Album Reviews

[rating=8.00] Meatbodies are a three piece psych-rock outfit from Los Angeles, California but they sure do like to travel the outer space waves of ear canals and minds. Chad Ubovich, Kevin Boog and Patrick Nolan construct odd sprawling sounds that mix clashing metallic with sweet and saccharine on ALICE, the group’s sophomore release. There are […]

[rating=7.00] Almost everyone at some point has stumbled across Thievery Corporation. And when you do, you pause. Because it’s different. It pulls from so many genres and cultures: jazz and trance and bossa nova and electronic. It is such a blend and it’s blended so smoothly that there’s no way it’s not going to grab […]

In the newest installment of Wannabe, artist Chris Prunckle reviews Silver Tears, the incredible 2016 album from Nashville troubadour Aaron Lee Tasjan, in his signature six-panel comic strip form. Click on the image for full resolution (best viewed on desktop): [youtube id=”PRTXe9eG56o” width=”630″ height=”350″]

[rating=8.00] Known primarily as a reliable session hand heralded for both his guitar playing and his behind the boards prowess, Gurf Morlix is also a seasoned solo artist whose no-nonsense approach has made him one of Austin’s most reliable practitioners. The Soul & The Heal is a fine example of that signature sound, a tattered […]

[rating=9.00] Ron Gallo has a sick, twisted worldview, and that is what you’ll love about his new record Heavy Meta. Gallo has an undeniable talent and a penchant for the dark and weird side of things. His commentary can be such a bummer, perhaps because he often hits the nail on the head. But you’ll […]

[rating=7.00] Little Fictions, the new album by elbow, is a slight reinvention for a band that is now seven albums and 20 years into its career. The music is less gloomy and a little more varied than previous releases. It leaves a bit more room for fun among the brooding introspection from which the band […]

[rating=8.00] In some strange way Moon Duo’s new album gets all that’s currently winter and cold. It’s the first part of a two part set inspired by a number of mythical and philosophical sources, by yin and yang, by dark and light. Guitarist Ripley Johnson talks about some of the thought behind the album, saying […]

[rating=9.00] It’s no small mark of distinction when you’re able to enlist superstars like The Mavericks to participate in an early outing. Yet it’s far more impressive when the sound you produce yourself sounds so assured and confident, even the initial time out. That was the case with Canada’s Whitney Rose, whose previous album, somewhat […]

[rating=8.00] At a Hiss Golden Messenger show last year, front man MC Taylor said of Tift Merritt (who stood by his side providing backing vocals), “This woman has the kind of voice I want to write songs for.” And though her voice wasn’t alone on stage that night, longtime fans of Merritt’s understood. Her lived-in, […]

Since the release of its eponymous sophomore album last autumn, The Marcus King Band has generated a groundswell of recognition for itself with almost constant roadwork. The group’s appearance at Nectar’s in Burlington on January 26th suggested the precocious group will be headlining shows regularly before too long. It was poetic justice of sorts that […]