Album Reviews

[rating=8.00] For its follow-up to 2013’s Negativity, Deer Tick has released two full-length albums, each showcasing a distinctly different side of the Rhode Island band. Volume 1 is a soft, mostly acoustic album that emphasizes Deer Tick’s twangier, country and folk-influenced sound. In contrast, Volume 2 is a loud garage rock album that is as […]

[rating=7.00] Released in anticipation of John McLaughlin’s final tour of America, Live at Ronnie Scott’s features a cover photo of the famous London venue with the silver-haired musician pictured in the corner somewhat unobtrusively, gazing perhaps with some measure of nostalgia at the spot he served on the house backing band in the Sixties. Inside […]

[rating=7.00] Pictured on the cover of Contraband Love, Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams look like nothing so much as a new American Gothic. And the record follows suit, comprised of eight originals plus three choice covers with the spare accompaniment of bassist Jesse Murphy and drummer Justin Guip (who recorded and mixed the record under […]

[rating=9.00] Mike Gordon’s fifth solo album OGOGO is his clearest individual musical statement as an artist yet. Recorded with his own band OGOGO is cohesive, unique and sonically divergent from his main day job, infused with a confidence of an artist stepping into his own. On the oddly titled OGOGO the majority of the songs […]

In the newest installment of Wannabe, artist Chris Prunckle reviews Lifers, the new album from Nashville singer-songwriter Jon Latham, in his signature six-panel comic strip form. Click on the image for full resolution (best viewed on desktop):

[rating=9.00] Jason Isbell gets too much credit these days. That’s not to say the constant stream of praise bestowed upon Americana’s golden boy isn’t well deserved, but ideally artists like Isbell should serve as a rabbit hole. Many people don’t realize that there are other songwriters writing equally great songs in a similar vein. One […]

[rating=7.00] Call it a comeback, or simply a reunion long overdue. Nearly 30 years after calling it a day, The Dream Syndicate, one the uncontested leader of L.A.‘s so-called paisley underground, are back in business, still procuring the cosmic cacophony that typified their seminal stance in the otherwise unobtrusive ‘80s. With the core of the […]

[rating=7.00] In a recent interview, Ted Leo spoke at length about the trials and tribulations of even recording a new album after seven years largely removed from the music business. Aside from an Aimee Mann collaboration which received fairly solid reviews at the time of its release, Leo has kept a low profile while struggling […]

[rating=9.00] Jonny Lang’s seventh studio album, Signs, is his loudest and most rocking to date. Though rooted firmly in the blues, the Fargo-based guitar prodigy has always incorporated different styles into his sound. Lang has been able to transcend the clichés and limitations of standard blues music by incorporating gospel and R&B (Turn Around), folk […]

[rating=9.00] “…Well, Screw the Past!’ Let’s play a little game.  Let’s assume that the reader is fairly knowledgeable about music’s past, present, and future. Answer this riddle: “They have been producing music for 46 years and counting. They have released 24 studio albums. They helped form and solidify five different genres of distinct music over […]