Posts by Shawn Donohue

Under the Spell of Joy, the newest release from the Los Angeles based Death Valley Girls vacillates between cosmic black hole psych-rock and punchy lo-fi poppy garage numbers as the band seeks to engage old fans and newcomers with their dark-tinged, yet upbeat sound.   The core group (vocalist/guitarist Bonnie Bloomgarden, guitarist Larry Schemel, bassist Pickle […]

2017’s underrated Rock n Roll Consciousness melded Thurston Moore’s downtown noise-rock core to a positive ray of 60’s experimental sunshine, while last year’s Spirit Counsel pushed past free jazz-inspired boundaries in an elongated yet successful fashion. His newest offering, By the Fire builds upon those recent albums highpoints as well as the artist’s vast musical […]

To celebrate their twentieth year, the metal behemoths Mastodon have released Medium Rarities, an odds and ends collection of covers, live tracks, instrumentals, and rarely heard originals.   The opening song is an unreleased thundering maelstrom written and recorded in 2019 titled “Fallen Torches”. A pummeling low-end is augmented by expansive guitar work and guest vocals […]

Coming on the heels of their well received 2018 release ATW, All Them Witches experienced some changes and opportunities. For their follow up Nothing as the Ideal, the group has reconfigured as a trio (gone is keyboardist Jonathan Draper) and they were also were able to record at the legendary Abbey Road Studios’ Studio Two. […]

Back in 2004 Now Here Is Nowhere broke The Secret Machines onto the national scene with big retro stomping and laser-blasting futuristic space rock appeal. After a few albums of diminishing returns and guitarist Benjamin Curtis departure from the band, then tragic death, The Secret Machines softly faded away. Now they return with Awake in […]

The return of New York Cities hardcore punk legends No Redeeming Social Value finds them continuing their party hard blasts of raw adrenaline on Wasted For Life while also dealing with pain and societal issues. Their first studio full-length in over a decade proves the long-running NYHC crew hasn’t lost a step. The dynamite title […]

Like many, during uncertain and emotional times Emma Swift turns to Bob Dylan songs for inspiration. Rather than sparking new songs in her mind they lead Swift to take a stab at recording her own versions. Blonde on the Tracks are her interpretations of Dylan songs ranging from 1966’s Blonde on Blonde to 2020’s Rough […]

Alison Mosshart, frontwoman of The Kills and The Dead Weather has a new multimedia project. A photo/art collection titled Car Ma which showcases her fascination with muscle cars, tire tracks and Americana, connected to the spoken word album Sound Wheel which takes snippets of Mosshart’s poetic thoughts from the book and augments them with odd […]

Some live albums are musical breakthroughs for bands, some are simply released as stopgaps and some are cultural artifacts. One of the important moments in rock history is now released with The Stooges – Live At Goose Lake: August 8th, 1970, this set captures the end of the original furious Detroit four-piece.    Newly released on […]

Coming off of 2019’s highly regarded debut LP Drogal, the Dublin based post-punk band Fontaines D.C. return with their follow up – A Hero’s Death. The band has eased back on the tempo from their debut as their tightly wound dark rock dips into various gloomy territories, painting morose scenes as it goes. Led by […]

There have been many changes in Mike Dillon’s personal life recently and that has led to a self-described transitional album titled Rosewood via Royal Potato Family. Dillon moved from his longtime hometown of New Orleans to Kansas City and got married while recording. While those personal changes obviously had an influence on his style, it is […]

In the mid-’90s one of the coolest and forward musically groups to arrive on the then-burgeoning west coast groove scene was the sleek funk outfit The Greyboy Allstars. So now in 2020, while promoting Como De Allstars, their first album in seven years, guitarist Elgin Park stated, “For better or worse we are the same […]

With the Covid-19 pandemic shutting down the touring lives of musicians and fans, many artists are releasing live albums to both support their careers financially and also capture that addictive “in the moment” feeling we are all craving. The Canadian duo Japandroids have followed suit and their first live release Massey Fucking Hall was recorded […]

The debut full length from Melbourne, Australia based Bananagun is an excitingly intoxicating mix of genres. Taking inspiration from such wide-ranging influences as afro-funk, retro soul, exotica jazz, folk, rock and garage punk The True Story of Bananagum keeps listeners guessing from moment to moment as the rich sounds blend into delicious tropical cocktails with […]

In 2017 Built To Spill acted as the backing band for Daniel Johnston during a tour of the Pacific Northwest. While practicing for the tour BTS recorded live versions of Johnston’s tunes and the next time the group entered the studio to work on original material they couldn’t let the cover songs go, the result […]

Since they formed in 2013, Run The Jewels has released powerful hip hop and that streak continues on their newest offering which arrived early to play as a soundtrack during these turbulent times of June 2020. The murder of unarmed black men at the hands of the police, divisive racist political tactics, and hollow religious […]

After their debut and a few highly regarded EP’s, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever’s second full length Sideways to New Italy continues flaunting the band’s strengths; bright and shiny indie pop-rock.  The Australian five-piece, Fran Keaney (vocals, acoustic guitar), Tom Russo (vocals, guitar), Joe White (vocals, lead guitar), Joe Russo (bass), Marcel Tussie (drums) continues in […]

The debut release from Holy Hive on Big Crown Records brings their self-described “folk soul” to the masses with clean playing, slow retro R&B styling and pristine vocals. Float Back To You is aptly titled as the music drifts along with a very relaxed pace and vibe.    The band was formed by drummer Homer Steinweiss […]

Chicano Batman’s 2017 release Freedom Is Free was a breakthrough for the band, blending tropicalia, psych-rock, 70’s looking R&B, and sweet retro-soul sounds. Their 2020 follow up Invisible People is a digitally laced late-night victory lap, steeped in chilled-out, get-down love jams as the band kicks it up a notch; it is an evolution of […]

Dating back to Glenn Danzig’s earliest releases with The Misfits there were comparisons to Elvis Presley, as he has been dubbed “Evil Elvis” by fans in the past. Danzig has always been heavily influenced by the King, even covering him previously on Thrall: Demonsweatlive EP in 1993 and his more recent Skeletons covers album. Now […]