Posts by Shawn Donohue

Seattle-born, Santa Cruz-based singer/songwriter/producer Kishi Bashi’s fifth LP, Kantos, is a mix of electro-funk, new wave dance, and string-laden disco dramatics.   Working with a core band, Bashi commands center stage with guitars, violins, keyboards, and singing in multiple languages. Mixing Japanese with English lyrics, Bashi keeps the listener guessing. The bright “Tokyo Love Story (Love Story Wa Totsuzen Ni)” […]

Devon Allman returns with his first solo album in eight years, Miami Moon. The project brought together an A-list backing band, and Allman shifted his focus from blues-based rock to the almighty groove with these funky and smooth offerings. By recording in the same Miami studio where both Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs and his […]

When Jack White started his solo career in 2012, he broke out of his self-designed primitive musical jail with the excellent Blunderbuss. Since then, he has blown open his sonic horizons, incorporating everything from funky electro keys to hip-hop duets with Q-Tip to covering 19th century composer Antonín Dvořák. Nothing was off the table for […]

Five years after their last studio album, 2019’s Laughing Matter, Wand has had some lineup changes but returns with an effort in the same vein. Vertigo, released on Drag City, is a collection of layered guitar/synth-based jams that reverberate with questioning allure.  Since their expansive live album release, 2022’s Spiders In The Rain, the Los […]

The first collaboration between GUM (Jay Watson) and Ambrose Kenny-Smith, titled Ill Times, is an enjoyable mix of bright electro-pop and distorted funky jams.  Watson had always used GUM as a way to directly release solo efforts outside of his work in Pond and touring with Tame Impala, while Kenny-Smith used the partnership as an […]

After his previous release, Sturgill Simpson stated: “This is the last Sturgill record. I always said there would be five, and I wondered if I’d go back on that. But it really has cemented every step of the way how much I don’t want to carry all that weight.” Now Simpson’s name won’t have to do […]

Dirty Three’s newest album, Love Changes Everything on Drag City Records, is the first from the veteran trio in 12 years. The trio mixes their avant-garde sounds into a sonic whole. The Melbourne, Australia-based outfit, consisting of Warren Ellis, Mick Turner, and Jim White, has been at this since 1992. They use a sparse instrumental […]

The newest release from Boulevards (aka Jamil Rashad) wastes no time kicking ass, even before the music starts, displaying dynamite cover art that draws inspiration from Django Unchained, Game of Thrones, and Red Dead Redemption 2 as Rashad’s ‘electric cowboy’ saves the day.   After exploring the cover, Carolina Funk: Barn Burner on Tobacco Road flows […]

Lake Street Dive’s newest album, Good Together, keeps up the group’s knack for eclectic sounds while focusing more on 80s-inspired electro-pop. The opening pairing of the title track and “Dance With A Stranger” uses synths and light percussion to deliver two fairly bland soul/pop numbers that never punch up the energy. Much better is “Far Gone,” […]

Hermanos Gutiérrez’s previous release, the excellent El Bueno Y El Malo, was steeped in the ‘Spaghetti Western’ allure of Sergio Leone’s expansive films. For their follow-up, Sonido C​ó​smico, they relax, looking into the cosmos for some outer space waves of inspiration as their guitars continue to weave instrumental magic.  The duo (Estevan and Alejandro Gutiérrez) […]

To celebrate the release of their excellent sophomore album, Now That Is What I Call Fantastic Cat, the quartet Fantastic Cat took over Brooklyn Made for a hometown show on Friday night, June 7th. A packed house filled with friends and family found the band playing almost every song in their repertoire as joyous vibes […]

Bonny Light Horseman has followed up their excellent 2022 release, Rolling Golden Holy, with the group’s most natural-sounding music yet, the double album Keep Me on Your Mind/See You Free. The core trio of Eric D. Johnson, Anaïs Mitchell, and Josh Kaufman have used the wind-swept shores of England and Scotland for inspiration in the […]

Multi-talented artist Jesse Dayton’s newest effort, The Hard Way Blues, is a collection of songs that play with the trifecta of rock-country blues as the Shooter Jennings-produced album weaves a variety of tales in the Texas dust.   On his fantastic previous release, 2023’s Death Wish Blues, Dayton partnered up with Samantha Fish to push jaggedly […]

Low Hum’s newest offering, Terra Incognita, is a windswept soundscape of electronica-based indie rock. The sounds bump, fizzle, and soar over the ten offerings.  The focus of artist Colin Desha, who also self-produced the record Terra Incognita, pushes up the electro sounds, taking inspiration from the likes of Tame Impala with songs/structures and overall dynamics. […]

The pristine City Winery in Manhattan hosted the Louisiana Calling tour, featuring Sonny Landreth and The Iguanas, on Sunday night, May 19th. The artists have been traveling up the East Coast together, presenting their swampy, roots-rock, and blues to excited fans.  Opening the night with an hour-long set, The Iguanas, Rod Hodges (guitar/accordion), Joe Cabral […]

On a rainy, overcast Saturday (May 18th), the New Orleans-based funk outfit Dumpstaphunk pulled into Williamsburg and set up shop at Brooklyn Bowl to lay down a night of grooving goodness.   Opening the show was guitarist/frontman Marcus Rezak with his backing jam band. The bass/drum/sax lineup was augmented by a backup singer as the tunes […]

Kerry King hasn’t reinvented himself in any form or fashion, as he calls his debut album, From Hell I Rise, an extension of Slayer itself. He speaks the truth as the record bangs and slams with raging power, lyrics that spit anger at everyone while dropping in screeching solos amongst the maelstroms.   After a chugging […]

In the lead-up to Pokey LaFarge’s newest record, he stated, “I used to think of my music in dark blue, but now I see it in technicolor”. That dour feeling he sometimes brought to his retro-facing songs is mostly absent from Rhumba Country, his third release for New West Records, as he makes a joyful […]

In between New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival weekends, there are an increasing amount of great concerts and festivals. One of these special concerts took place on Wednesday night, May 1st, in the French Quarter’s Toulouse Theater as John ‘Papa’ Gros presented his tribute to Dr. John titled “Papa Plays The Nite Tripper”. The two […]

On their breakthrough, 2019’s Ilana: The Creator, Mdou Moctar used 70s-influenced psych rock mixed with Tuareg guitar music to great effect. The strong follow-up, 2021’s Afrique Victime, cast a wider sonic net with acoustic tracks mixed into their sound. Now arrives Funeral for Justice, their most complete album yet, as it uses righteous protest fury […]