Archive: 2017

[rating=8.00] When you think of three-part harmony, The Persuasions and Crosby, Stills, and Nash inevitably come to mind and perhaps on the female side, Trio (Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton, and Linda Ronstadt). In this millennium though, The Wailin’ Jennys are inarguably among the best, especially in terms of a cappella. It’s almost as if they […]

[rating=8.00] Don’t expect the alt-rock glory of early 90s Spin Doctors on Chris Barron’s Angels and One-Armed Jugglers. This is Barron taking a rather meandering journey through eleven originals, that touch on jazz, blues, Broadway, and solo performance. In fact, every tune was written by Barron alone with his guitar and they will ultimately be […]

Brent Mydland always saw himself as the new guy on keyboards for the Grateful Dead. He held that keyboard position longer than anyone before or since, but could never rid himself of the feeling of not completely belonging in the group.  He cut his teeth in the LA-based band Silver and then with Bob Weir’s “Midnites.” […]

[rating=7.00] Since the release of their debut full-length LP, Holy Water Pool, in 2015, Michigan-born psych-rock band Heaters have been churning out an album each year. Matterhorn is the follow-up to last years, Baptistina and continues in the same vein as their previous work. Following the departure of co-frontman Andrew Tamlyn last year, the now […]

[rating=9.00] It’s 8:32am on a brisk New Jersey morning, October 19, 2017. I’m about halfway through my third rotation of Porter & The Bluebonnet Rattlesnakes’, Don’t Go Baby It’s Gonna Get Weird Without You, wondering if my heart is going to dropout again when I get to “When We Were Young”. Like most folks who […]

For the second time in just the last two years, Dori Freeman has released a delightful vocal showcase in sophomore album Letters Never Read. Freeman’s primary asset is her sweet, powerful voice. It’s one that cracks under perfect control in a way that’s reminiscent of a soft yodel. On Letters Never Read, Freeman’s vocals are […]

Jerry Goldsmith’s terrifying score gets a beautiful new packaging.

A hard-working band in an era where most groups are fleeting assemblages, Butcher Brown’s organic coherence emerges from long collaboration as a group of equals. Dedicated to innovation, informed by a love of the past, the quintet’s modernistic fusion is aptly described as “hip-hop Mahavishnu.” Impressive as they are individually, together they are something increasingly […]

Liam Neeson helps, but this Deep Throat biopic still chokes.