Album Reviews

The New Brunswick, NJ-based trio Screaming Females have always straddled the genres of punk, indie, metal, and arena-ready jams, but on their newest album Desires Pathway, they deliver their most accessible musical offering with splashes of power pop and polished alt-rock.

At first blush, Total Refreshment Centre (TRC) may not seem like a musical community but instead, conjure up some kind of vacation imagery. 

With Dark Island, Canadian folksters Villages have written quite possibly the best (and I’m confident in declaring, only) album dedicated to their native Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia. The album is a love letter to the area and those that inhabit it for a mostly enjoyable, if somewhat droning effort.    Kicking off with “Wearing […]

When an artist takes the stage at the hallowed ground of NYC’s Village Vanguard, the audience demands nothing less than their A-game.

Dreamy vocals and layers of fuzzed-up strings are the cornerstones of the newest release from Black Belt Eagle Scout on Saddle Creek Records titled The Land, The Water, The Sky.

Norm, the eighth studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Andy Shauf, is a masterful display of musical storytelling and arrangement. The album is a musical journey that takes the listener on a nostalgic and introspective trip through the ups and downs of human emotions all centered around the character of Norm. Though not all points of […]

Sam Coomes and Janet Weiss have been playing as Quasi for thirty years and their newest release, Breaking the Balls of History, just maybe their strongest effort yet. 

The Runaway Grooms is a band that resides in Colorado, but has its beginnings in Massachusetts. Amon Tobin and Justin Bissett grew up across the street from each other in Northborough, Massachusetts. Of the longtime musical partnership, Tobin said, “We both grew up liking the Dead, and have always enjoyed experimenting with music in ways […]

Channeling everything from Raw Power-era Stooges to Australian punk forbearers The Saints, Melbourne-based band Civic prove the hype over their 2021 debut LP was clearly deserved with the raucous follow-up, Taken By Force. The record is a burst of ferocity, with singer Jim McCullough vocals impressively competing to be heard over distorted guitars in quick […]

It’s only natural for Brad Mehldau to release a solo piano album comprised almost entirely of material by the Beatles.

Saxophonist and composer Greg Ward and his five-piece ensemble Rogue Parade follow up 2019’s acclaimed Stomping Off From Greenwood (Greenleaf), with Dion’s Quest, the inaugural release from Ward’s own Sugah Hoof Records. this Altoist Ward plays alongside the vibrant rhythm section of bassist Matt Ulery and drummer Quin Kirchner, further enhanced by the rare quintet sound of twin guitarists Matt Gold and Dave Miller. Ward’s tenure as a […]

Throughout the first five Tennis albums, duo Alaina Moore and Patrick Riley have mastered their own unique style of indie pop.

Formed in 1972 in Portland, Oregon, West Coast funk pioneers Pleasure combined funk, rock, soul and jazz to create a truly unique sound that is still sampled today. After catching the ear of The Crusaders’ Wayne Henderson, they signed with Fantasy Records where they released six albums. Their third album Joyous has been long sought […]

Delfeayo Marsalis leads his large ensemble, the Uptown Jazz Orchestra in a set of joyous tunes celebrating Mardi Gras and New Orleans.

Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams have never lent themselves to easy comparisons to classic duos of the country genre–Porter Wagoner/Dolly Parton or Tammy Wynette/George Jones.

The pairing of acclaimed saxophonist and composer Jim Snidero with contemporary guitar great Kurt Rosenwinkel may seem unlikely at first but the unique harmonics in Snidero’s Far Far Away attest to its success.

Boston-based singer/songwriter Mark Erelli was playing a show a couple of years ago when he looked down at his guitar and realized he was having trouble seeing the frets and his fingers working through the chords. A doctor’s visit led to the diagnosis of a degenerative eye disease that will likely lead to blindness. That […]

The legendary Joe Chambers issues a vibrant, expansive complement to his 2021 Samba de Maraccata with Dance Kobina

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

Sunny War’s debut LP, Anarchist Gospel, is as impressive as it is hard to pin down.