Chicago’s Speck Mountain is built around the song writing pair of Marie-Claire Balabanian and Karl Briedrick. On their third album, Badwater, the pair is joined by drummer Chris Dye (formerly of Chin Up Chin Up) and organist Linda Malonis and the band drafts a wide open, woozy statement of ambient rock n’ soul.
Coming straight out of a dusty lava lamp that has been buzzing four days straight in a So-Cal garage, Blackfeet Braves confidently strum and jangle displaying their retro wares proudly.
Eels’ Mark Oliver Everett (aka-E!) loves making unique, largely un-categorizable albums that span a plethora of genres and incorporate a variety of sounds and raw vocal performances. For proof, check out his concept album trilogy of Hombre Lobo, End Times and Tomorrow Morning, or Blinking Lights and Other Revelations. Wonderful, Glorious attempts to continue this trend, but is far less successful than its predecessors.
Los Angeles folk-rock band He’s my Brother, She’s my Sister fronted by brother and sister Rob and Rachel Kolar, have been a consistent staple in the Los Angeles music scene for the past three years.
It’s a strong diversion from the tenacity of his MMJ work, but not the complete 180 degree turn into the wild that plagues some artists’ solo outings. With all these creative energies and restless thoughts hounding at James, we should expect further like-minded explorations in the years to come.
Here are a few things you need to know about Matt Pond and his latest release, The Lives Inside the Lines in Your Hands. For starters, he is now just Matt Pond and not Matt Pond PA. Second, his new album is essentially a pop record by way of the singer-songwriter tactic of wearing his heart on his sleeve about relationships. Finally, it is a pleasant release, but there isn’t a ton of variety here.
Bad Religion brought their crisp, concise, relentlessly melodic punk sound into the studio for the 16th and possibly final time on True North, and it's no major knock on the veteran band that the album doesn’t sound drastically different from their first album.
The Brooklyn-based country rock trio The Lone Bellow is making some waves with their debut self-titled album, and it is easy to see why. Zach Williams, Kanene Pipkin and Brian Elmquist have created a nifty little record that will soothe your soul or help you drown your sorrows, depending on your preference. They make either choice sound appealing and you’ll want to experience it again and again.
This may not change the world of folk/pop music, but through McKeown's deft hand at flirting with different genres, all against the backdrop of solid songwriting, Manifestra holds its own in her discography and is a great step forward for her.
Creedence Clearwater Revival, as befits their increasingly storied history (and John Fogerty's ever-growing solo career), has been the subject of more than a few reissues, but there is no more enlightening cross-section of their recordings than The Ultimate Collection: Greatest Hits and All-Time Classics.
