Album Reviews

[rating=7.00] Primus has always been one of the weirdest bands out there. In a post-Frank Zappa world, they’re the closest thing we’re ever going to get to the granddaddy of musical freaks. This is a mantel they’ve always worn well, even if it’s never talked about or spoken aloud. Anytime Primus releases a new record, […]

[rating=7.00] This is the second time that The Flaming Lips have decided to tackle an all-time classic album, the first being 2009’s interpretation of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side Of The Moon, and with both releases the first question that should be asked is, why? Both LP’s are ingrained in any music fan’s brain already and […]

[rating=7.00] Whatever you might think, don’t call Lost Loves a B-Side collection.  For far too long, Minus the Bear, the five lads from Seattle who specialize in under utilized guitar techniques and electronic washes, have unleashed album after album of insidious pop songs that can loop on repeat in your ears for days. Their last LP, […]

[rating=6.00] Touted as something of a ‘super-group’ based on the presence of Jackie Greene, Joan Osborne  and Steve Gorman, the bonding of those relatively high-profile individuals with guitarist Tom Bukovac and bassist Nick Govrik leverages a fair amount of collective talent. Trigger Hippy doesn’t rest on its laurels, but this first recording of theirs finds […]

[rating=8.00] Thanks to the visceral folk sound of his debut Roll the Bones, Alejandro Rose-Garcia, better known as Shakey Graves, landed himself a handful of prestigious live shows this past year, including the Newport Folk Festival and Celebrate Brooklyn. His onstage charisma is vibrant and magnetic, no doubt resulting in a fast growing following of […]

[rating=8.00] Known for a catalogue of passionate, emotional and cathartic albums and tracks, Stars latest No One Is Lost, (out October 14th) kicks off on a surprisingly, and enjoyably, buoyant note on “From The Night” that carries listeners with a sense of momentum that is both fresh and celebratory. It becomes clear here not only is […]

[rating=9.00] In the twenty years since the group formed in Oklahoma, Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey has slowly but surely turned itself into an American musical institution (during its most recent history under the tutelage of keyboardist Brian Haas). It is little wonder then that the group, now a trio including guitarist Chris Combs and drummer […]

[rating=6.00] In a few short years, alt-J have grown from college dorm hall buddies messing around with GarageBand to full-blown rock stars working with some of music’s heavyweights. Their debut release An Awesome Wave captured Britain’s prestigious Mercury Prize in 2012, and immediately catapulted the band into larger venues and bigger headlining slots, while also […]

[rating=8.00] The Barr Brothers are your new favorite fall comfort blanket. Listening to their latest, Sleeping Operator, feels both comfortable and like a breath of fresh, folk-rocky air. One could pop it into a CD player (or perhaps just stream it…) and randomly select a song, only to easily imagine the album being some long-lost […]

[rating=7.00] Prince is an artist on a level few others will ever achieve but even his staunchest supporters will admit his output in the late 90’s and 2000’s has not been awe inspiring and at times simply tepid. Art Official Age is the artist’s 33rd studio album (which is a testament in itself) and there […]

[rating=8.00] Hot Rize is one of the most influential and pioneering bluegrass bands of the last 35 years.  In 1978, Hot Rize began conjuring up their addicting brand of Colorado bluegrass that honors the traditional while embracing their own influences of blues, country, and celtic music.  They have influenced a wide range of popular artists […]

[rating=8.00] It’s always been apparent in Luke Winslow King’s music that he’s a New Orleans-based artist. The warm blend of blues, jazz, and folk is so smooth you can practically smell the sweet chicory coffee. But on his latest record, Everlasting Arms, that presence is more prevalent than ever before. Perhaps the most contemporary of […]

[rating=8.00] On Caribou’s sixth album, Dan Snaith latches on to what people loved about his last albums to create Our Love: an album that is both conceptual and inviting. The concept is love. Snaith clarifies though that he is not talking about “the kind of pubescent ‘love at first sight’ new love or in the […]

[rating=9.00] Jackson Browne’s previous two studio albums, The Naked Ride Home and Time the Conqueror, are earmarked as much by the sympathetic and authoritative accompaniment of the musicians as the literacy and passion of the compositions. Standing in the Breach follows suit in both respects, but also  elevates Browne’s well-established skills as a recording artist, […]

[rating=7.00] The many changing ways in which we approach albums makes it difficult to say whether the format itself is on its last legs. Perhaps Weird Al’s singles-focused approach is what’s right for this morphing medium. Or maybe Thom Yorke has struck gold with a BitTorrent bundle, whatever the hell that happens to be. Regardless […]

[rating=8.00] Once an unknown band that lurked in the shadows while releasing tracks anonymously, with its full-length debut Sir Sly shines a light on an immense talent for creating infectious pop hooks. You Haunt Me is in a sense the band’s proper debut album, with all four songs from the Gold EP re-released here. With […]

[rating=8.00] Garcia Live Volume Four stands as a testament to the wealth of material available for the on-going archive project. In fact, this two-disc set, from a Colorado stop on a tour with Robert Hunter, might well serve as a template for the series in terms of song selection, performance and packaging. It’s well nigh […]

Looking more American than Colonel Sanders these days in cool (weather-wise) Hawaii shirt and trade-mark moustache, Manny Charlton is now an ex-pat in Texas who was born in Spain in 1941 but started his career in Dunfermline Scotland. Homeland of the Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Teargas (from which SAHB grew), Beggars Opera, Writing on the […]

[rating=5.00] Somewhere in the new millennium it became really cool to be both a stand-up comic and an indie darling. I’m guessing Sub Pop has a lot to do with that, since that seminal indie label pushed out comedy albums from indie stalwarts such as David Cross, Patton Oswalt, and Eugene Mirman. Sarah Silverman has […]

[rating=7.00] King Tuff is now entering its plugged in phase. Never one to sit still, the Vermont act is in good company on opening eponymous track “Black Moon Spell”. Fellow inexhaustible rocker Ty Segall lends a percussive hand as King Tuff kicks it into high gear. Given Segall’s insane output and similar demeanor, it consistently […]