Album Reviews

One of the best things about the funk-tastic Boston quintet No Bud for Bisson (NBFB) is that it

Break out the wife beater and grab a cold one! Queens of the Stone Age have returned with another pack of their desert stoner peyote boogie go-go rock.

Murdocks sound like any Strokes, Hot Hot Heat, or Kaiser Chiefs already out there, but their brand of chaos trembles with a vital sense of urgency and aggression that demands to at least be heard, obeyed and absorbed.

Just like in sports there seems to be an East Coast/West Coast bias when it comes to the world of jambands.

With influences ranging all the way from Aerosmith to Zappa, Connecticut trio, Guy Malone blends that classic rock sound with shades of bluegrass, jazz and reggae. It

34-year-old Hammond B-3 organ ace Joey DeFrancesco almost single handedly re-ignited interest in the use of his instrument in a jazz context back in the late 80s and early 90s, so it was never any question that he

Comin

One of the most interesting groups currently emanating from the suddenly-relevant-again upstate New York experimental music scene, Oshe is a remarkably interesting, futuristic electro-groove beast that, in all of its jams

On their latest release, the underwhelming Push the Button, the Chemical Brothers return to a technique last explored, to far greater success, on 1997

There

Lead singer Rachel Hagen sounds a bit like Gwen Stefani, except with better vocalizations on the rock tracks. On slower songs she sounds like Amy Lee of Evanescence, except coarser.

Drunkard

The Mix, is brand new musical collaboration that combines Hammond B-3 specialist Melvin Seals from Jerry Garcia Band fame on the Keyboards and Vocals, John Kadlecik and Kevin Rosen who use their guitar, bass, and vocal abilities to recreate classic Grateful Dead performances in their other band the Dark Star Orchestra, and the highly skilled drummer Greg Anton from legendary Bay area rock band Zero, to create an innovative and original debut album called American Spring.

The John Byrd EP is a nice live portrait of a band in a transitional period from the clubs to bigger venues in the near future. Catch them while you can.

Legends cast large shadows, but such observations bare little weight when speaking of Sarah Lee Guthrie, daughter of Arlo and granddaughter of Woody. With the help of songwriter and husband Johnny Irion, Guthrie has released Exploration, the duo’s debut studio recording; an acoustic, rock-and-hum album enlivened by honey-sweet harmonies and modest hooks.

Like Frank Zappa before him, Green posses an uncanny ability to sing about taboo subjects while masking their identity in short songs. His instrumentation might not approach Zappa

Throughout this ten songer, The Stella Link journey through sweeping atmospheric numbers into agitated structured rockers. Although this four-piece aren

In the wake of the recent tsunami disaster in southeast Asia, hipster clothing chain Urban Outfitters along with Filter Magazine have assembled a benefit compilation of their own

Former Superdrag frontman, John Davis has found Jesus and like every fresh convert he wants to make sure you know all about it. On first pass through this self-titled album, the only song that stuck out as anything special was

Bone dry and delicately woven; the web that Vic Chesnutt has created throughout his humble career has spawned by a humorous eye, evoking the beauty of the South in wry, often bazaar imagery that is nothing short of genius. Ghetto Bells, an intricate, 11-song tapestry of color and depth, accented by multi-instrumentalist Van Dyke Parks and jazz guitarist Bill Frisell among others.