Reviews

Just a couple of measures into the opening song of José González’s new album Against the Dying of the Light, you get the feeling that even if you had heard the percussive downbeat and the fragmentary guitar flourishes unannounced, you would know them for what they are. The years-long gaps between albums can’t dim the […]

The newest release on Alligator Records from the Tampa-based artist Selwyn Birchwood is a confident blast of modern blues. Electric Swamp Funkin’ Blues is rich with ripping riffs, emotionally honest lyricism and strong vocals as Birchwood has delivered a studio record on par with his top-notch live shows, GRAMMY voters take note.  One key to […]

Detroit rolled out the red carpet, welcoming The Hives back to the Motor City with an energetic crowd at The Fillmore on March, 24th,2026. The Swedish garage rockers continued their victory lap in support of last year’s The Hives Forever Forever the Hives, with strong support from Australian punk outfit The Chats. Here are five moments […]

Call it luck for being in the right place at the right time, or the result of a hard-fought journey, but how the electronic duo, Fcukers, ended up as one of the most anticipated young bands in a burgeoning New York City scene is nothing short of cinematic. Since the duo of Shanny Wise and […]

Seattle four-piece the Young Fresh Fellows have long blended garage rock, power pop, and indie rock, building a career out of weird references, inside jokes, and offbeat characters. Four decades on, they’re still committed to that same trademark sound. Loft, the band’s first record in nearly six years, picks up right where 2020’s Toxic Youth […]

Robben Ford’s 2021 solo album, Pure, is arguably the pinnacle of his storied career, a lucid, wholly instrumental distillation of the technique he’s used so effectively in his work with the Yellowjackets, Miles Davis, and the band he led backing Chicago blues icon, Charlie Musselwhite. The versatile guitar hero impresses mightily on Two Shades of Blue […]

Few artists left a mark on Latin music like pianist Eddie Palmieri. Born in New York City to Puerto Rican parents, he came up playing in Tito Rodríguez’s orchestra before forming Conjunto La Perfecta, a group that helped redefine salsa with a heavier, trombone-driven sound. By the late ’60s, Palmieri was moving in a more […]

Ten years after debuting in 2016 with the lo-fi EP Habit, Snail Mail, a solo project for guitarist, singer, songwriter Lindsey Jordan, has released Ricochet. At a little over 41 minutes and full to the brim with layers of guitar, percussive elements, and strings, Ricochet is Jordan’s longest and most ambitious record to date, as […]

There aren’t many rootsy blues artists who record in Italy. There aren’t many who primarily write about Spain, either. Luke Winslow-King (aka LWK) does both of those and more on his ninth album, Coast of Light, where he and the band indulge in some playful risk-taking that works surprisingly well, a blend of blues, jazz, […]

For all the adversity Wolf Jett has faced, they have earned the right to musically brood in their new releases. No one would blame them for putting out dark, moody jams that might make us listeners count our blessings and consider how lucky we are. When a 2020 wildfire wiped out the band’s newly minted […]

The twelfth album from Los Angeles metal veterans Black Label Society has all of the band’s trademarks. Loaded with pummelling riffs, blazing guitar solos, bluesy licks, and a southern rock twang, Engines of Demolition is undeniably heavy without sacrificing hooks or accessibility. Frontman Zakk Wylde broke into the industry as Ozzy Osbourne’s new guitarist in […]

Flea is a man of many talents, none of which need a proper introduction at this point in the artist’s career. The famed multi-instrumentalist has seen the pinnacle of success in music with Red Hot Chili Peppers, navigated side projects that allowed his more eccentric side to flourish, as if it was ever subdued, and […]

The newest studio album from multi-instrumentalist singer/songwriterSon Little finds the fluid artist touching on a wide range of genres. CITYFOLK uses synths, soft beats, acoustic strums, and much more as Little delves into his history, love life, and modern-day societal hardships for inspiration across the eleven tracks presented here.  Little was dealing with severe flooding in […]

On March 16, Joyce Manor brought its eclectic punk tour to the House of Blues in Orlando, Florida, for a night of intense rock, protest, and crowd surfing. Four bands brought different punk flavors to the festivities, starting with Baltimore quintet Combat. Led by singer and guitarist Holden Wolf, Combat played a short, frenetic set […]

The pressures an artist or band faces when releasing a debut album have been discussed in countless articles. Still, when it comes to young shoegaze hopefuls Ringing and their Julia’s War Recordings-released LP Another Cycle in the Cosmic Wash, there are even more layers of stress for the band to deal with. What started as […]

John Hollier hails from Louisiana, and though there are hints of his roots in his sound, it is mostly easy-flowing Americana music.  After all, he and his band, John Hollier & The Reverie, wrote much of and recorded Rainmaker in Nashville. The band name stems from the French word, ‘rever,’ which means ‘’to dream,” a […]

There’s an understated brilliance to Spencer Thomas’ sophomore effort, Cynical Vision. the former Futurebirds member’s writing balances subtle, dry humor with a sweetness that never slips into cloying sentiment, all delivered over a stripped-down soundscape that dips from folk to indie pop. It’s clear from the opening track, “This Is Your Life Now,” an introspective […]

Call it a makeover, or at least a major reinvention of the Tedeschi Trucks Band (TTB) sound. New management and the outside perspective of new producer Mike Elizondo, perhaps, account for their shift toward more radio-friendly, albeit less exploratory turf on their sixth studio album,  Future Soul. That’s not to say they’ve lost their rooted […]

A jazz musician has to attain an elite status before being invited to play at the hallowed shrine of jazz, NYC’s Village Vanguard. Like his iconic forbearers, Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane, Dexter Gordon, Joshua Redman, and others, altoist and composer Immanuel Wilkins and his quartet stepped into the venue on May 15th and 16th, 2025, recording […]

As you walked past the flashing lights and dinging slot machines and into the Mystic Lake Showroom outside Minneapolis, MN, on March 13th, it felt like you were traveling back in time. The year is 1973, and Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, and The Who are dominating the live music scene.  The year is 1973, and […]