Album Reviews

[rating=7.00] Even though the British quartet Free garnered only a single hit, it is the perennial “All Right Now,” and the group has influenced many a diverse band throughout the years, from Lynyrd Skynyrd to Howlin’ Rain. And while the band’s vocalist, Paul Rodgers, has subsequently earned his share of recognition, as a member of […]

[rating=8.00] The Milk Carton Kids have always appealed to a certain twinge of nostalgia. After all, they possess all the right currency — two guys, two guitars, impeccable harmonies and melodies of that intertwine wistful and romantic stylings. They provided a keen hint of deja vu even from early on, a sense that we’ve seen […]

In the latest Wannabe, artist Chris Prunckle offers his illustrated commentary on Good Thing, the new album from Leon Bridges, in his signature six-panel comic strip form. Click on the image for full resolution (best viewed on desktop):

[rating=7.00] You get the sense the fellas from The Record Company have more than a fleeting sense of humor. Not in any slapstick induced laugh-out-loud larrikinism; but the ability to find the absurdities in life, flash a wry smile and not take any of it too seriously. Calling yourselves The Record Company carries more than […]

[rating=8.00] With his picks from the vault, Grateful Dead archivist David Lemieux has certainly done justice to the legacy of his predecessor Dick Latvala. Of course, that man who shepherded the initial series of concert releases under his own name collaborated with his successor toward the end of that thirty-six title run, so it should […]

[rating=7.00] Two-time Grammy-winning producer Tom Hambridge spends most of his time in his adopted home of Nashville producing records for Buddy Guy, Kenny Neal, Mike Zito and countless others. And, he finds some time to play drums in his own band, compose songs mix records, master records, and balance the various projects that are on-going. […]

[rating=7.00] Furious Seasons is a three-person orchestra, releasing their second album, Now Residing Abroad as a trio and the sixth under the band’s name. Leader, singer-songwriter David Steinhart has been a mainstay in folk-pop circles in L.A. for over 30 years, having founded Pop Art in 1984 and Smart Brown Handbag in 1993. The Furious […]

[rating=8.00] Dawes is nothing if not a discerning, intelligent group of musicians. Just a mere four months after the release of We’re All Gonna Die, the group made available (initially at no charge) a full-length live recording titled We’re All Gonna Live, taken from concerts early in 2017: perhaps not exactly a riposte  to the […]

[rating=9.00] Kamasi Washington has not only taken the jazz world by storm.  He’s moved well beyond it, bringing in a new generation of non-jazz lovers too. Heaven and Earth, the follow-up to the widely heralded 2015 Epic, is comprised on two halves, runs for two and half hours, and is available in a double deluxe […]

[rating=7.00] Suffice it to say T. Hardy Morris arrives at this juncture in his career bearing some impressive credentials. A member of the band Dead Confederate and the indie supergroup of sorts Diamond Rugs, he follows in the footsteps of the Athens elite, bands like REM in particular, that helped define the divide between rock […]