Archive: 2017

Terence Malick’s long-awaited, utterly disappointing film set in Austin kicks off SXSW Film this year

[rating=9.00] It has been a long five years for fans of The Shins, eager for them to put out a new record. And though frontman James Mercer keeps himself busy with side projects (Broken Bells), when it comes to the Shins, we’ve only received a smattering of new tracks here and there since 2012’s Port […]

[rating=7.00] Anyone for Tennis? That’s the obvious question here, as well as the name accorded the Denver-based duo consisting of Patrick Riley and Alaina Moore. While these two music makers identify themselves with a sport mostly associated with fuzzy balls, Wimbledon stadium and superstar sisters Venus and Serena Williams, it’s also apparent that they’re adept […]

The American West is releasing their debut album, The Soot Will Bring Us Back Again, on March 17th, 2017. The record built upon grit and heartbreak, desolation and soul. The bulk of the album was recorded live to two-inch tape in three days at The Hallowed Halls in Portland, with the help of engineer Jordan Richter […]

There’s no beauty in this beast.

[rating=8.00] Valerie June has grown in the last four years. While her 2013 release Pushin’ Against a Stone was an anticipated splashy debut, particularly as she collaborated with Dan Auerbach (The Black Keys), her new record, The Order of Time, shows an artist who has lived a bit more life, matured and had some time […]

[rating=8.00] Throwback country music is a saving grace for me these days. I’m growing weary of felt hats and custom-fitted Americana coupled with the atrocity of radio-induced contemporary rubbish and its creative null. Enter The Kernal to keep firm that middle ground that he’s been a part of for years, backing homies and mainstays in […]

[rating=7.00] Music lovers are likely more familiar with John Andrews’ backing work on drums and keys in the rhythm section of bands like Woods or Widowspeak than they are with his solo recordings under the title John Andrews and the Yawns. That may soon change, however, as the multi-instrumentalist has proven himself a more than […]

[rating=8.00] Because of Jerry Garcia’s death in 1995, the decade of the Nineties casts a long shadow over the legacy of the Grateful Dead. Yet it’s not just the actual passing of the iconic band’s titular bandleader, but his painfully inexorable slide toward his eventual demise that’s so disheartening. Add to that the unwieldy scene […]