends, vol. 2 out on May 23rd. There’s a different collaborator on each track, so you can safely assume he’s an easy guy to work with. And […]

Much of the character of the modern world—and the source of many modern problems—stems from disparate things bumping together: borders, clashes of civilizations. And toxic pollutants and cleanliness. Such were the ideas that drummer Paul Derricott chose to explore via metaphor in his prog jazz outfit, COAST, on their new album, Ember. He wondered, “What […]

Do a lot of kids who start off being interested in artists like pianist McCoy Tyner before getting into Jimi Hendrix, Nirvana, and Pearl Jam? Surely it isn’t common. That trajectory defines Norwegian guitar monster Hedvig Mollestad and is the key to understanding her. Mollestad’s eponymously named trio drops its new LP, Bees in the […]

An artist going from the country to the Big City is kind of a cliché. But the inverse? From the Big City to the country? One thinks of Bob Dylan and The Band retreating to Woodstock, or the Grateful Dead moving to Mickey Hart’s ranch. And that’s just what happened to singer/songwriter Hannah Cohen. Heck, […]

It’s a Venn diagram of jazz: composed and improvised, formal and loose. And listeners never know which fragment of Okonski they’ll see at any given time or if there’s even a meaningful distinction. The piano jazz trio, who dropped its new LP, Entrance Music, on February 28th, laid all its musical cards on the table. […]

Lauren Mayberry didn’t want to play it safe artistically on her adventurous new solo album, Vicious Creature. But she didn’t want her real life to be in danger before the supporting tour even started literally.  When we talked on Zoom to the CHVRCHES singer and solo artist, the Scottish singer/songwriter was sitting comfortably in the […]

When an artist from a successful, well-known band records a solo album, the first question is, “Why?”  Most of the time, it turns out to be internal tensions, a desire to do something different creatively, or both. The key to answering the question honestly is remembering that the artist often denies these motivations at the […]

In today’s postmodern, narrative-driven world, what 30-plus-year-old band led by a college professor hasn’t released an anthology presenting its own career in a parallel universe? Ok, well, maybe there’s just one: Cracker.  Fronted by singer/songwriter David Lowery—also of Camper Van Beethoven—Cracker has had a lengthy, decades-long career, even if some listeners only associate them with […]

Opeth’s polished 14th album, The Last Will and Testament, has been unsealed. The big question on everyone’s mind is: “Does the album deliver?” That one’s an easy “oh hell yes.”  Let’s give a quick recap. If you’ve heard the first two singles, “§1” and “§3,” you know what you’re getting. This is the band’s heaviest material […]

Sometimes, a band demands to be played loud, but it can only be played loud. It’s either loud or turned off. New Zealand’s Office Dog is one of those bands. It proved itself as an outfit to watch with Spiel, its debut LP, earlier this year. Now it’s back already with the EP Doggerland, a […]

Tom “TC” Constanten did what everyone did in the ‘60s: went straight from military service to playing keys with The Grateful Dead. Constanten, 80, is now on a farewell tour with Live Dead and Brothers—an outfit with a helpfully accurate name. The Northeast-focused tour will take place over two weeks in October. We spoke to […]

Adrian Belew has been looking backwards down his path of late, something we all like to do on occasion. And when you’ve had a career like Belew’s, there’s plenty to reflect on. The guitarist/vocalist has solo records, of course, but his more well-known work came via stints with King Crimson, David Bowie, The Bears and […]