Posts by Shawn Donohue

During an international tour back in 1995 Dr. John hopped into the studio while in Germany and recorded a set of tunes with the WDR Big Band. The good doctor returned home and the tapes were archived; now they see the light of day as Big Band Voodoo. The resulting mix of New Orleans tunes […]

On their sixth studio album, Beach Goth veterans The Growlers continue their patented style of mixing sunshiny electro based pop-rock with darker late-night dance vamps. Natural Affair won’t win over new fans as much as it solidifies what the group does best.  The excellent opening title track sets the tone with lines like, “everyone is […]

A sold-out fashionable looking lot packed The Bell House in Brooklyn on Thursday Night as an exuberant feeling was circling from the crowd to the stage and back again. Shannon and the Clams delighted all with their mix of surf pop and bright rock styles as they brought their Bay area artistic style east.  Opening […]

On her first-ever solo album No Home Record, Kim Gordon displays an experimental style with her breathy vocals, crafting poetic images around digital dystopian flourishes. Since her public divorce and the dissolution of Sonic Youth, Gordon has musically moved more into free improvisation instrumental noise rock with Body/Head. While there are some screeches and guitar […]

The 2018 release from Eagle Rock, California folk duo All the Things That I Did and All the Things That I Didn’t Do, found The Milk Carton Kids expanding their sound with minimal pianos, extra layers of strings and drums. For their follow up, however, the duo retreats to just the voices and acoustic guitars […]

The last album Thurston Moore released, 2017’s Rock n Roll Consciousness, contained some of the most engaging and brightly psychedelic based tunes of his career. Now Moore follows his more experimental muse to an extreme, releasing Spirit Counsel, a three-CD Box Set on his Daydream Library Series record label. These instrumental numbers are not for […]

In his short professional life, Billy Strings has proven he is aptly named, becoming a must-see live act by twisting upbeat bluegrass and acoustic Americana into expansive excursions. Now comes his second full-length studio record (following 2017’s debut Turmoil and Tinfoil) titled Home and while there are a few excessive passages, Strings rings true.  The mix […]

16 years since their last studio album –Vida Blue is back with the funky Crossing Lines. The original trio of keyboardist/bandleader Page McConnell, bassist Oteil Burbridge and drummer Russell Batiste welcome Adam Zimmon (Shakira, Ziggy Marley) on guitar to the party for this side project get-down. Legendary in the jam community as individuals, when they […]

Learn the rules, then break them!” and “Aim for the world you want” are just some of the inspiring lines from Tom Morello’s one-man show titled Speaking Truth to Power Through Stories and Song at the Minetta Lane Theater on Wednesday, September 18th, the first of three shows being recorded by Audible for future download.  […]

Let It Slide, from brilliant keyboard player Marco Benevento is an engaging mix of electro R&B and soothing grooves as the album mixes it up effectively and engagingly right from the start.  Benevento is a self-described control freak when it comes to his music, but for this release, he partnered with Leon Michaels (The Arcs, Lee Fields) […]

To celebrate their twentieth year the Lost Bayou Ramblers went big by releasing a documentary On Va Continuer! and an accompanying live album ASTEUR as they revel in their past but point towards the future via a mix of western swing, avant-garde sounds and of course their classic Cajun style. Recorded at a host of […]

The debut full length from the Chicago based psych rockers Dead Feathers is a fantastic exploration of desert/retro rock as All Is Lost drips with trippy vibes. While other bands (Radio Moscow, Dead Meadow, Black Angels, etc) work in these same hazy realms, Dead Feathers has an ace up their sleeve. Frontwoman Marissa Allen breaks […]

Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Chrissie Hynde decided to change up genres for her newest release. The cover album, titled Valve Bone Woe, finds her diving into one of her earliest loves, Jazz. Her voice and song selection work well, going over the top at times to nail the tune with all the requisite […]

When it was announced that Sleater-Kinney would be recording their new album with producer St. Vincent (Annie Clark) fans expected some changes to the groups rocking sound. It is doubtful anyone expected this much of a shift though as the trio’s tenth record, The Center Won’t Hold, is unlike anything the band has ever done.  […]

On the opening banger “Denver Haircut”, Craig Finn sings over ringing guitars “It doesn’t have to be pure, it doesn’t have to be perfect, it just sorta has to be worth it”; Thrashing Thru the Passion is. It has been five years since The Hold Steady’s last release, the forgettable Teeth Dreams, and now the […]

On “I Sing Them”, the midpoint of Ty Segall’s newest release First Taste, he declares his artistic mission statement, “I sing my song so I am free/I sing my song and sound like me/You know that I don’t care. I’ll sing my songs though no one’s there”. The insanely prolific artist just keeps pumping out […]

Trojan Jamaica is a brand new label co-founded by Zak Starkey and Sharna “Sshh” Liguz whose first release is the compilation album Red, Gold, Green & Blue. That blue is added to the title of the record as Starkey and Liguz worked with reggae legends to record some classic blues numbers in their own style. […]

For those unaware, the best power trio in the country is the New Brunswick, New Jersey-based Screaming Females. Their blend of arena-ready riffs, punk/DIY styling, art rock angles, and openness to jamming with a driving rhythm has coalesced into a powerful musical force. Recent albums Rose Mountain and All at Once have raised their songwriting […]

There is a vibrant sunset shimmering through Night Moves most recent album Can You Really Find Me as the songs breathe in the summer dusk and exhale soothing retro radio-friendly pop and indie folk rock, all weaving through modern electro flourishes as they unwind. The band is the main focus of John Pelant (vocals, guitars, […]

On their last record Patrick Stickles took his punk outfit Titus Andronicus on a stripped down piano lead detour, A Productive Cough, which was messy, yet ultimately interesting and successful. Now for An Obelisk he retreats back, mining familiar caves of loud guitars and lots of cascading verses with galvanizing choruses around bar rock and […]