Archive: 2024

Dwight Yoakam, a pivotal force in the rockabilly revival and a defining voice in country music, is celebrating his illustrious early career with a special RSD release from Rhino Records that encapsulates his formative years. The new limited edition box set, titled The Beginnings And Then Some: The Albums of The ’80s, features his first […]

Another month is in the bag as 2024 chugs along toting a wide array of new music. This year has been very generous with releases, and the first Friday of May is no different. Long-awaited albums are finally here in the form of earth-shattering jazz and coarse punk tunes as music nerds across the globe […]

Consistently adhering to a rigorous tour schedule for the duration, the guitarist/vocalist/songwriter has toiled in solo and group settings to create the wide arc of a career that has often found him in the company of other perennial road warriors Ronnie Earl and Johnny Rawls. On his way along the endless highway, a seemingly ageless Keller has […]

The third studio album by The Allman Brothers Band following its 1989 reunion, Where It All Begins (released 5/3/94), suffers both in comparison to its predecessors, 1990’s Seven Turns and (especially) the next year’s Shades of Two Worlds, and on its own terms within the group’s overall discography.  The band had arguably peaked as a performing unit […]

A whimsical folk tune based on luck, Sam Singer pens pure poetry on “So, It Is.” The toe-tapping guitar work is accented with vivid imagery as Singer’s unique melodic approach elevates his words. This short yet potent single puts you in Singer’s shoes. His perspective is so refreshing, and he communicates it with immense prowess. […]

Story-yelling. Post-modern nuclear anxiety. Genre-bent punk. Gottlieb is a punk rock band from Los Angeles. Pulling from a wide range of influences, Gottlieb’s music combines melodic rhythms with narrative-driven lyrics to create an atmosphere that is aggressive, cinematic, and lush with post-punk moodiness. With a total commitment toward critical thinking, Gottlieb regularly dissects stories centered […]

Adeem The Artist’s 2022 White Trash Revelry was a beautifully effective exercise in blending classic country sounds with progressive and inclusive ideals making for a remarkable record. Its follow-up, Anniversary, is just as compelling. Musically speaking, the tracks here at time sound like any other song that could be played on country radio, but lyrically […]

While she has become a multi-media personality since Hip-hop’s golden age, Queen Latifah’s impact on the era is undeniable. After creating an infectious buzz with her debut singles, 1988’s “Wrath of My Madness” and “Princess of the Posse,” the rapper/singer released her debut album in 1989. All Hail the Queen forced listeners to do exactly […]

On their breakthrough, 2019’s Ilana: The Creator, Mdou Moctar used 70s-influenced psych rock mixed with Tuareg guitar music to great effect. The strong follow-up, 2021’s Afrique Victime, cast a wider sonic net with acoustic tracks mixed into their sound. Now arrives Funeral for Justice, their most complete album yet, as it uses righteous protest fury […]

Listening through The Cure’s discography is like reading through a stranger’s diary. All of these mystical moments are held in one place. Shifts in personality and perspective are evident and produce a wondrous array of tones. If you were around in 1979 when the band’s debut album was released, you’ve watched young hopefuls explode into […]

There must be something about the water and the environs of Lubbock, TX, that breeds singer-songwriters. That town has given us The Flatlanders (Joe Ely, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Butch Hancock), Delbert McClinton, Terry Allen, Lloyd and Natalie Maines, just to name a few. This generation boasts Noel McKay, who delivers his fourth full-length album with […]

You can’t thow a stick these days without hitting a band that says they bend genres into a potent stew of original sound that sets them apart from everybody else. At this point, it’s almost cliche. BUT . . . Santa Cruz, California’s Wolf Jett smashes that cliche to bits with their masterful command of […]

“This album is the purest distillation of our sound that we’ve ever captured,” says Crystal Damore, one half of the husband/wife folk duo Ordinary Elephant. “It’s just the two of us singing and performing live, losing ourselves in each other and the songs.” Given how raw and vulnerable the results are, it’s easy to see […]

Despite being anchored by three brothers, Idaho country band Tylor & The Train Robbers lack any of the obvious animosity famous among sibling bands like The Kinks, Oasis or Black Crowes. In fact, the laid-back vibe of the band’s latest, Hum Of The Road, suggests that any arguments amongst brothers Tylor Ketchum (vocals, guitar), Jason […]

The Molly Miller Trio, consisting of Molly Miller, Jennifer Condos, and Jay Bellerose, are releasing their new Western-influenced instrumental album The Ballad of Hotspur on May 3rd. It builds on their individual musical influences around a Jazz sensibility and on their creative interaction as a live performing group in the LA area and beyond. Recording […]

Born and raised in rural western North Carolina, singer/songwriter Isaiah Breedlove has been telling stories through song since before he could drive an automobile. “Probably the first fifty of them were terrible,” he says, though his friends and family always supported his efforts. From Sunday singings where the flame was lit to the innumerable dive […]

Through a forest of dense textures that pull from a multitude of corners in rock music emerges Tetsu the Phoenix’s “Mr. Sunshine.” This single will leave you in a state of hypnosis. Warping melodies coil around fuzzy guitars for a shoegaze-inspired record. Hazy vocals deliver a potent and complex concept executed to the highest order. […]

In 2023, the sibling duo of Brian and Michael D’Addario, known as The Lemon Twigs, released Everything Harmony—a remarkably infectious 13-song project brimming with whimsical melodies and jangly pop tunes. The duo wasted no time releasing a follow-up, A Dream Is All We Know. If you’ve heard their previous work, you know how high this […]