Album Reviews

Missouri-based folksinger Willi Carlisle is the living embodiment of Kris Kristofferson’s famous lines – “He’s a walking contradiction, partly truth and partly fiction.” Carlisle’s appeal is his ability to write deeply incisive, provocative, and socially relevant songs without being preachy, while taking a few lighthearted detours through these eleven songs on Winged Victory.  Carlisle is […]

It’s rare that an album title so accurately reflects the songs within it. But Life Behind Bars is one of those titles. The collection of songs here gives heartfelt dialogue to The Vandoliers’ frontwoman Jenni Rose’s journey through addiction and gender dysphoria, culminating in her decision earlier this year to publicly come out and live […]

Almost exactly a year ago, Lukas Nelson and his band, Promise of the Real, a 15-year-old collective, announced an indefinite hiatus to pursue different artistic endeavors. Now arrives Nelson’s first solo offering, American Romance, an album that looks to shift perspectives and recalibrate Nelson as a solo artist.  Nelson takes center stage as his understated […]

The newest offering from the Brooklyn-based rock outfit Hotline TNT is a throwback to the buzzy grunge era of 90s indie/alt heyday; however, things never stagnate as they sprinkle in exciting accents and pop-like appeal to keep the ear engaged throughout the dynamite Raspberry Moon.  For the first time in Hotline TNT’s history, lead singer/founder and […]

The curators of the Gregg Allman Live series set a high bar for themselves through last year’s Uncle Sam’s release, but with One Night In DC, May 15 1984, the archivists have adhered to those elevated standards.  Recorded on the last date of the tour (according to Allman before he introduced the band), this concert […]

Australian genre-benders and punk manipulators Tropical Fuck Storm have never been the band to pigeonhole, and it would be a fool’s errand to try. Even in its rawest form, their refreshing power ballads warp the mind and melt the face while maintaining a welcoming humbleness that makes their off-kilter rock music so accessible. Born out […]

Willie Nile has been releasing records since the 1980s and while he has always been a remarkably dependable flag bearer of great American rock music, right up there with Dylan, Springsteen and Petty (though admittedly a little more under the radar), his output lately – song for song – has been among his best. Maybe […]

There’s an unpretentious quality to Elijah Johnston’s subjects that makes his songs deeply accessible. On Stupid Soul, the Atlanta artist covers a wide swath of topics from the seemingly mundane – the feeling of excitement around football season (in the aptly titled “Football Season”) – to weightier subjects, like the guilt of teenage sexual exploration […]

Most artists signed to the premier blues label, Alligator, have established careers; however, occasionally, youthful talent emerges, such as Louisiana-born D.K. Harrell, a skillful guitarist, accomplished songwriter, and powerful vocalist. The 27-year-old Harrell is already playing blues festivals globally and was a headliner at the Chicago Blues Festival this past week. This is Harrell’s second album, having […]

Norman Greenbaum’s 1969 debut solo album, Spirit in the Sky, often gets distilled down to its one iconic single, but there’s more to explore beneath that fuzzed guitar riff. Produced by Erik Jacobsen (known for his work with the Lovin’ Spoonful), this record blends raw rock energy with subtle gospel and psychedelic leanings. Although Greenbaum […]

The Western Kentucky singer-songwriter S.G. Goodman may be the best writer of Southern Gothic songs since Lucinda Williams first brought her genius to the forefront in the ‘90s. Goodman’s distinctive Kentucky drawl also gives us one of those singular voices. Few write and sing with the combination of vivid detail, empathy, and relativity. Planting By Signs is Goodman’s […]

Welcome back, James McMurtry. It’s been four years since 2021’s The Horses and The Hounds.  We’ve missed his wit, political insights, and unparalleled storytelling. These new songs on The Black Dog and The Wandering Boy are memories from his family’s past, an old poem by a family friend, confronting old age, outlaw sagas, and both blatant […]

With Early Waves, Chicago drummer and composer Peter Manheim emerges not just as a sideman with range, but as a sonic architect capable of designing entire musical ecosystems. A follow-up to 2023’s In Time EP, this debut full-length expands his vision into something vast yet intimate, drawing from his roots in jazz and global percussion […]

For their newest release Bo Dollis Jr. & The Wild Magnolias went upriver to inject some Memphis blues and soul into their New Orleans second line sound. Chip Off The Old Block finds Bo Dollis Jr. The Wild Magnolias continue cultural traditions passed down from Bo’s father, while also expanding in exciting ways.     The group […]

Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts’ Talkin’ To The Trees is nowhere near as confounding as the Canadian’s latest efforts with Crazy Horse. It’s far more compelling than 2019’s Colorado and Barn from two years later and even World Record from 2022, in part because its comparably impromptu atmosphere enhances rather than detracts from the […]

One of the most unlikely comebacks in recent music history was WITCH’s 2023 offering, the excellent Zango. The Zamrock legends returned after 40 years, blending new and old styles to deliver the goods for a new generation to discover. Now comes SOGOLO, a follow-up that is more relaxed, less vital, but still able to rock, groove, and […]

About Ghosts is the fourth album from the incomparable guitarist Mary Halvorson’s sextet Amaryllis, following Amaryllis, Belladonna, and Cloudward. They were all named Jazz Album of the Year in DownBeat’s annual Critics Polls, where Halvorson was also named Guitarist of the Year in 2023 and 2024. It would be challenging to top those achievements other […]

Protest music is on the rise as it should be. We Insist! Max Roach’s “Freedom Now Suite” (1960), an important collaboration between jazz drummer Max Roach and lyricist Oscar Brown Jr., featuring vocals by Abbey Lincoln and contributions from Coleman Hawkins and Booker Little, is a defining statement of the early Black American civil rights movement. […]

Throughout their short yet prolific career, The Bug Club has undergone many changes. What started as a blues-rock revivalist group has evolved into an artsy indie rock outfit, centered around cheeky songwriting and subtle experimentation. In 2024, it was announced that The Bug Club had signed with the prestigious Sub Pop Records, marking yet another […]

It is miraculous how, even after 15 years and 26 albums into their career, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard still maintain an element of surprise. The Australian genre-morphing outfit has proven to be far more than the jam bands they were once compared to, compiling a colorful catalog that never ceases to sonically shift […]