Posts by Shawn Donohue

On the road to promote his newest album, Diesel Palomino. Fate McAfee and company stopped by the Lower East Side of Manhattan Thursday night February 28th in fine mid-tour form. McAfee and band played the smaller stage one room at Rockwood Music Hall and did so to a full and boisterous crowd who they instantly won over with their […]

The first album in 19 years from the noise rock duo Royal Trux is a confident return to form. Over White Stuff’s eleven tracks the scuzzy mix of distortion, breathy vocals, wild guitar lines, beats, found sounds and toss-everything-in-the-pot style is perfectly suited for this modern age of music.    The duo of Jennifer Herrema […]

Matthew Logan Vasquez’ last album was titled Does What He Wants and that accurately describes the singer/songwriter who refuses to be boxed in. Bouncing from noise punk squalls directly to personal emotional ballads, small solo albums to organizing full-on projects like Glorietta, MLV never can stand still. That sense of anything goes continues with Light’n […]

The debut full-length album from Yola, titled Walk Through Fire showcases her phenomenal vocals over lush retro-pop and light soul/country arraignments. Produced by Dan Auerbach with songs co-written by Yola, Auerbach, Bobby Wood, Pat McLaughlin and Dan Penn the album is a throwback to Nashville’s 60’s sound even going so far to recruit Wood who […]

The early show on Wednesday, February 13th was the third overall during Thundercat’s six night, fourteen show residency at New York City’s legendary Blue Note. The band was already in peak form, letting it all hang out while dazzling the packed house. Even with all of these shows booked and sold out, a line waited […]

For her New York City debut, the British artist Yola delivered a concise forty-minute set dedicated to showcasing her upcoming release, Walk Through Fire to a full house at NYC’s Rockwood Music Hall on Wednesday, February 6th. Chilly rain was falling on the line to get into Rockwood Music Hall as the five-piece backing band […]

The tenth studio album from New Orleans staple Galactic, titled Already Ready Already, is an LP of sounds influenced by their home city and beyond. It scales back a bit from their previous release Into The Deep, this time only showcasing local singers while evolving the core bands funk sound for the future with digital […]

The Motet has been dropping their brand of funky jams since the turn of the millennium and Death Or Devotion marks the group’s ninth studio album and the first with some new members. The outfit has long made their bones on live stages around the country and for any band whose bread and butter is in-the-moment […]

The headline grabber for Trapper Schoepp’s newest album Primetime Illusion is that the singer/songwriter has co-written a song with none other than Bob Dylan himself. That track “On, Wisconsin” is the last song on the record but before it spins, Schoepp delights the listener with a mix of Americana, easy rolling 70’s influenced rock and […]

[rating=9.00] If the first blush of the Spiral Scratch EP and various singles didn’t make it clear, the opening track on their debut full length, Another Music in a Different Kitchen solidified that there was something different about the Buzzcocks. The song is “Fast Cars” but unlike countless rockers before them, they were on the […]

[rating=8.00] The Dutch quartet Mozes and the Firstborn’s third record Dadcore is catchy/fuzzy indie rock, loaded with heaps of 90’s alternative highpoints and a heavy dose of sparkling pop appeal. This is an impressive pack of ear-worming tunes from Melle Dielesen vocals/guitar, Corto Blommaert bass, Raven Aartsen drums, and Ernst-Jan van Doorn guitar.    Things […]

[rating=8.00] Maggie Rogers 2017 EP Now That The Light Is Failing was hailed as a fresh burst of indie pop and now on her debut full length Heard It In A Past Life, Rogers proves it wasn’t hype as she continues her meteoric rise with a lush modern sound arraigned around confident lyrics and singing. […]

[rating=7.00] The UK collective Jazz Re:freshed has been hosting weekly live jams, curating festivals and releasing records from some of the brightest up and coming jazz based talents from across the pond since 2003. Artists such as Nubya Garcia, Richard Spaven and others have been showcased in their 5ive series and now their newest release comes from […]

There aren’t many 77-year-old chameleons in the world (they rarely live past 10 years in captivity) but one took the stage on Tuesday night November 27th at the sold-out Beacon Theatre, and he was wearing a purple spangled suit with silver boots. Bob Dylan can never sit still and anyone who has caught his Never […]

Forget stuffing, gravy and pies, the true treat every Thanksgiving is the opportunity to revisit the best movie made about a live concert, The Last Waltz. For the last few years, a large group of musicians has done more than just slapped on the DVD, they have organized recreations with full-scale musical reviews. The players […]

[rating=7.00] Singer Charles Bradley, unfortunately, passed away in November of 2017 from stomach cancer and his final studio album Black Velvet posthumously sums up his career with outtakes recorded during his previous sessions for his three albums on Daptone Records, plus some odds and ends.    To Bradley’s, producer Thomas Brenneck and the Menahan Street […]

The gorgeously restored Kings Theatre in Flatbush Brooklyn hosted the first of two Jack White shows on a freezing November,16th. White and company are wrapping up their world tour for his most recent release, Boarding House Reach, with a pair of Brooklyn shows and a homecoming in Nashville and while the band has played everywhere […]

One of the many tasty weekends in New Orleans had an excellent musical beginning on Friday Night November 9th as the ragged rockers Morning 40 Federation took their dirty Bywater based tunes uptown to kick-start this year’s Oak Street PoBoy Festival at the Maple Leaf Bar. The brown bag clenching crew have been at this […]

[rating=7.00] Since his early 2000’s underrated Fog releases, J Mascis has used his solo albums to focus on his softer acoustic side. His recent run on Sub Pop, 2011’s Several Shades of Why and 2014’s Tied to a Star, gradually added layers of strings and supporting vocals from friends to augment his sound. Now with Elastic […]

[rating=7.00] It had been four years since the experimental instrumental rock band This Will Destroy You released new music and in late September they dropped New Others Part One. Then surprisingly the band released New Others Part Two just weeks later with no fanfare. The unexpected follow-up continues the groups sound and style ranging from […]