Archive: 2025

Over the past two years, vocalist/songwriter/guitarist Cory Hanson has proven to have a tireless work ethic. From his 2023 solo release, Western Cum, to his work with his psychedelic rock outfit Wand and their 2024 release Vertigo, Hanson’s poetic approach to songwriting and love for nostalgic textures appear to be in two places at once. […]

Buckingham Nicks, the only studio album by Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks as a duo, will be reissued for the first time on September 19. Originally released in 1973 and unavailable for decades, the album has been sourced from the original analog master tapes for its long-awaited return to vinyl, as well as hi-res digital files for its CD and digital […]

Hymns and Fiery Dances is set to come out on Motor Music on August 22nd via Motor Music (PRE-ORDER). The album currently includes Rafael Gayol (Leonard Cohen), Rick G Nelson (Afghan Whigs, Twilight Singers, Polyphonic Spree, St. Vincent), Jay Reynolds (Asleep at the Wheel), Fredo Ortiz (Beastie Boys, Los Lobos), Leah Shapiro (Black Rebel Motorcycle […]

The news arrived in a flash on July 22. The timeless innovator, metal forefather, and fearless leader of Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne, passed away today (7/22/25). The news was shared in a social media post from the artist’s page earlier today. Osbourne’s passing comes just weeks after the icon sat on his earned throne in front of […]

Rounding out our salute to Minutemen this week, it’s probably fair to say that being “weird” was an essential part of their musical DNA. This is, after all, a band that incorporated everything from country, polka, jazz, and other eclectic influences into their distinctively quirky brand of So-Cal flavored punk. So of course, it was […]

Following up on his GRAMMY-nominated debut For(e)ward, Mádé Kuti has dove deep into modern afrobeat sounds, raising the bar with the sizzling Chapter 1: Where Does Happiness Come From?  As a third-generation musician with the most famous family lineage in the genre, legendary pioneering Grandfather Fela and Father Femi, Mádé does not bend under the […]

Up until recently, the consummate drummer Joe Farnsworth was primarily known as a traditionalist. Yet, he has expanded his palette to include younger musicians with a bent toward the contemporary and improvisation. His latest, and arguably his best album as a leader, The Big Room, deftly balances both of these tendencies with an intergenerational group […]

In sudden news today (7/22/25), the legend Ozzy Osbourne, the Godfather of Metal, has passed away just weeks after performing his final show with Black Sabbath at the age of 76. Osbourne had Parkinson’s disease and had suffered other health problems in recent years, including complications from injuries sustained in a fall in 2019. His […]

Man Made Hills is a Rhode Island-based band. They bring an empathetic, jangly energy to modern folk rock that livens the nuances of their heartfelt approach to the genre. With releases dating back to 2018, Man Made Hills has established a lane for itself in modern Americana, one that forks the road between revivalist and […]

The Valery Trails began in 2011 as a trans-Pacific project with members in Houston, Texas, and Brisbane, Australia, and are now all based in Brisbane. The Valery Trails are entering their 2nd decade, creating melodic indie-based guitar rock, with their 5th album, Winter Palace, scheduled for release in September. On their new single, “First Kiss,” […]

The opening notes of GECKØS’ self-titled debut are, fittingly, the first sounds the trio ever created together. It happened on the day of a wedding in Tucson, Arizona, where M. Ward, Howe Gelb (of Giant Sand), and Mark McCausland (a.k.a. McKowski) had been asked to compose a song for the couple’s first dance. Though each […]

When the Grateful Dead stepped away from touring in 1974 following their farewell shows at Winterland, there was no telling when—or even if—they’d regroup. But just a year later, they defied expectations with Blues for Allah, a bold return marked by some of the most inventive and sonically daring music they’d ever recorded. Blues for […]

Over the course of two days, July 18 and 19, 2025, the Deschutes County Fairgrounds in Redmond, Oregon hosted a festival that brought an incredible lineup of independent country music artists and tens of thousands of fans to the high desert of Central Oregon. In the days leading up to Fairwell Festival, reports of nearby […]

The hunt for working bonus codes for NZ’s returning casino players, be sure your connection can keep pace; otherwise you might miss out on a lucrative code just as the reels start spinning.  Speed is important, but not only. Latency — the time it takes a packet to travel between computers — is also crucial. […]

For a long time, regular slot machines have been sufficient for use in casinos. Millions of people worldwide play slot machines for the bright lights, loud sounds, and big jackpots. The latest gambling trend is skill-based casino games. Some wonder whether these new games will replace slot machines. While players in skill-based games have more […]

Continuing our spotlight on Minutemen this week, as mentioned in yesterday’s Manic Monday column, the band was nothing if not eclectic. For best evidence of this, one should look no further than their classic 1984 album Double Nickels on the Dime. Throughout its sprawling 44-song tracklist, the band dabbles in everything from country, blues, spoken […]

Patty Griffin’s return from a six-year hiatus is the stunning Crown of Roses. Stunning should not necessarily be viewed positively, but in terms of how remarkably bleak most of the tunes are. The best songwriters, Griffin among them, often gravitate toward dark material, and her recent run of albums has moved increasingly in that direction. […]

The term “Blues Summit” implies a gathering of guests. Whether Devon Allman was inspired by B.B. King’s Grammy-winning 1993 album of the same name or not, there are similarities in that the lineup featured contemporary artists and blues stalwarts. Here, Allman takes a break from the Allman-Betts Band and returns to Ruf Records for this […]

With their boldest release to date, Orchestra Gold unveils Dakan, a transcendent new album that explores the intertwined themes of destiny (dakan) and passion. Guided by the visionary vocals of Malian singer Mariam Diakite, Dakan is a sonic and spiritual journey rooted in tradition, driven by intuition, and lit ablaze with psychedelic energy. Their new […]