Archive: 2025

Two of the most tried and true acts in rock and roll music are Deer Tick and the Drive-by Truckers. Resilience, quality songwriting and musicianship, and an ability to stand the test of time are all qualities they share despite one hailing from the Northeast and the other from the South. And this was just […]

Tyler Childers will release his highly anticipated new album, Snipe Hunter, July 25 via Hickman Holler Records/RCA Records (pre-order/pre-save here). Childers has puts forth a thirteen-track collection that showcases the signature artistry he’s cultivated throughout his esteemed career, while continuing to push his own creative boundaries. Longtime fans will no doubt note and appreciate the inclusion of fan-favorite, “Nose on the Grindstone,” which is officially out now […]

It is miraculous, and some could argue criminal, that it took this long to feature this band on a Golden Age Thursday. The early British punk days were marked by bands competing to be the first to achieve success abroad and secure a place in the U.S. punk pantheon. The Damned and The Sex Pistols […]

Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts’ Talkin’ To The Trees is nowhere near as confounding as the Canadian’s latest efforts with Crazy Horse. It’s far more compelling than 2019’s Colorado and Barn from two years later and even World Record from 2022, in part because its comparably impromptu atmosphere enhances rather than detracts from the […]

One of the most unlikely comebacks in recent music history was WITCH’s 2023 offering, the excellent Zango. The Zamrock legends returned after 40 years, blending new and old styles to deliver the goods for a new generation to discover. Now comes SOGOLO, a follow-up that is more relaxed, less vital, but still able to rock, groove, and […]

About Ghosts is the fourth album from the incomparable guitarist Mary Halvorson’s sextet Amaryllis, following Amaryllis, Belladonna, and Cloudward. They were all named Jazz Album of the Year in DownBeat’s annual Critics Polls, where Halvorson was also named Guitarist of the Year in 2023 and 2024. It would be challenging to top those achievements other […]

Protest music is on the rise as it should be. We Insist! Max Roach’s “Freedom Now Suite” (1960), an important collaboration between jazz drummer Max Roach and lyricist Oscar Brown Jr., featuring vocals by Abbey Lincoln and contributions from Coleman Hawkins and Booker Little, is a defining statement of the early Black American civil rights movement. […]

Throughout their short yet prolific career, The Bug Club has undergone many changes. What started as a blues-rock revivalist group has evolved into an artsy indie rock outfit, centered around cheeky songwriting and subtle experimentation. In 2024, it was announced that The Bug Club had signed with the prestigious Sub Pop Records, marking yet another […]

Looking back four decades, it’s hardly a coincidence that Fables of the Reconstruction (released 6/10/85), is just as murky as its predecessors, if not more so. With sessions taking place in London under the supervision of producer Joe Boyd (Pink Floyd, Fairport Convention), this first album R.E.M. recorded outside of the U.S. is shrouded by […]

The Barr Brothers have announced that their new album, Let It Hiss, will be released on October 17 by Secret City Records. Their long-simmering and long-awaited fourth studio album isn’t just a collection of 10 vital new songs; it’s a document of transformation. The result of a pivotal shift: a pause for reflection, a reckoning with vulnerability, and […]

When a former violin student encountered her teacher, Cho-Liang Lin, at a Houston, Texas supermarket, she immediately apologized for abandoning her instrument. “Mr. Lin, I don’t want you to get mad,” she said, “but I’m not playing the violin anymore.” Lin’s reaction surprised her. Rather than disappointment, the Juilliard and Rice University professor expressed genuine […]

The digital revolution has transformed many aspects of our lives, including how we experience traditional games. GameZone, a leading online gaming platform, has successfully adapted the beloved Philippine fairground attraction known as Color Game for the digital age. This vibrant and exciting game of chance has found a new home in the online world, bringing […]

Television often relegates stories centered on women’s experiences to secondary status, dismissing them as lightweight entertainment or guilty pleasures. This systematic devaluation persists despite the commercial success and profound audience connection these narratives engender. Against this backdrop, Lisa Hamilton Daly is emerging as a transformative figure in the entertainment industry, deliberately championing female-focused content and […]

Brian Wilson, the creative force behind The Beach Boys died today at the age of 82. With his innovative songwriting, production techniques, and harmonic sophistication, Wilson’s influence is widespread in all facets of popular music. In 1966, Wilson created Pet Sounds, often considered one of the greatest albums of all time. Inspired by The Beatles’ […]

Best known for his work in Jr. Thomas & The Volcanos, Minnesota singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Jr. Thomas returns with a collaboration that pays homage to the golden era of soul music. Teaming up with Philadelphia production duo Maxwell Perla & Vincent John – AKA Eraserhood Sound – he’s proud to present his new […]

The story of Sisyphus and his unceasing duty to roll a boulder uphill is well-known. What the story symbolizes, an unending endeavor in vain, is likewise familiar, perhaps even intrinsic to the human condition. What goes less acknowledged, even as the term “Sisyphean” flows freely through pop culture and everyday conversations, is the actual wisdom […]

Rounding-out our spotlight on Ty Segall this week, part of what separated him from the garage-rock pack last decade was his willingness to embrace is inner-weirdo and produce some genuinely edgy, twisted material. And for this writer’s money, he never topped the delightfully derisive and manically malevolent vibes he put forth on his brilliant 2016 […]

It is miraculous how, even after 15 years and 26 albums into their career, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard still maintain an element of surprise. The Australian genre-morphing outfit has proven to be far more than the jam bands they were once compared to, compiling a colorful catalog that never ceases to sonically shift […]