Album Reviews

[rating=8.00] It is an amazing feeling to see and hear live music that leaves you with a desire to lead a simpler life. When it strips away all of the feelings of discontentment and wanting things we don’t need, it leaves us better than when we came to it. That is the experience of watching […]

[rating=7.00] If Rodney Crowell wasn’t so pragmatic about his work, his naturally erudite approach to writing and recording, as displayed on Close Ties, would quickly become pretentious, But as with the stellar Tarpaper Sky record that preceded this latest album, his down-to-earth inclinations ultimately win out,  despite some occasional saccharine moments. A renaissance man of […]

[rating=8.00] The fact that Lake Street Dive bassist, singer and songwriter Bridget Kearney’s initial solo album has arrived so quickly on the heels of her band’s rapid ascent to success suggests that stardom may be imminent, both for her as well as the band. As its title tends to suggest, Kearney adheres to a somewhat […]

[rating=7.00] Will Johnson is having a dark night of the soul, and lucky for us, it sounds pretty damn gorgeous. Though he’s known for being a member of Centro-matic and the Undertow Orchestra, Johnson is a brilliant and prolific solo artist. His latest release finds him brooding and solitary, independent but alone. Without a side project tying […]

[rating=9.00] Drew Holcomb has always been a passionate performer, making records that have been consistently satisfying since day one. Like Springsteen and Mellencamp he is, at his core, a well-traveled troubadour whose voice echoes the heartland and whose melodies quickly burrow under the skin. That’s especially evident on Souvenir, an album so urgent and exhilarating […]

[rating=7.00] After developing a credible reputation accompanying redoubtable musicians such as Warren Haynes, Ruthie Foster aims to make a name for herself with Joy Comes Back. And based on the innate humility of such collaborators as Derek Trucks, in combination with her own vocal, instrumental and compositional talents; she is well on the way to […]

[rating=7.00] We All Want The Same Things is the third solo album from Craig Finn and the man who is best known as the frontman of The Hold Steady has been putting lots of effort into his solo career with a few hits and misses mixed in. His first, Clear Heart Full Eyes (2012) had songs […]

[rating=7.00] If the way to get through 2017 without going completely nuts is to dance our asses off, Spoon has us covered. On their ninth studio album Hot Thoughts, Spoon doesn’t lose what makes them Spoon, but they’re definitely taking some risks and having plenty of fun doing it. Weird, trippy instrumentals and spaced out […]

[rating=7.00] Truth be told, Depeche Mode have never been the most effusive bunch. And yet, their resilience is admirable. Formed in 1980, they’ve survived the prevailing winds of changing trends and diverging circumstance, not to mention the individual afflictions of core members Andy Fletcher, Martin Gore and Dave Gahan, be it alcoholism, depression or a […]

[rating=8.00] Intentionally or not, the audio/video packages of the Tedeschi Trucks Band’s Live From The Fox Oakland highlight the group’s relative strengths on stage and in the studio. 2016’s Let Me Get By revealed a collective weakness in the group’s composition of its own material, but as producer of these sets, co-founder and producer of […]