Album Reviews

[rating=7.00] Having written songs recorded by the likes of Jerry Lee Lewis while supporting greats in the legendary Muscle Shoals Studio and also serving as Kris Kristofferson’s keyboardist for over 40 years, Donnie Fritts has had an amazing musical career. For Oh My Goodness he has decided to step out of the assisting role into […]

[rating=8.00] It’s never easy being part of a spin-off band, especially when the band that you’ve spun off from (A) had enough gold records to fill a good portion of Fort Knox and (B) when the individual who wrote all the material and sang all the songs has opted to seek his or her fortunes […]

[rating=7.00] Nicole Willis is certainly not as well known as fellow soul shakers like Sharon Jones and Betty LaVette, but she certainly deserves to be. This may have to do with the fact that the singer has spent the last handful of years residing in Finland of all places, making tours around the States less […]

The last time I saw Godspeed You! Black Emperor live, they were still called Godspeed You Black Emperor!.  It was 2002 and they were touring ahead of the still-unreleased Yanqui U.X.O.  Shortly after that they announced a “hiatus,” which ended up lasting nearly a decade.  13 years later, as they take the stage in Brooklyn’s […]

[rating=8.00] Granted, being the home town heroes isn’t necessarily a major distinction when the town you’re presiding over doesn’t offer all that much in terms of competition, and you’ve won the crown as much by default as by your abilities. But when you’ve secured that title in a town like Knoxville Tennessee, where the talent […]

[rating=7.00] Promised Land Sound has been a band to get excited about since their self-titled 2013 debut. A revivalist band in many ways, their sound is hugely referential running the gamut from the Beatles to the Dead to Big Star to The Byrds, and zeroing in on psychedelic pop rock that could easily have come […]

[rating=7.00] The world of music is a rapidly evolving, mercurial cluster of confusion that can see new artists and genres of music come and then die just as quickly. In this typhoon of variables and insecurity sits a formidable Detroit rock band that has long defied the volatility of the industry to consistently please their […]

[rating=8.00] Just when you thought that all the alt-folk bands had settled into a similar and comfortable sound, along comes Darlingside to shake things up. Birds Say is the band’s second full-length release and it is built around the quartet’s gorgeous vocals and innovative use of string instruments. On the 13 tracks here Darlingside continues […]

[rating=8.00] As they have since the beginning, Mercury Rev seem to reside in their own celestial sphere. Their’s is a freewheeling take on psychedelia that’s as disrespectful of mode or melody as those first flights of fantasy explored by the Grateful Dead or Pink Floyd in their heyday, although Mercury Rev doesn’t necessarily sound like […]

[rating=8.00] Lucero’s Ben Nichols is the man’s man of alt-country, all gruff masculinity and rough around the edges. Which is why it may take longtime fans by surprise to hear his softer side shine through on the band’s new record All a Man Should Do. It is, by far, Lucero’s most pop-heavy album they’ve ever […]

[rating=8.00] In their decade together, The Wood Brothers have never made a bad record. Quite the contrary as each successive release has found them offering more finely-crafted material produced with a proportionately elevated sophistication. Paradise is another extension of that evolution. And not just in the studio environs either. The Wood Brothers’ live shows in […]

[rating=8.00] Chris Cornell has never been one to play it safe. From the innovative tunings and time signatures of Soundgarden to the bombastic arena rock of Audioslave to even the ill-fated collaboration with Timbaland, Cornell has consistently stretched himself as an artist and pushed the boundaries of his craft. On his fifth solo album, Higher […]

[rating=7.00] Silversun Pickups have never been a band that lends itself to typecasting or instant identification. While the band still lingers slightly below the surface, it has achieved sufficient buzz to qualify them as a band on the verge, one whose name can be dropped in any conversation wherever and indeed whenever hipper ensembles are […]

[rating=7.00] Having invented one of the most famous signature guitar riffs in rock ‘n’ roll history Dave Davies’ place in the rock ‘n’ roll firmament has always been well assured. The fact that he currently plays the role of a bespectacled journeyman rocker is both a testament to his tenaciousness — his career was nearly […]

[rating=7.00] Patty Griffin has never been what one might term ostentatious. Her albums take on a stripped down approach that leaves plenty of room for honest emotion to take hold. Her famous associations not withstanding — an on and off touring collaboration with Buddy Miller, Emmylou Harris and Shawn Colvin as well as her musical […]

[rating=9.00] Kevin Gordon has been around for quite a while, but you may just be hearing his name for the first time. The prolific singer-songwriter has just released what many critics are lauding as his best record yet, Long Gone Time. It is impossible to disagree with this praise when you hear the intimidating intricacy […]

[rating=10.00] When Tennessee Ernie Ford passed away in 1991 at the age of 72, exactly 36 years had passed since he had released “Sixteen Tons”. Despite its tragic tale of life working in a coal mine, the Merle Travis-penned song had been a mega-hit, selling 20 million copies from the time it was released in […]

[rating=9.00] Many, including Jewel herself, have dubbed her latest album Picking Up The Pieces as a logical companion, or book-end, to her smash debut Pieces of You (1995). Except for diehard fans, though, people forget that Pieces of You was sprawling, slightly meandering, utterly honest, difficult, vulnerable, and razor sharp in its grappling with human […]

[rating=7.00] Jambands tend to get a bad name. They’re either accused of endless noodling or relegated to the category of being strictly a festival sensation, best enjoyed in the context of live performance. Melodies are relegated to being merely an avenue for the musicians’ dexterity, and anything of the hummable variety is few and far […]

[rating=7.00] Much ballyhooed by insiders claiming to know the next hip thing, The Dears have gained a certain ascendency over the past several years thanks to a reputation for procuring stunning and sweeping soundscapes that carry a decidedly dramatic edge. Nevertheless, for that reason alone, they’ve also acquired a reputation for being on an elevated […]