Sun Ra Arkestra Celebrate Saxophonist Marshall Allen’s 100th Birthday & Life’s Work With ‘Lights On A Satellite’ (ALBUM REVIEW)
No other 100-year-old musician is leading a band, and no bandleader has remained in the same band for 67 years. NEA Jazz Master and alto saxophonist/EWI player Marshall Allen joined the Sun Ra Arkestra in 1957 (or 1958, depending on the source) and has been leading the venerable institution since Sun Ra’s passing in 1993 for thirty years and […]
Thompson Twins 1984 Synth-pop Classic ‘Into The Gap’ Gets 40th Anniversary Reissue (ALBUM REVIEW)
Despite the power of nostalgic thinking and sudden discovery of Gen Z (likely courtesy of TikTok), not all music from the ‘80s was great. For every Cure and Pixies album that has rightfully gone on to achieve near-universal classic status, there was a Starship or Chris de Burgh record that reminded you cocaine was almost […]
Opeth Go Big With Sharper Focus & Lense Flare On ‘The Last Will and Testament’ (ALBUM REVIEW)
Opeth’s polished 14th album, The Last Will and Testament, has been unsealed. The big question on everyone’s mind is: “Does the album deliver?” That one’s an easy “oh hell yes.” Let’s give a quick recap. If you’ve heard the first two singles, “§1” and “§3,” you know what you’re getting. This is the band’s heaviest material […]
Guitarist Jeff Parker and ETA IVtet Deliver Improvised, Thick Grooved Tracks On ‘The Way Out of Easy’ (ALBUM REVIEW)
Guitarist Jeff Parker built his reputation in Chicago with Tortoise, The Chicago Underground Trio, and Isotope 217 and as a member of the AACM as well as other wide ranging endeavors. Yet his home base has been Los Angeles since 2016. He and his band, the ETA IVtet, held a Monday residency at the since-shuttered […]
‘Harlem Street Singer’ Vinyl Reissue Captues Blues-folk Great Blind Gary Davis at Creative Peak (ALBUM REVIEW)
Blind Gary Davis, also known as Reverend Gary Davis, was a towering figure in the world of American music. Born in 1896, Davis lost his sight at a young age but developed a remarkable ability to channel his experiences into music. Self-taught on the guitar, he mastered the intricate fingerpicking style of the Piedmont blues […]
Jimmy Reed’s ‘I’m Jimmy Reed’ Vinyl Reissue Offers Masterclass in Minimalist Blues Standards (ALBUM REVIEW)
Jimmy Reed’s I’m Jimmy Reed is the kind of record that feels less like a debut and more like a mission statement. Released in 1958 on Vee-Jay Records, this collection of blues standards laid the groundwork for a musical career that would stretch far beyond the boundaries of its genre. Reed’s unassuming style, a hypnotic […]
Andrew Gabbard Takes Classic Rock Power Ride On ‘Ramble & Rave On!’ (ALBUM REVIEW)
On his previous solo release, 2023’s Cedar City Sweetheart, Andrew Gabbard focused on adding more country/Americana elements to his indie rock base. This time, he mostly returns to his core strengths, using vibrating guitar and his soulful voice to bring it on home with Ramble & Rave On! Playing all of the instruments himself (except […]
Triumphant 1994 Oscar Peterson Performance Captured On ‘City Lights: The Oscar Peterson Quartet – Live in Munich, 1994’ (ALBUM REVIEW)
In recent years around this same time, Kelly Peterson, the wife of the late, iconic pianist, Oscar Peterson, released live performances from her archives. This is the fifth. Up until now, those records featured Oscar in his prime with both hands blazing. City Lights; The Oscar Peterson Quartet – Live in Munich, 1994 is different […]
Gavin Friday Gives Voice to the Slighted with Sprawling Solo Effort ‘Ecce Homo’ (ALBUM REVIEW)
It’s been more than a decade since Gavin Friday – former front man for The Virgin Prunes – last put out a solo album, but with Ecce Homo he picks up right where he left off 13 years ago. Friday developed a template of rebelling against the expected and custom norms all the way back […]
Violent Femmes’ Dark and Challenging Sophomore LP ‘Hallowed Ground’ Gets 40th Anniversary Reissue (ALBUM REVIEW)
When Hallowed Ground was released in 1984, Violent Femmes were already known for their self-titled debut’s raw, stripped-down punk-folk energy. But rather than serving more of the same, the band took a sharp left turn, delivering an album that is darker, more complex, and undeniably polarizing. With Hallowed Ground, the band embraced a more experimental […]