Album Reviews

Last year the young vibraphonist/composer Joel Ross not only made his Blue Note debut which landed on our Glide 20 Best Jazz of 2019 List along with  similar recognition in such prestigious publications such as The New York Times., NPR, and Rolling Stone.  Ross was arguably the star and “MVP” of the 2019 Newport Jazz […]

Much of Bob Dylan’s work has been subjected to extreme revisionism over the years, perhaps none more so than New Morning. Released in the fall of 1970 (10/19/70), a mere four months or so after the near-debacle that was Self-Portrait, the future Nobel Laureate’s eleventh studio album was hailed as a return to form, at […]

Singer-songwriter-producer, multi-instrumentalist Will Kimbrough is not one to sit idle. Throughout the pandemic, he has been regularly holding virtual concerts from his home, dubbed Pollenfest, constant streaming and blogging through his Patreon page,  producing another Shemekia Copeland album , Uncivil War, (also covered on these pages) which is also released at this same time, and […]

Maybe it’s the Chinese take out container on the album cover; maybe it’s the werewolf adjacent Yeti in the second track, “I Was A Teenage Yeti”; or quite possibly it’s the fantastic, loose rock piano throughout, but listen to Harvey McLaughlin’s latest and you can’t help but think of Warren Zevon’s “Werewolves of London”. On […]

As a former member of Badfinger’s classic line up, Joey Molland and his bandmates helped create the template for classic power pop, leaning on wildly addictive harmonies and razor sharp hooks – a blueprint that has survived decades and is still employed today. So, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that his latest solo effort, […]

Go ahead. Look again at that title: Bernstein very deliberately left off the question mark. Surely, it’s a phrase we have all uttered more than we care to recognize during this uneven, unpredictable and seemingly directionless 2020. One answer may come relatively soon in the form of the Presidential election but now Trump’s illness and […]

The initial posthumous Tom Petty vault release, An American Treasure, suggested ever so strongly that the late rocker was reaching a new level of sophistication in his songwriting at the time of his tragic and unexpected passing. But it’s fair to say that 1994’s Wildflowers was a major step in that very same direction and […]

Given the checkered history of The Allman Brothers Band archive releases, the issuing of the latest two is more than a little encouraging. Each in its own way adds significantly to the legacy of the seminal Southern rockers, while the pair taken together clearly illustrates why the influence of the group is rightfully growing with […]

For the better part of two decades now, blues singer-songwriter, harmonicist and top vocalist John Nemeth has delivered some great soul-blues albums. Yet, his relocation to Memphis seven years ago has deepened his sound, making it rawer and visceral on the blues material, and more traditional and emotive on the soul tunes. It proves to […]

If you’ve ever seen William Elliott Whitmore perform, you know that he is one of those performers whose power comes from the fact that he can provide so much depth with minimal instrumentation. He lands pretty firmly in the folk-Americana arena, but has been known to open for bands like Clutch. I’m with You is […]

Master drummer Rob Silverman has spent his career exploring the rhythmic traditions of cultures around the globe, from African drumming traditions to Japanese Taiko music; from Middle Eastern rhythms to Native American drumming; and from Samba to the rock-jazz fusion that lies at the core of his music. These influences come to the fore in his […]

In 2020, the idea of a double album seems a bit overwhelming. A mix of having to devote every waking moment to politics while worrying about why we live in the only country in the world that clearly doesn’t understand how to survive a global pandemic has seemingly fried our collective attention span. All that […]

Nikki O’Neill is an artist who was born and lives in Los Angeles, but spent her childhood in Stockholm in a tri-lingual household. The record player in that house in Stockholm played a lot of records by Al Green and other soul artists. That soul music was absorbed and is now a big component in […]

The term ‘avant-garde blues band’ is an intriguing one, because it doesn’t immediately bring very many names to mind.  In their own experimental style, Churchwood has carved out a rather unique place, using some structural blues, jazz, metal and punk elements– plus a blend of like-minded, lyrically focused artists like Captain Beefheart, Nick Cave and […]

The members of Yo La Tengo are no strangers to covers. Whether it’s their three cover albums, Fakebook, Fuckbook and Stuff Like That There, their fundraising efforts for WFMU in New Jersey, or their extensive live repertoire, the band has proven prolific in their effortless mimicry. Now, that would be a great party trick for […]

When one sees the band name Bahamas on an album, they could be forgiven for the confusion they may feel about what type of music it would be. However, the Canadian musician Afie Jurvanen has managed to use that alias to put out five albums to critical acclaim. His brand of singer-songwriter music incorporates many […]

Celebrating fifteen years since their debut release, The Budos Band is keeping the party rolling with their newest offering on Daptone Records, the eleven-song collection titled Long in the Tooth. While they have been at this for a while, the group’s commitment to funkified instrumentals has remained razor sharp. Their previous effort, the excellent Budos […]

Take Me Back marks the return of harmonica/vocalist/songwriter Kim Wilson to M.C. Records after 17 years. It was on that label that he recorded Smokin’ Joint and Lookin’ for Trouble, both of which were nominated for Grammy Awards in the Traditional Blues Category. Wilson goes truly traditional with this new recording, which is similar but […]

Atlas Vending, the newest release from the Canadian noise trio METZ, aims to broaden their style and appeal while staying true to their junkyard screeching, wailing, and car crusher power. The changes they incorporate work incredibly well and while longtime fans may fear a grown up softening creeping into the band’s sound, there is still […]

When this writer first heard Colorado-based cornetist Ron Miles it was with the bluesman and fellow Coloradoan Otis Taylor with whom Miles appeared on at least six, if not more, of the trance blues maestro’s albums. Not long after, however, I heard Miles as a sideman on Bill Frisell albums and later as a leader […]