Reviews

[rating=9.00] Every so often a voice will come along that just completely bowls you over. One publication described Courtney Marie Andrews’ voice as “midway between Dolly Parton and Whitney Houston.” Perhaps an even better descriptor was the one that said, “one that can only be understood by being heard.” Combine Andrews’ remarkable twangy expressive vocals […]

Come for the monsters getting punched in the face by robots; stay for the robots getting punched in the face by monsters.

[rating=9.00] For a celebrated rock band that’s by now old far enough to order a Miller at the bar, Guided by Voices have always had a weird shyness about releasing a big-time, polished rock record, start to finish, full stop. Space Gun, the group’s most consistent album to date, is that record. It’s not that […]

[rating=7.00] Neil Young has something of a checkered past when it comes to films—see Journey Through the Past and Human Highway—but it still might be accurate to say virtually all of the Canadian icon’s albums serve as backdrop for mind movies, even if the title in question is not an actual soundtrack as is Paradox. […]

[rating=8.00] Here’s a fresh new voice, singer-songwriter Logan Magness making his first full-length recording, Memphis on My Mind.  Magness recorded the album in San Francisco, where he lived for several years, before returning to his hometown of Memphis. Prior to this recording, he can claim only the EP Magnolia Demos   One of the first […]

[rating=9.00] This one has been in the works for some time and now it’s here in all its resplendent glory. Working with the Blind Boys of Alabama, The McCrary Sisters, the Preservation Hall Jazz Horns, and Bonnie Bishop, Paul Thorn delivers his life-long dream, a full gospel album, Don’t Let the Devil Ride. If you’re at […]

The Bad Plus continually confirm their significant role of jazz ambassadors in contemporary music. Known in the early 2000s as a jazz band that also played pop classics by artists such as Blondie, Peter Gabriel, Nirvana, and Cyndi Lauper., The Bad Plus has avoided arrangements that makes their music feel ersatz. Instead, the Minneapolis trio […]

In the latest Wannabe, artist Chris Prunckle offers his illustrated commentary on Fire Dream, the debut solo album from J.D. Wilkes of The Legendary Shack Shakers, in his signature six-panel comic strip form. Click on the image for full resolution (best viewed on desktop):

Even if the names Delaney and Bonnie may not sound readily familiar to modern musiclovers, the style of music they forged during their relatively brief time together certainly should. (Re)discovery of the late Joe Cocker’s Mad Dogs & Englishmen project would serve such a purpose as would the ongoing efforts of the Tedeschi Trucks Band, […]

On a particularly chilly Thursday evening (3/15)  last week, there may as well have been a cozy, blazing hearth inside New York City’s Town Hall thanks to the vibe created by the performance of supergroup I’m With Her. Made up on Sara Watkins, Sarah Jarosz and Aoife O’Donovan, the trio is on tour supporting their […]