Archive: 2024

Many names come to mind when thinking about some of the most legendary oddballs throughout music history, but perhaps none more so than the late great Don Van Vliet (aka Captain Beefheart). Indeed, the man personified the notion of “weird” in practically all respects, producing some of the most off-kilter and challenging records ever recorded […]

Will Kimbrough wears many hats. He’s a skilled multi-instrumentalist, an in-demand sideman, the ‘secret sauce’ that fueled the late Jimmy Buffet’s hits, a valued producer, most notably garnering two Grammy nominations and multiple BMA Awards for blues powerhouse Shemekia Copeland, and the guitarist of Emmylou Harris’ band, The Red Direct Boys. For the Life of […]

The release of Talking Heads’ Live at WCOZ ’77 is a rare treat for fans and vinyl collectors alike, marking its debut as a full-length record. Previously, only fragments of this electrifying 1977 performance were available, notably on The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads. Now, for the first time, enthusiasts can experience the […]

Undefeated is a pretty appropriate title for Frank Turner’s latest. For more than two decades now, he has churned out a mix of folk, punk and straight-ahead rock, relying mainly on the DIY punk esthetics that clearly shaped his career dating back to his time in post-hardcore band Million Dead. He has had little radio […]

Does anyone else out there have a seasonality to their music listening habits? If winter compels dark, icy,cerebral, introspective selections, and summer more warm, celebratory, and fun offerings than whatdoes Spring conjure up? For this writer, the answer has always been psychedelia, which suits the vibrantand temperamental nature of the season (vivid colors blooming, thunderstorms […]

With his large following and headline status, one might think that saxophonist, bandleader, and composer Kamasi Washington has delivered more than five studio albums. Fearless Movement is his fifth and first in six years. Yet, we’ve learned at least a few things: a) Kamasi consistently takes a large-scale approach, like the others, this is a […]

This isn’t your father’s Black Crowes. If you also saw them during their initial ascent during the 90s, these aren’t the Crowes of your memory. Chris and Rich Robinson finally reunited after seven years and were ready to hit the road in 2020 when the world shut down due to COVID-19. The band was celebrating […]

In a rebellious act against the powers that be, singer/songwriter Nathan Evans Fox pens “Landlords, Bill Lee, etc.” Aiming at corrupt politicians and money-hungry opportunists, the single takes tropes from country and folk to find its twangy tones and dusty melodies. A simplistic arrangement speaks volumes as slow-burning tempos accent Fox’s dynamic vocal performance. The […]

His sound is as comforting as your favorite pair of shoes. And, just as easily we slip into Chris Smither’s world, though often dark and foreboding, the familiarity lures us in immediately, and we look forward to what he has to say.  Approaching 80, he still has plenty in the tank.  Six decades in, he’s […]

Newcastle indie-punks Fast Blood release their long-awaited debut album ‘Sunny Blunts’ on Friday, 3rd May 2024. “Sunny Blunts” is hefty, soulful, complex yet hook-laden, abrasive, and thoughtful. It is by far their most ambitious and greatest achievement to date – a richly diverse collection of songs, all distinctive, commanding, and impactful in their own way. […]

Austin-based singer/songwriter and Producer JM Stevens recently released his second solo album, Nowhere To Land, which sees a big development in vocal nuances and a certain sparse approach to sound in comparison to his previous work. As the proprietor of East Austin Recording (EAR), Stevens is used to working with many genres and approaches and […]

Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Corey Leiter is releasing the follow-up to his 2022 full-length record “Fire Season” with the “White Heat” EP on Friday, July 12th, 2024, via Anxiety Blanket Records. On his latest single “Gone,” Leiter deploys vague yet potent poetry over psychedelic-tinged acoustics. While the lyrics keep things simple, the emotions they carry are […]

With a buzzsaw psychedelic urgency, the Portland, Oregon-based instrumental surf-garage-psych project Trabants never relents into cruise control. With soft passages crashing into abrasively hypnotic squawls, along with guitar pyrotechnics, Trabants recalls the work of Russian Circles, Explosions in the Sky, and Allah-Las’. Trabants is orchestrated by musical auteur Eric Penna and a rotating cast of […]

It had been a very long eight years since perhaps the best noise/sludge band of the past decadeproduced the follow-up to their critically acclaimed album Gold, but Atlanta’s finest trio of malcontentsfinally did just that last week with the release of their new album War. Talking, of course, about Whores whose name is a sardonic […]

The legendary Judas Priest brought their ‘Invincible Shield Tour’ to Boston this past Thursday, April 25th, to the MGM Music Hall behind the legendary Fenway Park. Celebrating their new record, Invincible Shield and fifty-plus years since their humble beginnings in the industrial Birmingham, UK. Rob Halford (vocals), Scott Travis (drums), Ian Hill (bass), Andy Sneap […]

With eerie vocals and a refreshing approach to minimalism, Baby Maker created something infectiously dark with “Bags of It.” In just under three minutes, the band showcases the many sides of their artistry by spinning ambiance into chugging, muted drums. Their vocals dance between rapid-fire melodies to warping spoken words as their words battle with […]

Within the lexicon of heavy metal music, only a handful of still-touring bands capture the spectrum of fantasy like Amon Amarth and Cannibal Corpse. For Sweden’s Amon Amarth, it’s the realm of vikings, conquering, and medieval worlds that bands like Iron Maiden pioneered. On the other end is Cannibal Corpse, who have carved out legendary […]