Album Reviews

In the latest Wannabe, artist Chris Prunckle offers his illustrated commentary on Perfect, the new album from indie rockers Mannequin Pussy, in his signature six-panel comic strip form. Click on the image for full resolution (best viewed on desktop):

By now, blues and soul fans know the consistent track record of the Little Village Foundation, which is doing more than its part in giving much-needed attention to talented and underrecognized artists. Such is the case with Bay Area blues and soul powerhouse Tia Carroll, who brings soul, passion, and sass while accompanied by the […]

Maybe you wondered what it would be like to hear a woman do a full album of Waylon Jennings songs after Shannon McNally teased us with “Lonesome, On’ry and Mean” and “Freedom to Stay” on her 2009 Coldwater. Yet, even then, and by McNally’s own admission, that would have taken much courage. In fact, if […]

According to Blackberry Smoke’s frontman Charlie Starr the title track and album, You Hear Georgia was born out of misconceptions people may have of southerners. It may strike some as a political statement, given Georgia’s importance and headline dominance in the Presidential Election but fear not, this is not a record of political protest or […]

Two weeks ago we brought you an elite trio led by Chris Potter and now we bring another on the same label, Edition, as legendary bassist Dave Holland fronts his trio of well-known masters of their respective instruments with guitarist Kevin Eubanks and drummer Obed Calvaire. Theirs is a potent combination of pulsating funk, fusion […]

Like a lot of artists, PM Warson has had a long-time interest in music. After saving for two years to buy a Rickenbacker guitar, he started his first band. From there, he served an apprenticeship as a touring musician with talented jazz players. That led him to Soup Studios, an all-analog facility in East London, […]

Twenty One Pilots have always been about music for the people: except for the times when they’re messing with their heads. Since their inception in 2009, there’s always been something to be found between the lines of their music. Fans have seen frontman Tyler Joseph tinker with songwriting and take it from a loose concept […]

It’s natural for people during the pandemic to return to what comforts them and for Chrissie Hynde that was the music of Bob Dylan. Hynde partnered with her Pretenders bandmate, James Walbourne to craft an intimate nine-song cover album titled Standing In The Doorway: Chrissie Hynde Sings Bob Dylan.  The record started over text messages […]

An original member of Buffalo Springfield, Richie Furay was then and has been since unfortunately overshadowed by two other high-profile bandmates, Stephen Stills and Neil Young. And despite being co-founder of Poco (with Jim Messina, who went on to great success with Kenny Loggins), he also remains an undeservedly unsung figure in the contemporary hybrid […]

There are 30 years of co-writes between childhood friends Rod Picott and Slaid Cleaves, both raised in Berwick, ME in this 26-song 2CD spanning work rendered by Picott. The idea is to reward his loyal fans with a limited package, a collector’s edition, dubbed Wood, Steel, Dust & Dreams that will only be issued physically […]

A Little More Time with Reigning Sound finds the long-running garage rockin’ soul outfit Reigning Sound crafting an excellent pandemic record by lyrically yearning for emotional connections, as well as the physical recording process.  Planning on capturing a fresh batch of tunes with the current backing band in New York City, songwriting frontman Greg Cartwright […]

On the 2019 breakthrough, Ilana: The Creator, Mdou Moctar combined a dizzying mix of 70’s psych-rock with Tuareg guitar playing to forge a winning sound. Now on the follow-up Afrique Victime, a wider net is cast which captures a broader sonic palette.  The group (Mdou Moctar – lead guitar, vocals, Ahmoudou Madassane – rhythm guitar, […]

Oliver Wood is hardly the only musician who made productive use of his time sequestered in COVID19 lockdown. But it’d be difficult to find results of such efforts that succeed so fully on their own terms and thus transcend the circumstances in which they were born. The forty-some minutes of Always Smilin’ represent a logical […]

Korby Lenker was working on his latest album during the COVID-19 lockdown when he made the decision that he wanted this record to be a “for-the-joy-of-it project.” Going from touring 150-plus shows a year to a grinding halt, stuck at home in East Nashville, he approached Man In The Maroon as if everything could all […]

One can certainly argue with the moniker “Greatest Living Soul Singer” after we’ve heard just in the past year alone from Sonny Green and Alabama Slim, not to mention that Eddie Floyd is still with us. Yet, Robert Finley, 67 years young, and hailing from north-central Louisiana is a unique cat who brings a rare […]

Travis Linville’s latest, I’m Still Here, starts off a little slow with the decent, but ultimately unexceptional title track. A decent enough folk song, but not one that really shows off how Linville’s inspiring knack as a songwriter and singer able to draw in a myriad of influences and distill into a uniquely original sound. […]

In step with her three other sisters in Our Native Daughters (Rhiannon Giddens, Leyla McCella, and Amythyst Kiah) Allison Russell is stepping out solo. The Montreal-born, now Nashville-based Russell is a poet, singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist known also for her work with her partner JT Nero in Birds of Chicago. Outside Child is produced by […]

In the latest Wannabe, artist Chris Prunckle offers his illustrated commentary on the new self-titled debut album from Alabama rock and roll supergroup The Blips, in his signature six-panel comic strip form. Click on the image for full resolution (best viewed on desktop):

The buzz began well over a month ago, maybe ever since James Francies’ 2018 Blue Note debut, Flight.  As bright as that one was, Purest Form is more expansive, melding his classical upbringing, electronic sound palettes, spoken word, riveting jazz and more. Francies set a goal, vowed to take his time and deliver a most […]

This collaboration between two incredibly gifted, sensitive, and imaginative musicians, guitarist Bill Frisell and Icelandic bassist/composer Skúli Sverrisson even goes beyond the concept of interplay. They don’t so much as respond to each other but instead blend seamlessly into what often sounds like one grand instrument. This session, recorded in 2017, was previously released exclusively […]