Album Reviews

Most think of the origins of the blues in terms of the Delta acoustic guitar style yet Afro-Romani cornetist, saxophonist, historian, and producer Colin Hancock is bent on disproving that notion. In fact, the original Black music of this country was not called ‘blues’. That later became a marketable term for music shaped by violinists, […]

The Kingston Lions’ self-titled debut is a chance for some legendary reggae session musicians to step into the spotlight, covering classics from the genre.  Produced by Ralph Sall and recorded at Anchor Studios in Kingston, guitarist, bandleader, and arranger Mikey Chung brought together a group of musicians who have played with everyone from Peter Tosh […]

When Stax Records took its roster on the road in 1965, it wasn’t just a concert; it was a showcase of soon-to-be legends. Stax Revue: Live in ’65 captures two such moments from that year: a charged two-night stand at Los Angeles’ 5-4 Ballroom and a looser, homegrown showcase at Memphis’ Club Paradise. Together, they […]

Bounce legend Big Freedia has shifted gears, melding her Saturday night club sounds with her Sunday morning church influences. Pressing Onward, named after the Pressing Onward Baptist Church in her hometown of New Olreans, is a gospel-saturated offering that places huge choirs next to trap beats with interesting results.  Having joined a choir at the […]

Four years have passed since T. Hardy Morris — former member of Dead Confederate and Diamond Rugs — released his last critically acclaimed solo album, The Digital Age of Rome. He didn’t rush into a follow-up, but instead took his time, carefully considering what he wanted to express. The result is Artificial Tears, a record […]

Halestorm has spent the last sixteen years honing its unique brand of hard rock, combining metal heaviness with classic rock riffing, powerful vocals, and radio-friendly pop-rock melodies. After five albums and dozens of great songs, the Pennsylvania rockers return with their most ambitious album yet. Everest has all the hallmarks of a Halestorm album — […]

Like John Prine and Jerry Jeff Walker before him, Hayes Carll has made a career out of blending mellow, infectious acoustic folk with sharp, often humorous portraits of everyday people. But on We’re Only Human, his 10th studio album, one of the first things you’ll notice is that Carll has turned that same wit inward, […]

Texas native Travis Roberts may not be the first, but is one of the best of a new generation of Gen Z Americana artists that have been able to deftly blend together traditional roots rock with the emo and punk bands they listened to throughout middle and high school. “I dig a lot of roots […]

In comparison to the somewhat prosaic cover art, the music on The Wood Brothers’ Puff Of Smoke is artful and unpredictable. Given that this is the group’s ninth album, that is no small achievement. Throughout the years, Oliver, Chris, and Jano (who joined up around 2011) have managed to freshen their sound with each recorded outing, […]

When Brent Mydland died in 1990, the tragedy had a tremendously adverse effect on the Grateful Dead, one from which the group arguably never recovered. But stalwart as ever, the band soldiered on as it had in the wake of the passing of their beloved Pigpen in 1973. In retrospect, it’s impossible to be sure […]

At the dawn of the 1960s, the jazz world stood on the edge of bold transformation, and Looking Ahead is a snapshot of that moment, bristling with experimentation, yet grounded in the tradition both its leaders had mastered. Released on the New Jazz label, this collaboration pairs 24-year-old Ken McIntyre, fresh from the Boston Conservatory […]

By the time Benny Golson recorded Gone With Golson in 1959, he had already carved out a strong reputation as both a formidable tenor saxophonist and a gifted composer. With roots in bands led by Lionel Hampton and Dizzy Gillespie, Golson’s résumé was as rich as his tone. Gone With Golson marked his fifth release […]

When Now That I’ve Found You: A Collection first arrived in 1995, Alison Krauss was already a rising force in the bluegrass world. But few could have predicted just how profoundly this compilation would alter the course of her career and the perception of bluegrass itself. Compiled when she was just 23, the album works […]

Earlier this year, Ben Nichols and Rick Steff of Lucero issued the duo album Lucero Unplugged. A solo album from the band’s principal songwriter and frontman seemed like a logical next step, and hence we have In the Heart of the Mountain, Nichols’s second solo album and first in 16 years. Although it is not […]

The Los Angeles-based pop outfit Fitz and the Tantrums has been delivering their neon-laced tunes for sixteen years, and their sixth studio release, Man On The Moon, continues in the group’s style as it weaves various soul, dance, and funk elements into their party- and commercial-ready sounds.   The band is led by Michael “Fitz” Fitzpatrick, with co-lead […]

Over the past two years, vocalist/songwriter/guitarist Cory Hanson has proven to have a tireless work ethic. From his 2023 solo release, Western Cum, to his work with his psychedelic rock outfit Wand and their 2024 release Vertigo, Hanson’s poetic approach to songwriting and love for nostalgic textures appear to be in two places at once. […]

Following up on his GRAMMY-nominated debut For(e)ward, Mádé Kuti has dove deep into modern afrobeat sounds, raising the bar with the sizzling Chapter 1: Where Does Happiness Come From?  As a third-generation musician with the most famous family lineage in the genre, legendary pioneering Grandfather Fela and Father Femi, Mádé does not bend under the […]

Up until recently, the consummate drummer Joe Farnsworth was primarily known as a traditionalist. Yet, he has expanded his palette to include younger musicians with a bent toward the contemporary and improvisation. His latest, and arguably his best album as a leader, The Big Room, deftly balances both of these tendencies with an intergenerational group […]

Patty Griffin’s return from a six-year hiatus is the stunning Crown of Roses. Stunning should not necessarily be viewed positively, but in terms of how remarkably bleak most of the tunes are. The best songwriters, Griffin among them, often gravitate toward dark material, and her recent run of albums has moved increasingly in that direction. […]

The term “Blues Summit” implies a gathering of guests. Whether Devon Allman was inspired by B.B. King’s Grammy-winning 1993 album of the same name or not, there are similarities in that the lineup featured contemporary artists and blues stalwarts. Here, Allman takes a break from the Allman-Betts Band and returns to Ruf Records for this […]