Album Reviews

[rating=5.00] Mount Moriah has taken a shiny polish to their sound and come up with the exuberant How to Dance, their follow up to 2013’s beloved Miracle Temple. And what many were initially quick to peg as country has continued to morph and evolve into something much more complex. While lead singer Heather McEntire has […]

[rating=8.00] Austin’s Golden Dawn Arkestra are the type of heady musical collective that could only exist in a town filled with musicians. Fronted by local scene veteran Topaz aka Zapot Mgwai, this group consists ten or more musicians and dancers. This may explain why the band doesn’t tour outside of Austin much, as their live […]

[rating=5.00] In this age of pseudo throwback soul saturation, it seems that the list of bands jumping on this genre wagon is never-ending. Some are exceptional and others fall short. Lake Street Dive fall somewhere in the middle ground, and with their new record Side Pony, they maintain that status but with more hype than […]

[rating=9.00] Artists like Jason Isbell, Chris Stapleton, and Sturgill Simpson have created a recent surge in popularity and notoriety in Americana and traditional country music. North Carolina’s Caleb Caudle is a hidden gem in Americana music that some critics are calling the “next Jason Isbell”. This comparison is drawn from Caudle’s rich lyrical depth and soothing […]

[rating=7.00] There’s a dreamy murkiness to the new record from Deep Sea Diver, no doubt influenced by their hometown of Seattle. Their sophomore LP Secrets is 10 tracks of scuzzy power pop that hits the spot. It’s got a mod retro feel to it, like Nico under strobe lights in a dark club, but there’s […]

[rating=7.00] Despite a relatively short career, London-based Yuck, have already weathered changes that would have destroyed most other bands. Two years after their self-titled debut was released in 2011 to critical acclaim, founding member and front man Daniel Blumberg left the band to pursue his own projects. However, Max Bloom (guitar/vocals), Mariko Doi (bass/vocals) and Jonathan […]

[rating=8.00] The Cloud Cult journey has been a deep musical exploration of some of the most intense, complex, and unknowable aspects of what it is to be human. Their latest album, The Seeker, continues in that tradition, building beautifully and intelligently upon the existing catalog. Released with a series of videos, The Seeker is at […]

In the newest installment of Wannabe, artist Chris Prunckle reviews the latest album from Canadian singer-songwriter Matt Goud aka Northcote, Hope Is Made Of Steel, in his signature six-panel comic strip form. Click on the image for full resolution:  [youtube id=”iEgUhAW2L4g” width=”630″ height=”350″]

[rating=9.00] Any suckers for eclectic musical unions will have no trouble sinking their teeth into Slow Moses’  (formally known as Wooden Indian) newest release, Charity Binge, the band’s first on Jealous Butcher Records. The Phoenix-based quintet – who two of its lead members last year joined Califone for a national tour with The War on […]

[rating=2.00] With Yeezus, Kanye West moved into the odd air of rapper whose actual life/personality/celebrity eclipsed even his most grandiose boasts. The Life of Pablo grapples with that semi-achievement and it fails miserably. If the name on the sleeve of this record was “John Doe” would anyone even care or give this a second listen? […]

[rating=8.00] The lesser-known cousin to the far more famous Route 66, Interstate 20 spans the southern portion of the U.S., cutting a 1,500 mile swath from Texas to South Carolina. Like the more famous highway to the north, it inspires tales of towns and travelers who have been intersected due to its routing, bringing to […]

[rating=6.00] In terms of talent, sheer vocal power and songwriting, Lissie is a no-brainer. The solo artist has been through a lot since her 2010 debut Catching a Tiger. And though it was only a handful of years ago, she has grown and changed both as an artist and a person. With her third studio […]

[rating=9.00] It would be hard to imagine an album more haunting and beguiling than this fifth opus by the Minnesota-based band who refer to themselves simply as The Pines. Co-produced by Bo Ramsey, the man frequently behind the boards for Greg Brown, Above the Prairie unfolds as a series of shimmering, seductive soundscapes that effectively […]

[rating=4.00] The new Ra Ra Riot album, Need Your Light, provides the same emotional roller coaster you feel when someone starts to make a really fantastic point that makes you feel completely understood — only to turn around and say something horrifying, so that you cover your eyes and plead “No!” in your brain. This […]

[rating=8.00] An astute observer of intimate endeavors, Aidan Knight maintains the introspective gaze that found him making a mark with his bewitching debut, Small Reveal, in 2012. Hushed and deliberative, his sophomore set Small Reveal places the emphasis on nuance, as manifest in the low cast gaze that shrouds the album overall. Subtlety is the […]

[rating=8.00] Singer/songwriter Basia Bulat hasn’t garnered near enough notice on this side of our northern border, but it’s not because she’s not deserving. In her native Canada she’s gained significant airplay and even had her debut album, Oh My Darling, shortlisted for the prestigious Polaris Music Prize. Tall Tall Shadow, her third effort — and […]

[rating=8.00] L.A.’s The Record Company, established in 2011, wrote and recorded their debut album in their bass player’s living room without any expectations, save probably just making great music to share with friends and family. But after playing at house parties, local record shops and intimate clubs – being signed by a label and thrust […]

In the newest installment of Wannabe, artist Chris Prunckle reviews the latest album from gritty Americana band Nick Dittmeier & the Sawdusters , Midwest Heart/ Southern Blues, in his signature six-panel comic strip form. Click on the image for full resolution:    [youtube id=”JAslSTFdjYU” width=”630″ height=”350″]

[rating=8.00] During the course of their thirty year performing career, the Grateful Dead turned more than one cliche inside out, but the deeper into the vault  archivist David Lemieux dives, the more he reaffirms the veracity of the old saying “Hindsight is 20/20.” The various phases in and out of which this iconic band morphed […]

[rating=8.00] Pushing through the weighty 4-track Ritual Spirit reminds us why Massive Attack were for the majority of their career innovators in trip-hop. The profoundly pushed the ways they concoct their sound through the years by whatever influences of the time; whether they be the Wild Bunch, the emergence of the underground electronic scene in […]