Album Reviews

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

In 1998 an entire generation of punk bands were picking up the political flag from genre founders like The Clash and Stiff Little Fingers. In that year alone, Bad Religion, Rancid and The Suicide Machines all put out records that touched, with varying degrees, on politics and society. The Orange County punks in the Vandals […]

It’s never easy to follow up a Grammy-winning album but arguably Molly Tuttle and her band, Golden Highway have done just that as City of Gold teems with terrific songs and a tad more energy than 2022’s winning Crooked Tree, which won Best Bluegrass Album.  Established early on as picker par excellence (IBMA Guitar Player […]

For decades now, punk rock and country have made an odd combo. On the surface it shouldn’t work but as a generation of bands like Jason & The Scorchers, The Meat Puppets, Drivin N Cryin, and Dash Rip Rock have shown, the mix of pretention free music, a DIY ethos and a “fuck the trends” […]

Assuming you’ve heard about this never-before-heard recording of John Coltrane’s month-long residency at NYC’s Village Gate in August,1961 but have only heard the single, “Impressions” so far, here are some quick observations: Although Dolphy is present on later recordings {Live at the Village Vanguard (Impulse!), Ole (Atlantic), Live in Europe (Pablo), and Africa Brass (Impulse!)}; […]

With the release of the 40th Anniversary Expanded Edition of Field Day, Marshall Crenshaw has fully and completely addressed the negativity that arose upon the issue of his second studio album forty years ago. Whether he intended to or not matters less than the fact the six bonus cuts, combined with his frank comments within the sixteen-page booklet, achieve that […]

The Nashville, Tennessee-based art/punk outfit Snõõper shout out lo-fi blasts of directness via short snippets of fuzzed-up punk throughout their full-length debut Super Snõõper.   The group started as an oddball pairing of Connor Cummins (guitar) and Blair Tramel (vocals) that mixed in various artistic flair during their live shows, before bringing in Cam Sarrett (drums), […]

Duane Betts’ first full-length solo album, Wild & Precious Life, is a direct extension of his work in the Allman-Betts Band in 2019 and 2020 (and superior to those efforts too). In his role as executive producer, it was no doubt he who enlisted linchpins of that group– including guitarist Johnny Stachela, bassist Berry Duane Oakley, keyboardist John Ginty–plus drummer […]

Colter Wall has been described as a traditionalist and while his dusty country tunes pull from the legends of the genre almost as much as Wall’s life story, the artist is creating his own tradition. Wall has been steadily receiving praise from country gods like Steve Earle since his 2015 debut put his stunning songwriting […]

The music created by Marc Ribot’s Ceramic Dog is a mix of everything that makes the avant-garde guitarist tick. Different styles sit side by side on Connection, which showcases a challenging, exciting, and extremely rewarding listen from angular start to its fully inspired finish.  Joining Ribot (guitars, tres, dobro, bass, vocals) as the formation of […]

The first thing you notice about Ryan Curtis is the voice. Like Tom Waits after a few belts of whiskey and a half a pack of smokes, Curtis’ deep vocals can shake the trees and certainly command attention. It also happens to be perfectly suited for his distinct brand of Americana, which vacillates between country, […]

Lukas Nelson and Promise of the Real have proven themselves somewhat schizophrenic in the years since the group elevated its public profile through collaborations with Neil Young. On the one hand, working with the Canadian rock icon further accentuated the rowdy and rambunctious nature of their early albums on their own like Something Real, while their […]

Octogenarian George Benson is still performing, having appeared at the Montreal Jazz Festival earlier this month. Once a premier jazz guitarist, (he played with Miles Davis after all) mostly through his many appearances as both a leader and sideman for CTI in the seventies, Benson’s association with Quincy Jones, took him down a similar road […]

On their ninth effort, the Texas-based Kevin Russell-led swamp funk band Shinyribs manage to stretch beyond their well-deserved party band reputation thanks to help from producer/Los lobos band member Steve Berlin. The result, while not always even, finds the band maturing into a genuinely impressive group worthy of the constant comparisons to their influences like […]

In the latest Wannabe, artist Chris Prunckle offers his illustrated commentary on All Of Us Or None, the new album from J Navarro & the Traitors, in his signature six-panel comic strip form. Click on the image for full resolution (best viewed on desktop):

The relaunch of Original Jazz Classics saw two legendary artists get reissues with Craft Recordings repressing Workin’ With the Miles Davis Quintet and Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane. The second batch of Original Jazz Classics will include essential recordings from the Bill Evans Trio, Yusef Lateef, and Mal Waldron’s Sextet. The first in this batch […]

On so many levels The Legend of Sam Davis is a rare gem and should, if there’s any justice in the music world, be recognized as one of this year’s outstanding projects. The CD comes complete with a hard-bound book that provides the narrative behind each song, with artwork, maps, and family photos about a […]

When it was announced that a new PJ Harvey album was being prepped for release, it felt like everything came to a standstill. The last time we heard from the virtuosic lyricist was in 2016 when she released her acclaimed The Hope Six Demolition Project. After penning a visceral poetry book and nearing a creative […]

It felt like we simultaneously and collectively decided that the soul trio Gabriels was going to be the next face of the genre. It was only last year when the group released their Angels & Queens project, a seven-track expedition into the expansive harmonies and grandiose arrangements that have become signatures for the trio, and […]

The markedly Americana slant of Chris Stamey’s The Great Escape somewhat belies his history as an icon of power-pop music. Still, the man who was the dual driving force behind the dbs (along with Peter Holsapple), has fashioned an affable, charming album, one ultimately as true to his fundamental influences as his somewhat unsung past. Written, recorded, […]