Archive: 2022

The Rolling Stones’ Live At The El Mocambo recordings carry plenty of cachet on their own terms as well as in the context of the iconic British band’s history. On the latter front, the previously-unreleased 1977 recordings in Toronto mark the first full depiction of guitarist/vocalist Ronnie Wood’s contributions after he joined the group in […]

The shocking death of singer-songwriter David Olney, who passed while performing live on stage two years ago in January 2020 still reverberates. Olney was the epitome of the songwriter’s songwriter, appreciated by kindred spirits Townes Van Zandt, Steve, Emmylou Harris, and several others but severely underappreciated at large, developing a loyal, but undersized audience relative […]

The Philadelphia based artist Don McCloskey sums it up pretty well in the opening lines of the excellently exuberant “Open The Door” when he sings “So how can I possibly say/That everything is gonna be right?/When I can hardly say if everything’s right tonight”. These fast-changing times, fears, lost and found love and more are […]

NYC composer/keyboardist Kolumbo has announced his new album Gung Ho, that is inspired by instrumental 50s and 60s exotica and orchestral jazz-pop and is out June 29 on Calico Discos.  Today the artist shares a new video for the first album single “Imperial Bikers MC,” an homage to the Imperial Bikers MC motorcycle club located in […]

Keegan Powell started his journey writing and recording in Teenage Kicks as guitarist on their debut album Spoils Of Youth, recorded with Alain Johannes (Queens Of The Stone Age, Them Crooked Vultures). Powell went on to compose songs for Chastity, on their debut LP Death Lust , Home Made Satan, and Suffer Summer. In 2020, Powell joined the studio project Darling […]

What started as a duo on small stages in smoky garages quickly evolved into Flock of Pigs, a fiercely independent sound with the energy of Queen, the spirit of Death Grips, and an attitude all their own. The Flock’s self-reflective lyrics dance with the adaptive, hard-hitting rhythms of the drums while touching on social issues, […]

Tank and the Banga’s third release Red Balloon aims for broad appeal with modern hip-hop, R&B, and smooth soul coursing throughout the album. The talented New Orleans-based quartet used the pandemic to hone their sound delivering a strong album that flows out with ease.  ‘Radio TATB’ is a theme throughout the record as the core […]

The Shins are bringing their classic 2001 debut album Oh, Inverted World to life in its entirety with a 21st Birthday Tour this summer. Beginning on July 12th in San Francisco, the band will embark on a two month tour of North America performing the landmark album from start to finish — plus a nightly rotation of additional […]

Today, The Tragically Hip announced they will be releasing Live At The Roxy worldwide as a standalone live album on June 24 through Universal Music Canada. Prior to its inclusion on the Road Apples 30th Anniversary Deluxe package last year, the 15-song concert had not been publicly available and was a sought-after show for the bootleggers and diehard fans. Now, this legendary […]

With the (dis)advantages of fifty-five years of hindsight, Jimi Hendrix Experience’s Are You Experienced? (released 5/12/67) is all the more striking in its combination of image-making (mongering?) and musical innovation. To be sure, the outlandish persona introduced at Monterey Pop and with this first recording dogged the late contemporary blues-rock icon for the duration of […]

Today, The Mortal Prophets, the no-wave-meets-psych-rock musical project helmed by NYC artist John Beckmann, are premiering their debut single and video with Glide entitled “Stomp the Devil,” taken off their debut EP of the same name (due July 8).  With The Mortal Prophets, John Beckmann and his evolving band of genre-bending roustabouts dig deep into […]

Upon casual listening, a magnificent spontaneity seems to permeate The Rolling Stones’ Exile on Main Street (released 5/12/72). A closer perusal of the sixty-seven some minutes, however, reveals an unnerving sense of psychic dislocation. But then, that’s not in the least surprising given the circumstances of the album’s recording: although began in 1969, most of […]

Encompassing the birth of a son, a third coast to West Coast and back to the third coast move,  and an ongoing global pandemic, Chris Bathgate returns from his solitude with The Significance of  Peaches on May 13th. On this, his sixth full-length album, he is found ruminating on time spent living in the  National […]

Contrary to a cursory perusal of the tracklisting for Outdated Emotion, Delbert McClinton‘s twenty-seventh album is not comprised solely of cover songs. The Texan soul man intersperses a small handful of originals within the sixteen numbers and their placement, in both the overall track sequencing and in juxtaposition to their immediate surroundings, illuminates a homage […]

Messages From Aphrodite, Lauren Monroe’s third album—and her second in collaboration with acclaimed producer Jim Scott—widens the aperture opened by its predecessor, 2021’s Under the Wolf Moon, bringing her musical and spiritual vision into even sharper focus. The title, which references the ancient Greek goddess of love in its myriad aspects, signifies the emotional expanse […]

On his self-titled debut, the go-to sideman John Inghram manages to weave a distinct 1970s rock swagger into his blend of Americana for a satisfyingly unique sound unlike any of his contemporaries  Going on almost 20 years now, Inghram has served as a much in demand, producer, composer and bassist. He’s performed with jazz pianists, […]

As Herbie Hancock recently said in his closing remarks for 2022 International Jazz Day held at the United Nations, just about everything as we know it stopped during the pandemic years except music. Musicians became more resourceful than ever before in using their home studios to full effect, discovering how best to layer sounds, and […]

NYC rocksteady-reggae band The Frightnrs have released a raw soulful new single “You, Still” ahead of forthcoming album ALWAYS out May 27 on Daptone Records. Before The Frightnrs singer Dan Kleinʼs passing, the band agreed to keep a promise he asked of them – continue making music together. Part of that promise has been made manifest on ALWAYS […]

Hank Midnight is the project of multi-instrumentalist songwriter, producer, and recording artist, Henry Mittnacht. Memory Box (slated for release in early fall of 2022) is his first official full-length. He developed the album with Executive Producer, Johnny Esposito, and producer/arranger, Matthew Fishman.  “Ruby Tail Lights” is the new avant-pop release from Hank Midnight. A simple yet compelling […]