Guided By Voices: It’s Not Them. It Couldn’t Be Them. It Is Them! [Album Review]
Guided By VoicesIt’s Not Them. It Couldn’t Be Them. It Is Them!GBV Inc. [2021] It wouldn’t feel like the year is coming to an end without getting one more Guided…
Pokey LaFarge: In The Blossom Of Their Shade [Album Review]
Pokey LaFargeIn The Blossom Of Their ShadeNew West Records [2021] Anyone familiar with the work of Pokey LaFarge will tell you that his music is deeply rooted in the music…
Parquet Courts: Sympathy For Life [Album Review]
Parquet CourtsSympathy For LifeRough Trade Records [2021] For the past 10 years, Parquet Courts have been pushing the limits of indie rock. That is a big statement considering the band…
Hand Habits: Fun House [Album Review]
Hand HabitsFun HouseSaddle Creek Records [2021] It is always nice to hear an artist grow with each album they release. I think that is exactly what you will find with…
Angel Olsen: Aisles EP [Album Review]
Angel OlsenAisles EPSomethingscosmic/Jagjaguwar [2021] Ever walk through the store shopping and whatever is playing over the speakers as background noise catches your attention? We have all been there – humming…
Face To Face: No Way Out But Through [Album Review]
Face To FaceNo Way Out But ThroughFat Wreck Chords [2021] Celebrating 30 years as a band is an accomplishment considering all the things that need to go right! For Southern…
illuminati hotties: Let Me Do One More [Album Review]
illuminati hottiesLet Me Do One MoreSnack Shack Tracks/Hopeless Records [2021] After the success of Sarah Tudzin’s debut album, Kiss Yr Frenemies (2018), her moniker illuminati hotties had created the kind…
Madi Diaz: History Of A Feeling [Album Review]
Madi DiazHistory Of A FeelingANTI- [2021] If there are actually five stages of grief, Nashville singer/songwriter Madi Diaz may have stumbled on a few more levels of pain on her…
The Wild Feathers: Alvarado [Album Review]
The Wild FeathersAlvaradoNew West Records [2021] As Nashville’s Wild Feathers entered their second decade as a band, they were more or less forced to pause and reflect on their early…
Steve Gunn: Other You [Album Review]
Steve GunnOther YouMatador Records [2021] Steve Gunn may have started out as a go-to sideman who worked with Kurt Vile, desirable for his estimable guitar chops, here on his sixth…
Hovvdy: True Love [Album Review]
HovvdyTrue LoveGrand Jury Music [2021] Hovvdy is the duo of Charlie Martin and Will Taylor, which now with True Love have four albums under their belt. This full length finds…
The Beths: Auckland, New Zealand, 2020 [Album Review]
The BethsAuckland, New Zealand, 2020Carpark Records [2021] Power pop/rock band The Beths are easily the best thing to come out of New Zealand since Crowded House. With two strong studio…
José González: Local Valley [Album Review]
José GonzálezLocal ValleyCity Slang/Mute Records [2021] Swedish folk singer/songwriter and guitarist, José González brings his unique finger picking approach and take on world music to his fourth studio album on…
The Ophelias: Crocus [Album Review]
The Ophelias CrocusJoyful Noise Recordings [2021] The Ophelias, an indie folk/rock quartet which got their start in Cincinnati, return with a third studio album, Crocus. While the four members came…
Heartless Bastards: A Beautiful Life [Album Review]
Heartless BastardsA Beautiful LifeSweet Unknown Records/Thirty Tigers [2021] Since Heartless Bastards’ debut, Stairs And Elevators, was released in 2005, lead singer founder Erika Wennerstrom’s voice has always been a focal…
Jeff Elbel + Ping: The Threefinger Opera [Album Review]
Jeff Elbel + Ping The Threefinger OperaMarathon Records [2021] When life gives you lemons, the crafty among us make limoncello, the saying goes. If you have a talent for language…
Motorists: Surrounded [Album Review]
MotoristsSurroundedBobo Integral/We Are Time/Debt Offensive Records [2021] Toronto based Motorists have released one of the more interesting debuts I have heard this year. Surrounded covers an array of genres that…
Son Volt: Electro Melodier Tour [Concert Review]
Son Volt: Ludlow Garage; Cincinnati, OH; Saturday, September 18, 2021 As someone who lived in St. Louis from late ’83 thru the middle of ’08 and wrote semi-professionally about music for…
Cyan: For King And Country [Album Review]
CyanFor King And CountryTiger Moth Records [2021] Back before Prog made a comeback, before Welsh keyboardist Rob Reed formed Magenta, he dreamed of being in a band like Yes or…
Mild High Club: Going Going Gone [Album Review]
Mild High ClubGoing Going GoneStones Throw Records [2021] When we last saw the moniker Mild High Club it was paired with none other than King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard….
Alanis Morissette, “Jagged Little Pill 25th Anniversary Tour” [Concert Review]
Alanis Morissette, “Jagged Little Pill 25th Anniversary Tour”, w/ Garbage, and Cat Power: Riverbend Music Center; Cincinnati, OH; Wednesday September 15, 2021 When Alanis Morissette finally hit the stage on…
High Pony: All We Did Was Dream [Album Review]
High PonyAll We Did Was DreamSuper Wimpy Punch Records [2021] It won’t take you long into High Pony’s excellent third LP, All We Did Was Dream, to realize how much…
Yes: The Quest [Album Review]
YesThe QuestInside Out Music [2021] Love them. Hate them. There are few bands that generate the kind of emotions from audiences that Yes can. They are, by turns, confounding and…
Low: Hey What [Album Review]
LowHey WhatSub Pop Records [2021] Hey What is the 13th studio album from Low, the curious noise band that juxtaposes challenging instrumentals against the sweet and often harmonious vocals of…
Alejandro Escovedo: La Cruzada [Album Review]
Alejandro Escovedo La CruzadaYep Roc Records [2021] Arriving 3 years after Alejandro Escovedo’s wonderful story about two young American immigrants – one from Italy, the other from Mexico – who…
Indigo De Souza: Any Shape You Take [Album Review]
Indigo De Souza Any Shape You TakeSaddle Creek Records [2021] At least twice a day, I hear someone complain about the state of modern music, often shaped by their belief…
St. Vincent: Daddy’s Home World Tour [Concert Review]
St. Vincent: Daddy’s Home World Tour w/ Ali Macofsky: ICON Music Center; Cincinnati, OH – Tuesday, September 7, 2021 With the return of live music events, one of the concerts…
Colleen Green: Cool [Album Review]
Colleen GreenCoolHardly Art Records [2021] After 2015’s solid I Want To Grow Up we were fully prepared to see much more of Colleen Green’s guitar pop smarts and then she…
Amyl And The Sniffers: Comfort To Me [Album Review]
Amyl And The SniffersComfort To MeATO/Rough Trade Records [2021] I am not sure there is a world in which I would not love the new sophomore record, Comfort To Me,…
The Bevis Frond: Little Eden [Album Review]
The Bevis FrondLittle EdenFire Records [2021] The Bevis Frond is an English rock band formed in 1986 in East London and has been the moniker used by Nick Saloman for…
Golden Apples: Shadowland [Album Review]
Golden ApplesShadowlandLame-O Records [2021] Formally called Cherry, Russell Edling has changed his moniker to Golden Apples for his new album Shadowland. Not only does the name change help eliminate a…
King Crimson: Music Is Our Friend Tour 2021 [Concert Review]
King Crimson w/ The Zappa Band: Rose Music Center; Dayton, OH – Thursday, September 2, 2021 It needs to be said right from the start, that King Crimson is a…
Meatbodies: 333 [Album Review]
Meatbodies333In The Red Records [2021] Meatbodies’ Chad Ubovich has kept busy over the last decade playing in Mikal Cronin’s backing band, playing along Ty Segall and Charlie Moothart supplying the…
GA-20: Try It…You Might Like It! [Album Review]
GA-20Try It…You Might Like It!Karma Chief/Alligator Records [2021] Boston’s GA-20 proved on their 2019 release, Lonely Soul, that the blues can be for everyone. The group crossed genres with their…
Turnstile: Glow On [Album Review]
TurnstileGlow OnRoadrunner Records [2021] I don’t think earlier this year you could have convinced me that a hardcore/punk band could release a more alternative rock sounding record that would turn…
NMB (The Neal Morse Band): Innocence & Danger [Album Review]
NMB (The Neal Morse Band)Innocence & DangerInside Out Music/Sony [2021] The Neal Morse Band may have had a descriptively inaccurate name all along but the label wanted the Morse name-recognition…
WonderBus Music And Arts Festival (Day 2) feat. Wilco & Black Pumas [Concert Review]
WonderBus Music And Arts Festival (Day 2): Columbus, OH – Sunday, August 29, 2021 Despite a forecast that threatened rainstorms, the second day of the WonderBus music festival in Columbus…
The Killers: Pressure Machine [Album Review]
The Killers Pressure MachineIsland Records [2021] Well-paired back-to-back songs are a constant feature of The Killers’ discography. On their 2004 debut Hot Fuss, the songs “Mr. Brightside” and “Smile Like…
Phil Madeira: Hornet’s Nest [Album Review]
Phil Madeira Hornet’s NestMercyland Records [2021] With three jazzy piano albums under his belt in the last couple years, it’s no surprise by now that one of Phil Madeira’s musical…
Mouse Rat: The Awesome Album [Album Review]
Mouse Rat The Awesome AlbumDualtone/Entertainment 720 [2021] Everyone’s heard the famous Oscar Wilde quote that “Life imitates Art far more than Art imitates Life,” but who could have guessed that…
Supergrass: In It For The Money (Expanded Remastered Edition) [Album Review]
SupergrassIn It For The Money (Expanded Remastered Edition)BMG [2021] So when you are signed to Parlophone Records and release the biggest selling debut album for the label since The Beatles’…
Tim Easton: You Don’t Really Know Me [Album Review]
Tim EastonYou Don’t Really Know MeBlack Mesa Records [2021] For over twenty years, Tim Easton has been successfully combining elements of indie rock, folk and a little bit a blues…
Tropical Fu*k Storm: Deep States [Album Review]
Tropical Fuck StormDeep StatesJoyful Noise Recordings [2021] Australia’s Tropical Fuck Storm continue to be one of the most interesting groups on the indie scene with their new third album, Deep…
Fashion Pimps And The Glamazons: Jazz 4 Johnny [Album Review]
Fashion Pimps And The GlamazonsJazz 4 JohnnyFeel It Records [2021] There is absolutely nothing pretty about Cleveland’s Fashion Pimps And The Glamazons debut record Jazz 4 Johnny. The music is…
Wednesday: Twin Plagues [Album Review]
WednesdayTwin PlaguesOrindal Records [2021] Indie rock is alive and well with the Asheville, North Carolina band Wednesday. On their sophomore album, Twin Plagues, the quintet turns up the amps and…
Jackson Browne: Downhill From Everywhere [Album Review]
Jackson Browne Downhill From EverywhereInside Recordings [2021] Mention Jackson Browne’s name these days and folks’ eyes tend to glaze over while they try to explain the difference between folk/rock and…
The Joy Formidable: Into The Blue [Album Review]
The Joy Formidable Into The BlueHassle Records [2021] On its 5th full-length release, Welsh alternative rockers The Joy Formidable continue to deliver on The Big Roar, the title of its…
L’Rain: Fatigue [Album Review]
L’RainFatigueMexican Summer [2021] Sometimes records exist outside any conventional genres and challenge your ear around every corner. These albums also can produce some of the most intricate and addicting moments…
T. Hardy Morris: The Digital Age Of Rome [Album Review]
T. Hardy Morris The Digital Age Of RomeNew West/Normaltown Records [2021] Sometimes an artist or musician taps a universal theme of love, hope, or purpose that transcends the everyday, and…
Media Jeweler: The Sublime Sculpture Of Being Alive [Album Review]
Media JewelerThe Sublime Sculpture Of Being AliveFire Talk Records [2021] If you are looking for some good old indie rock that is odd, quirky and catchy then LA’s Media Jeweler’s…
The Umbrellas: The Umbrellas [Album Review]
The UmbrellasThe UmbrellasSlumberland Records [2021] The San Francisco bay area has long been an place where jangly indie pop has soared from 90’s groups The Aislers Set and The Fairways…
Robert Finley: Sharecropper’s Son [Album Review]
Robert Finley Sharecropper’s SonEasy Eye Sound [2021] Robert Finley is a classic late bloomer. As the title of his sophomore album for Dan Auerbach’s Easy Eye label suggests, he’s a…
Acid Dad: Take It From The Dead [Album Review]
Acid DadTake It From The DeadGreenway Records/The Reverberation Appreciation Society [2021] Acid Dad has evolved since we first started covering them back in 2016 with their EP release, Let’s Plan…
Descendents: 9th & Walnut [Album Review]
Descendents 9th & WalnutEpitaph Records [2021] Classic punk band Descendents newest album, 9th & Walnut, is actually a collection of songs written from 1977 through 1980. They were on a…
Emmylou Harris & Los Lobos Tour [Concert Review]
Emmylou Harris & Los Lobos: Rose Music Center; Dayton, OH – Saturday, August 7, 2021 Emmylou Harris was singing alternative country before it was cool, long before it was called…
Yola: Stand For Myself [Album Review]
Yola Stand For MyselfEasy Eye Sound [2021] 2019 was a great year for British singer/songwriter, Yola, who’s debut solo album Walk Through Fire earned her a Best New Artist nomination…
LYSOL: Soup For My Family [Album Review]
LYSOLSoup For My FamilyFeel It Records [2021] Raw, rocking and relentless is a great way to describe Seattle’s LYSOL. The band’s newest record, Soup For My Family, walks a line…
James Taylor w/ Jackson Browne [Concert Review]
James Taylor & His All-Star Band w/ Jackson Browne: Wright State Nutter Center; Dayton, OH – Wednesday, August 4, 2021 Given the boyish grin on 73-year-old James Taylor’s face throughout…
Ty Segall: Harmonizer [Album Review]
Ty SegallHarmonizerDrag City Records [2021] Nothing like a surprise album from Ty Segall to shake up your Tuesday as he dropped Harmonizer on world this week without any notice. The…
Guardian Singles: Guardian Singles [Album Review]
Guardian SinglesGuardian SinglesTrouble In Mind Records [2021] Guardian Singles hail from Auckland, New Zealand, and their self-titled debut was sadly overlooked last year with its small local indie release from…
Psychic Flowers: For The Undertow [Album Review]
Psychic FlowersFor The UndertowLiving Lost / RIP Records [2021] Philadelphia’s Psychic Flowers are not slowing down after releasing two new albums last year (Gloves To Grand Air and Freedom Of…
Durand Jones & The Indications: Private Space [Album Review]
Durand Jones & The IndicationsPrivate SpaceDead Oceans/Colemine Records [2021] Durand Jones & The Indications is easily one of the first bands I would point someone to if they wanted to…
Son Volt: Electro Melodier [Album Review]
Son Volt Electro MelodierTransmit Sound/Thirty Tigers [2021] There was a time back in the day, when Uncle Tupelo, the band often credited with kick-starting the alternative country craze, would close…
Los Lobos: Native Sons [Album Review]
Los Lobos Native SonsNew West Records [2021] When a band that’s been around just two years short of half a century puts out an album of covers, you might…
Night Beats: Outlaw R&B [Album Review]
Night BeatsOutlaw R&BFuzz Club Records [2021] I am always about an artist stretching out their musical vision as they progress through a career but sometimes getting back to your roots…
Mudhoney: Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge (30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) [Album Review]
Mudhoney Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge (30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)Sub Pop Records [2021] Mudhoney, a band name that just screams Seattle “grunge,” formed in 1988 after the demise of the…
Wavves: Hideaway [Album Review]
WavvesHideawayFat Possum Records [2021] It is hard to believe that Wavves broke out over a decade ago with the release of their third record, King Of The Beach, on Fat…
Hiss Golden Messenger: Quietly Blowing It [Album Review]
Hiss Golden Messenger Quietly Blowing ItMerge Records [2021] On the current single from his new album, “Sanctuary,” singer/songwriter MC Taylor, a.k.a. Hiss Golden Messenger, gets that the world is a…
Vanishing Shores: Maps [Album Review]
Vanishing Shores MapsSelf-Released [2021] Cleveland, Ohio band Vanishing Shores delivers the kind of high energy, anthemic rock on their debut full-length release Maps, that aspires to fill arenas with big…
Cub Scout Bowling Pins: Clang Clang Ho [Album Review]
Cub Scout Bowling PinsClang Clang HoGBV Inc. [2021] If you are going into this band completely blind then it is important to know that Cub Scout Bowling Pins is a…
Rose City Band: Earth Trip [Album Review]
Rose City Band Earth TripThrill Jockey Records [2021] Rose City Band is guitarist Ripley Johnson, a celebrated guitarist from Portland, Ore. who also sings and plays guitar with psychedelic rock…
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard: Butterfly 3000 [Album Review]
King Gizzard & The Lizard WizardButterfly 3000KGLW [2021] If you have been with the Fire Note for a while, I feel like King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard is a…
Faye Webster: I Know I’m Funny haha [Album Review]
Faye Webster I Know I’m Funny hahaSecretly Canadian [2021] Atlanta-based, singer-songwriter Faye Webster got the biggest boost to her career when the first single from her new album, “Better Distractions,”…
The Wallflowers: Exit Wounds [Album Review]
The Wallflowers Exit WoundsNew West Records [2021] By the time Jakob Dylan stepped into the studio with his band The Wallflowers to record Bringing Down the Horse, the band’s breakthrough…
Needles//Pins: Needles//Pins [Album Review]
Needles//PinsNeedles//PinsDirt Cult Records [2021] There is so much music that was created during the pandemic year that it honestly has been hard to keep up with the volume. With the…
Qlowski: Quale Futuro? [Album Review]
QlowskiQuale Futuro?Maple Death/Feel It Records [2021] As far as I am concerned there is always room at the table for another post-punk band if their debut is as solid as…
Lucy Dacus: Home Video [Album Review]
Lucy DacusHome VideoMatador Records [2021] Lucy Dacus returns with her third album, Home Video, and it arrives at a perfect time as her profile on the indie scene has only…
Modest Mouse: The Golden Casket [Album Review]
Modest MouseThe Golden CasketEpic Records [2021] The Golden Casket is Modest Mouse’s seventh-studio album which explores the degradation of America’s psychic landscape through the glass of the smartphone screen. With…
Richard X Heyman: Copious Notes [Album Review]
Richard X Heyman Copious NotesTurn-Up Records [2021] Richard X Heyman, like most power-pop artists who came of age in the 80’s, draws on earlier generations for influences, most obviously the…
The Murlocs: Bittersweet Demons [Album Review]
The MurlocsBittersweet DemonsATO/Flightless Records [2021] Melbourne-based five-piece The Murlocs always will be tagged with an asterisk that describes them as having two members of the ever growing popular King Gizzard…
Danny Elfman: Big Mess [Album Review]
Danny Elfman Big MessANTI-/Epitaph Records [2021] Rarely has an artist captured the tone and energy of their recording project as accurately and succinctly as Danny Elfman does here in the…
The Mountain Goats: Dark In Here [Album Review]
The Mountain Goats Dark In HereMerge Records [2021] It’s hard off the top of my head to imagine a more prolific and talented songwriter currently working today than John Darnielle,…
Garbage: No Gods No Masters [Album Review]
Garbage No Gods No MastersStunvolume/Infectious Music [2021] Ever since Garbage came out of the box in 1995, the band – boasting Scottish front woman Shirley Manson and oft-lauded producer Butch…
Black River Delta: Shakin’ [Album Review]
Black River Delta Shakin’SofaBurn Records [2021] After a couple of listens to the hardcore blues rock of Black River Delta’s third album, Shakin’, you’d likely be surprised to learn that…
Pardoner: Came Down Different [Album Review]
PardonerCame Down DifferentBar/None Records [2021] It is not hard to look around to find indie rock but it’s always exciting to find an album that takes it to the next…
Liz Phair: Soberish [Album Review]
Liz Phair SoberishChrysalis Records [2021] When Liz Phair’s debut album, Exile In Guyville, was released in 1993, she was a critic’s darling and an indie rock superhero for her gutsy…
Grave Flowers Bongo Band: Strength Of Spring [Album Review]
Grave Flowers Bongo Band Strength Of SpringCastle Face Records [2021] When Grave Flowers Bongo Band’s debut album Flower Pot came out on L.A.’s Permanent Records in 2018, it was something…
Gary Louris: Jump For Joy [Album Review]
Gary Louris Jump For JoySham/Thirty Tigers [2021] As befits this year of the pandemic lockdown, Jayhawks’ leader and main songwriter Gary Louris has delivered his second solo album, Jump For…
Chrissie Hynde: Standing In The Doorway – Chrissie Hynde Sings Bob Dylan [Album Review]
Chrissie Hynde Standing In The Doorway: Chrissie Hynde Sings Bob DylanBMG [2021] Chrissie Hynde was fresh from the release of another very good Pretenders’ album, Hate For Sale, when everyone…
The Routes: Mesmerised [Album Review]
The Routes MesmerisedAction Weekend / Bickerton Records [2021] The Routes are exactly why the quote “rock n’ roll can never die” exists. Mesmerised represents the eighth long-player to date from…
Lambchop: Showtunes [Album Review]
Lambchop ShowtunesMerge Records [2021] Lambchop is a loosely defined collaborative focused by the artistic vision and voice of Kurt Wagner, who has defined this latest project as “Showtunes for people…
James: All The Colours Of You [Album Review]
James All The Colours Of YouVirgin Music [2021] In 1993 when Manchester, England band James had a break-out single with “Laid,” no doubt as much for all of its talk…
Reigning Sound: A Little More Time With Reigning Sound [Album Review]
Reigning Sound A Little More Time With Reigning SoundMerge Records [2021] Reigning Sound’s singer/songwriter Greg Cartwright has returned to Memphis to record a collection of power-pop tracks that get back…
Mdou Moctar: Afrique Victime [Album Review]
Mdou MoctarAfrique VictimeMatador Records [2021] If I was asked to name a stand out guitarist on the indie scene today I would absolutely and confidently say Mdou Moctar. This name…
black midi: Cavalcade [Album Review]
black midiCavalcadeRough Trade Records [2021] When taking a look at UK’s black midi, they earn the admiration of music fans. How do they do this? To break music rules like…
Jackson Reid Briggs & The Heaters: Waiting In A Corner [Album Review]
Jackson Reid Briggs & The HeatersWaiting In A CornerLegless/Drunken Sailor Records [2021] If you took Melbourne’s Jackson Reid Briggs & The Heaters temperature from the opening riff on their new…
John Hiatt With The Jerry Douglas Band: Leftover Feelings [Album Review]
John Hiatt With The Jerry Douglas Band Leftover FeelingsNew West Records [2021] It’s hard with a songwriter like John Hiatt, who seems to wear his heart on his sleeve, to…
Beachy Head: Beachy Head [Album Review]
Beachy HeadBeachy HeadGraveface Records [2021] Beachy Head is a new group but it features members of Slowdive, The Flaming Lips, The Casket Girls, The Soft Cavalry, Mojave 3, Monster Movie…
St. Vincent: Daddy’s Home [Album Review]
St. Vincent Daddy’s HomeLoma Vista Recordings [2021] One of the most intriguing aspects of the musical artistry of St. Vincent, aka Annie Clark, is that as she adapts her musical…
The Black Keys: Delta Kream [Album Review]
The Black Keys Delta KreamEasy Eye Sound/Nonesuch Records [2021] Ten studio albums and two decades into their career, any fans of The Black Keys who’ve dug in past their string…
Damien Jurado: The Monster Who Hated Pennsylvania [Album Review]
Damien Jurado The Monster Who Hated PennsylvaniaMaraqopa Records [2021] The Monster Who Hated Pennsylvania, the 17th album for singer/songwriter Damien Jurado and first for his own label Maraqopa Records, is…
Tim Foljahn: I Dreamed A Dream [Album Review]
Tim Foljahn I Dreamed A DreamCart/Horse Records [2021] Guitarist Tim Foljahn has been around for a while. In addition to making six albums with the New Jersey outfit, Two Dollar…
Jeff Rosenstock: SKA DREAM [Album Review]
Jeff RosenstockSKA DREAMPolyvinyl Records [2021] A good song is a good song. That is why single covers work so many times for artists. Full album covers can be a bit…
Squid: Bright Green Field [Album Review]
SquidBright Green FieldWarp Records [2021] It is always fun to see certain musical movements take over an area of the world. TFN has been getting very accustomed to looking to…
Weezer: Van Weezer [Album Review]
Weezer Van WeezerCrush Music/Atlantic Records [2021] Back in 2018, when Weezer shared a co-headline tour with The Pixies, everything about the former’s end of set theatrics suggested the band’s need…
Finn’s Motel: Fireworks Or Lightning [Album Review]
Finn’s Motel Fireworks Or LightningVictory Over Gravity [2021] One of the pleasures of advanced age is being around long enough to experience the development of a musician or artist over…
Teenage Fanclub: Endless Arcade [Album Review]
Teenage Fanclub Endless ArcadeMerge Records [2021] In 1991, when Scottish band Teenage Fanclub first broke in No. America with their third album, Bandwagonesque, their sound was brimming with electric guitars…
Guided By Voices: Earth Man Blues [Album Review]
Guided By VoicesEarth Man BluesGBV Inc. [2021] The 33rd Guided By Voices album, Earth Man Blues, is one of the most in sync records that members Pollard, Gillard, Bare Jr.,…
Manchester Orchestra: The Million Masks Of God [Album Review]
Manchester Orchestra The Million Masks of GodLoma Vista Recordings [2021] The sixth album from Atlanta alt/rock quartet Manchester Orchestra feels like the culmination of their 15 years as recording artists,…
Cast: Vigesimus [Album Review]
CastVigesimusProgressive Promotions Records [2021] Sometimes a band just nails it right off the rip. Fully-formed debut albums are a rarity to be sure. So what to make of a band…
Spread Joy: Spread Joy [Album Review]
Spread JoySpread JoyFeel It Records [2021] Chicago’s Spread Joy are an intensely tight post punk band that gives everything they got on their 14 minute debut in exciting and short…
Proper Nouns: Feel Free [Album Review]
Proper Nouns Feel FreePhone Booth Records [2021] Feel Free is the debut Baltimore’s Proper Nouns, a power pop three-piece led by singer/songwriter and guitarist Spencer Compton. Joined by Jon Birkholz…
Todd Snider: The Agnostic Church Of Hope And Wonder [Album Review]
Todd Snider The Agnostic Church of Hope and WonderAimless Records [2021] Here in the pandemic that defined 2020 and this first half of ’21, while most of us have been…
Dinosaur Jr.: Sweep It Into Space [Album Review]
Dinosaur Jr. Sweep It Into SpaceJagjaguwar [2021] In a case of being in the wrong place at the right time, alternative rock power trio Dinosaur Jr. had their best-selling, major…
CIVIC: Future Forecast [Album Review]
CIVICFuture ForecastFlightless Records [2021] Melbourne and Flightless Records have been one of the main reasons psych music has risen above ground the last several years but don’t pigeon hole the…
Keith Kenny: Lifetime Ago Motel [Album Review]
Keith Kenny Lifetime Ago MoteliNtuRecords [2021] New Jersey indie recording artist Keith Kenny’s fifth album is a testament to the persistence and innovation required to thrive as a singer/songwriter in…
Ryley Walker: Course In Fable [Album Review]
Ryley WalkerCourse In FableHusky Pants Records [2021] Ryley Walker has walked an interesting musical path since his last solo release of Deafman Glance in 2018 but more importantly he is…
Spirit Of The Beehive: ENTERTAINMENT, DEATH [Album Review]
Spirit Of The BeehiveENTERTAINMENT, DEATHSaddle Creek Records [2021] The saying always goes that change is good. If you are a believer in that moto then the new Spirit Of The…
The Choir: Deep Cuts [Album Review]
The Choir Deep CutsGalaxy21 Music [2021] Originally formed in the 80’s, The Choir’s long creative partnership between singer and guitarist Derri Daugherty and drummer and lyricist Steve Hindalong continues to…
Hooveriii: Water For The Frogs [Album Review]
HooveriiiWater For The FrogsThe Reverberation Appreciation Society [2021] At this point in 2021, if your band hails from Australia, Los Angeles or Austin it won’t surprise anyone if your specialty…
Mt. Mountain: Centre [Album Review]
Mt. MountainCentreFuzz Club Records [2021] Australian five-piece Mt. Mountain’s fourth album, Centre, is a sprawling, psychedelic rocker that rides the edge of quiet waves right before they crash. That anticipation…
Bill Mallonee & The Big Sky Ramblers: A Clamoring Of Ghosts [Album Review]
Bill Mallonee & The Big Sky Ramblers A Clamoring Of GhostsSelf-Released [2021] Bill Mallonee knows all the words, and he’s not afraid to use them. After 10 years of…
Cheap Trick: In Another World [Album Review]
Cheap Trick In Another WorldBMG [2021] When guitarist Rick Nielsen formed Cheap Trick in Rockford, IL back in 1973, it seems more than doubtful that he could have imagined that…
The Natvral: Tethers [Album Review]
The Natvral TethersKanine Records [2021] As the leader of NYC indiepop band The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Kip Berman & Co. leaned into noisy pop of My Bloody…
Dry Cleaning: New Long Leg [Album Review]
Dry CleaningNew Long Leg4AD [2021] New Long Leg is London-based band Dry Cleaning’s debut album and it easily was one of the most anticipated releases of 2021 after their pair…
Smirk: LP [Album Review]
SmirkLPDrunken Sailor/Feel It Records [2021] Smirk is the solo project of Nick Vicario (Public Eye, Crisis Man, Autistic Youth), and while you’ll hear similarities to some of his past more…
Floatie: Voyage Out [Album Review]
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Transatlantic: The Absolute Universe [Album Review]
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The Budos Band: Long In The Tooth [Album Review]
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Love Coma: Love Coma [Album Review]
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FUZZ: III [Album Review]
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Bruce Springsteen: Letter To You [Album Review]
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The Mountain Goats: Getting Into Knives [Album Review]
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Kathleen Edwards: Total Freedom [Album Review]
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SLIFT: Ummon [Album Review]
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Kevin Morby: Sundowner [Album Review]
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Tom Petty: Wildflowers & All The Rest [Album Review]
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Osees: Levitation Sessions [Album Review]
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Travis: 10 Songs [Album Review]
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METZ: Atlas Vending [Album Review]
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Throwing Muses: Sun Racket [Album Review]
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Alright: I’m Doing This To Myself [Album Review]
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Sufjan Stevens: The Ascension [Album Review]
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Frankie And The Witch Fingers: Monsters Eating People Eating Monsters… [Album Review]
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Lydia Loveless: Daughter [Album Review]
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IDLES: Ultra Mono [Album Review]
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Fleet Foxes: Shore [Album Review]
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Bob Mould: Blue Hearts [Album Review]
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Semisonic: You’re Not Alone EP [Album Review]
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The Texas Gentlemen: Floor It!!! [Album Review]
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Bill Callahan: Gold Record [Album Review]
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Rose City Band: Summerlong [Album Review]
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Lo Tom: LP2 [Album Review]
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The Flaming Lips: American Head [Album Review]
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Neal Morse: Sola Gratia [Album Review]
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Bent Arcana: Bent Arcana [Album Review]
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DMA’S: The Glow [Album Review]
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Sweeping Promises: Hunger For A Way Out [Album Review]
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Knot: Knot [Album Review]
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Kllo: Maybe We Could [Album Review]
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Moby: All Visible Objects [Album Review]
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Bully: SUGAREGG [Album Review]
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Guided By Voices: Mirrored Aztec [Album Review]
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Old 97’s: Twelfth [Album Review]
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Bright Eyes: Down In The Weeds, Where The World Once Was [Album Review]
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Jason Molina: Eight Gates [Album Review]
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The Chicks: Gaslighter [Album Review]
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My Morning Jacket: The Waterfall II [Album Review]
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Whitney: Candid [Album Review]
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