There's no question that as both a performer and a songwriter, Elvis Costello has few peers in terms of the breadth and quality of his work. That's not to say he's all things to all people, but that, as particularly evidenced on Secret, Profane & Sugarcane, he's Elvis Costello to whatever audience he chooses.
If you know anything about Tim Easton, it’s that the man can write a song. 2006’s Ammunition displayed all of the Ohio native’s songwriting talents; among the highlights were the delicate tunes, “Oh People” and “Next to You,” the political tunes, “News Blackout” and “Before the Revolution”, and the fun tunes, “Dear Old Song & Dance” and “C-Dub.” Easton’s newest album, Porcupine, is a different animal, but it bites just as fierce—mainly by rocking the night away.
What could a band called The Honeydogs with a CD titled Sunshine Committee possibly have to offer? Do not be deceived by the backwoods name, the syrupy title, or even the psychedelic Python-esque design on the cover.
Any musician with a well-defined style must also be the consummate recording artist to prevent with each successive recording from sounding like mere repetition of it predecessor. The Church are artists of just that caliber and their latest album, untitled #23, bears evidence to those high standards.
It’s no secret that Steve Earle has always loved Townes Van Zandt as a writer and musician—it just took him until now to record a whole album’s worth of his songs. There are 15 gems here, making Townes well worth the wait, and then some. The opener, “Poncho and Lefty,” is probably Van Zandt’s most beloved song, and hearing Earle sing it feels as natural as listening to him belt out some of his best songs like “Goodbye” or “Someday.” It’s just that good.
Overall it is a solid effort for the duo, with top notch production and a few odd vocal choices; but it is far from the ruin implied in its title.
When The North Mississippi Allstars' Luther Dickinson began working with The Black Crowes, his partners, brother Cody and bassist Chris Chew, formed Hill Country Revue, whose music is a composite of the raw early sound of The Allstars and the riff-heavy style of Lynyrd Skynyrd,
There's no getting away from it but MSTRKRFT do ever so slightly resemble those French behemoths of dance, Daft Punk and Justice. And not just when it comes an aping of the rock-meets-dance sound but also in the fact that we're dealing with yet another duo.
Bowling Green, Kentucky has never been a hot spot of start-up rock bands, but Cage The Elephant, led by brothers Matt and Brad Shultz have garnered a worthwhile buzz as garage rockers, making them Kentucky’s second most popular rockers behind My Morning Jacket.
The newest release from Richard Swift is The Atlantic Ocean; delivering strings, odd poppy stabs of synthesizer and varying whacky lyrics. The constantly plunking western saloon style piano is omnipresent to a point that teeters on annoyance.
