Posts by Shawn Donohue

[rating=7.00] Robert Randolph falls into the category of virtuoso artist who has yet to truly capture his talents on a studio album. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, he has good company (contemporaries Trombone Shorty and Gary Clark Jr. quickly come to mind) and is happy to make his way via the live show which […]

[rating=8.00] Meatbodies are a three piece psych-rock outfit from Los Angeles, California but they sure do like to travel the outer space waves of ear canals and minds. Chad Ubovich, Kevin Boog and Patrick Nolan construct odd sprawling sounds that mix clashing metallic with sweet and saccharine on ALICE, the group’s sophomore release. There are […]

[rating=7.00] In 2012 the Canadian duo Japandroids (Brian King and David Prowse) struck rock and roll gold with Celebration Rock, an album that did exactly what the title promised. They toured the world on its anthemic tracks that were invigorating to shout along to and when the tour ended the band simply went silent. Five […]

[rating=7.00] Delbert McClinton has had a long and distinguished career, but he is still not widely known unless you are a fan of witty songwriters rocking Texas swing-blues. More known for his writing (he was inducted into the Texas Heritage Songwriters Hall of Fame) than his singing, he puts the focus squarely on performance for […]

[rating=6.00] When one of the best rock trios of all-time reunited there was palpable excitement. No Cities To Love proved Sleater-Kinney still had something to say, topping many year end lists in 2015. The accompanying tour was powerful as the band criss crossed the United States and Europe with vigor and purpose. One show particularly […]

[rating=7.00] The one man jam band (and constant record releaser) Keller Williams has teamed up with some friends for yet another project titled Sync under the group name KWahtro (Confused? Sound it out.) The three other band members this go around come from different backgrounds with Danton Boller adding jazz flourishes on bass, frequent Williams […]

[rating=9.00] In 2014 the duo of Killer Mike and El-P put out RTJ2, the second album of their Run the Jewels partnership and quickly jumped to success and national critical acclaim. Now on their third release the duo up the ante for their protest rhymes, swaggering boasts and wide ranging beats; the album is a […]

[rating=6.00] For the last few years the Oklahoma based freak rock outfit The Flaming Lips have been dabbling with pop music history. From their reinterpretation of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band to their recent Miley Cyrus partnership, yet the group have stayed quiet with their own releases since 2013’s downer, drug fueled break up […]

“Some nights it’s just a crush, and some night’s it’s bloodlust,” wrote Craig Finn in his band’s Separation Sunday classic “Stevie Nix.” Some nights it is also a full on party with a band who was on home soil playing to an insane crowd, visibly ecstatic to have a re-energized Hold Steady back celebrating their […]

[rating=8.00] Amazing, one of the greatest hip-hop acts of all time secretly record an album (their first in 18 years) after reuniting because they were inspired by world events. Unfortunate, one of the founding members passes away before it can be completed. With mixed emotions that this will be the last A Tribe Called Quest […]

[rating=6.00]  A new album from the metal overlords is an odd thing these days. There is no questioning Metallica is one of the biggest bands in the world in any genre, selling out football stadiums from San Francisco to Sao Paulo but they haven’t released an album of fresh material in over 8 years, their […]

[rating=7.00] The Austin, TX based eight piece Latin funk/psychedelic rock collective Brownout loves to play dress up and this year for the Halloween season they released their second collection of Black Sabbath covers with their cosmic funk release of Brownout Presents: Brown Sabbath Vol.2 Cover albums are strange beasts and usually disappointing as artists tend […]

[rating=8.00] When the main group in Mickey “Dean Ween” Melchiondo’s life went on hiatus, he stopped playing his beloved six string for over a year. That period of mourning has now come to an end as the debut from his solo project The Dean Ween Group creatively titled has arrived. Fans of the cult band […]

To celebrate Shovel & Rope’s strongest release of their career, Little Seeds, the duo of Cary Ann Hearst and Michael Trent played three packed shows at NYC’s best venue, Bowery Ballroom, and Wednesday night’s (10/19) showcase proved what a talent they are. Before the headliner though extra attention should be given to Matthew Logan Vasquez, […]

[rating=8.00] On May 3rd, 2014 a host of New Orleans, Country and Rock & Roll royalty walked onto the Saenger Theater stage to pay tribute to the Big Easy’s most famous funky-voodoo, gris-gris shaker, Mac “Dr. John” Rebennack. The concert was a celebration of the man’s music and a testament to the wide range of […]

This is the sixth year that the Tedeschi Trucks Band has taken up residency at New York’s Beacon Theater and with every passing year the band simply gets better; moving from a tight (if semi-bland) outfit into one that is becoming must see for any fan of live music. On this gorgeous fall Tuesday night […]

[rating=7.00] Are you a live music fan who never wants the night to end, so you head to the after show electro-jam sessions? Then Teddy Midnight’s first release Velvet Blue is the jelly for your biscuit. The Brooklyn based four piece have crafted a lounge and light show combo of endless loops, riffs, synths and beats […]

[rating=8.00] The only downside with the title of Beach Slang’s newest effort, A Loud Bash Of Teenage Feelings, is that it is so on point to the group’s sound that it should be saved for an eventual greatest hits collection from the band. Then again, James Alex will probably come up with another fresh, direct […]

[rating=8.00] Jack White named his most recent album of new material Lazaretto which is a quarantine location or isolation hospital.The reason for the title was that White has an insatiable work ethic and the only way he would stop writing/producing/running a record store/live venue would be to physically lock himself away. In early 2016 White […]

[rating=8.00] The new documentary Miss Sharon Jones! captures a subject who is in the midst of the fight of her life after a crippling diagnosis of pancreatic cancer right in the middle of career surge in popularity. The singer along with her band have been a critically central to retro souls rebirth; Daptone Records has […]