Reviews

Wonderfully poetic and achingly beautiful, Call Me By Your Name is a cinematic delight.

[rating=8.00] John Gorka has one of those singular voices that’s immediately recognizable not only for its deep resonance but for its warmth and comfort. On Gorka’s fifteenth album, “True in Time,” his patented delivery and intimate guitar are supported by a stellar cast of Minneapolis-based (Gorka’s home town) musicians who laid down these tracks in […]

Indie rock fans rejoiced in 2016 when Canadian cult favorites Wolf Parade announced their return to the stage and the studio after going on hiatus in 2011. While each of the band members have racked up considerable accolades on their own, together as Wolf Parade they have a massive sound that has won them loyal […]

Who would’ve thought that one of the top bluegrass acts to emerge in the last two decades would hail from New Jersey? While their home state may be more synonymous with all American rockers like the Boss and Bon Jovi, Railroad Earth have carved out their own sound, one that seamlessly melds bluegrass, folk, Americana and […]

Paul Thomas Anderson outdoes himself with his stunning new film.

[rating=9.00] Live at Lafayette’s Music Room is the latest in a recent string of Big Star-related releases dating back to the 2016 release of the Complete Third box set. The current campaign also includes archiving projects in the form of  Chris Bell’s I Am the Cosmos, Alex Chilton’s A Man Called Destruction, The Best Of […]

[rating=8.00] Umphrey’s McGee stays true to form on it’s not us, in that there is no form. Any Umphrey’s album or show is a stylistic journey, but this album shifts gears more than any they’ve released so far. Recorded over one week in late 2016, It’s Not Us is the band’s latest attempt to capture […]

[rating=8.00] Continuing his new run at Blue Note Records that began in 2016 with Evolution, Dr. Lonnie Smith’s new live recording All In My Mind documents him in a trio setting during a 75th birthday celebration at the Jazz Standard in New York City last summer. With guitarist Jonathan Kreisberg and drummer Johnathan Blake, the threesome […]

[rating=8.00] Leave it to Omnivore Recordings to keep reminding us about valuable music, both past and present. The latest gifts, with more coming, are the first two volumes of the legendary D.C./Baltimore-based soul and R&B label, Ru-Jac. Specifically, they are The Ru-Jac Records Story: Something Got a Hold on Me – Volume I (1963-64) and […]

Gov’t Mule made their return to Atlantic City with a batch of “old school” Mule. And even though they were playing at the Borgata Events Center, the carpeted floors made it feel like the show was in a hotel ballroom. Needless to say, it gave the proceedings a cozy feel. “Thorazine Shuffle” hit some nice […]