Posts by Shawn Donohue

Band of Horses’ career started off incredibly strong with their debut Everything All The Time and the follow-up Cease To Begin, establishing their sparkling musical style. Eventually diminishing returns crept in and their sound got stale while their career seemed to stall. Now after five years the outfit is back with the sarcastically titled Things […]

On 2018’s What A Time To Be Alive the long-running outfit Superchunk delivered their most aggressive and successful album in years with a powerful lashing out of the failing world around them. They are still dealing with collapsing institutions but on Wild Loneliness they trade in their punk angst for sweet-sounding indie rock that manages […]

Castaway begins with an affecting spoken-word piece about female sexuality titled “Body”, as the drone and beats build; Sarah Elizabeth Haines has arrived. The second full-length release from the singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist is a questioning of society’s norms from a female artist’s perspective, around a range of sounds and vocal styling that keeps listeners enraptured throughout its […]

It has taken 89 years for the man who has played with the likes of Aretha Franklin, Charles Mingus, Cab Calloway, and countless others, but now is the right time to finally front his own project. Titled for his age, Charlie Gabriel’s Sub-Pop debut is a comforting stroll through the saxophonist/clarinetist/vocalist’s well-worn haunts.   Recorded predominantly […]

Throughout their career, Sonic Youth would release major label noise-rock offerings for the alternative masses and then indulge their more avant-garde side with smaller projects that explored mostly noise/instrumental ideals on their own label. Thurston Moore has continued this trend with his solo work, albums like Rock N Roll Consciousness and By The Fire were […]

Alynda Lee Segarra who performs as Hurray For The Riff Raff has released increasingly strong albums starting with 2014’s protest-folk Small Town Heroes, 2017’s identity searching The Navigator, and now the more synth-based, pop-leaning Life on Earth.   Segarra has a voice that is both stunning and reassuring; expertly delivering thought-provoking lyrics around these eleven Brad […]

There were many layers of funk, soul, and R&B on display Friday night at Brooklyn Bowl in Williamsburg as the packed house enjoyed The Nth Power from Los Angeles opening up for Dumpstaphunk out of New Orleans.  Starting the night, with roses in front of the stage, The Nth Power (Nikki Glaspie – drums, Nate […]

Matt Pike was going insane during the pandemic and without touring, or having access to his bandmates, he decided to develop his first solo effort. The resulting Pike vs. the Automaton is an extension of his well-worn, Motorhead-meets-Black Sabbath-while high on crank, heavy sound, with a few added experiments to alter the course of the […]

The first solo album in over a decade from Eddie Vedder finds him moving in a pop-rock direction while partnering with some musical legends along the way. Earthling is an easy-breezy escape for the Pearl Jam frontman that never really pushes too hard, going for middle-of-the-road, classic rock radio appeal.  Written with his new core […]

During the pandemic, the prolific Eric Krasno had to slow down like the rest of the world and in doing so he found familial harmony with a new house, wife, and baby. During this process, he collaborated with producer Otis McDonald on a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Man In Me”, this recording experience, and song, […]

On 2018’s Black Heaven the San Diego-based, instrumental psychedelic trio Earthless completely shifted gears, scaling down their flights of fury to verse/chorus/verse hard rock offerings with singing. That change in focus didn’t last long, on Night Parade of One Hundred Demons the band has gone back to their roots, unbroken, extended demonstrations of wizardry that […]

On St. Paul and the Broken Bones debut, 2014’s Half The City, the eight-piece group joined a list of retro-soul purveyors, yet every release since then has found the band expanding their sound. On their newest release, The Alien Coast, they go their furthest out yet, dabbling in a host of different styles and delivering […]

On Extreme Witchcraft, the always willing to experiment Eels has given fans something to sink their teeth into. The fourteenth studio album finds Mark Oliver Everett working with John Parish for the first time since 2001’s Souljacker and the end result is better than that predecessor. Everett has stated that the album contains a sense […]

The New Orleans underground cabaret jazz outfit The Sleazeball Orchestra has released their second full-length album, Pearl River Tango. The collection is a mix of simmering originals, risqué covers, and freaky grooves that enhance the group’s exotic sound.  The duo of Kitty Baudoin (aka Fraulein Frances) and Stoo Odom conduct the Orchestra with Christopher Johnson […]

Chan Marshall has always gravitated toward cover tunes and Covers is her third full-length album dealing with songs written by other artists that she deeply relates to. Stating that, “Performing covers is a very enjoyable way to do something that feels natural to me when it comes to making music”, her 11th album as Cat […]

The jazz is always flowing down in New Orleans, but in the early, to mid-’80s there was an extra sense of excitement every Tuesday night when the Dirty Dozen Brass Band took to the stage at the Glass House. The band was at the forefront of mixing traditional jazz with a New Orleans second-line swagger, […]

For the 7th Annual John Henry’s Friends Benefit for the Keswell School Steve Earle and company raised the most money in the fundraiser’s history at a time when it is desperately needed. The all-star lineup was the reason why Town Hall easily sold out, leaving many fans hoping to buy tickets in the seasonably warm […]

Marissa Paternoster’s Peace Meter finds the fiery guitarist from Screaming Females forgoing blister raising solos and guttural yelps in favor of dark pop efforts with haunting vibrations and experimental flourishes. The record displays a more nuanced side of the artist, focusing on her singing, sonic layering, and a lot less rock and roll.  The first […]

The story of Leo Nocentelli’s first solo album arriving fifty years after it was recorded is amazing, a stroke of good luck which gives life to a lost relic from a bygone era. Another Side is so unlike anything else in the legend’s historic back catalog that he himself forgot he even did it. Now […]

The melodic noise rock trio Dinosaur Jr. played to a receptive sold out crowd at Brooklyn Steel on Saturday night November 20th, delivering a strong set of guitar driven tunes from all eras of their long career.  Opening with the cantankerous “Bulbs of Passion” from their very first release Dinosaur, the group (J Mascis – […]