King Tuff: Smalltown Stardust [Album Review]
King TuffSmalltown StardustSub Pop Records [2023] On his sixth album, Kyle Thomas who performs under his original band name King Tuff, steps away from the … Read more
Margo Price: Strays [Album Review]
Margo PriceStraysLoma Vista Recordings [2023] When Nashville singer-songwriter Margo Price made her debut in 2016 with Midwest Farmer’s Daughter, on Jack White’s Third Man label, … Read more
Dave Rowntree: Radio Songs [Album Review]
Dave RowntreeRadio SongsCooking Vinyl [2023] 2023 is shaping up to be a big year for fans of the Britpop/alternative rock band Blur. While the quartet … Read more
Jeff Johnson & Brian Dunning: Coming, Going [Album Review]
Jeff Johnson & Brian Dunning Coming, GoingArkMusic [2022] Flautist Brian Dunning, who died last February at the age of 70, had a solid recording career … Read more
Iggy Pop: Every Loser [Album Review]
Iggy PopEvery LoserGold Tooth/Atlantic Records [2023] Iggy Pop, sometimes called “the Godfather of Punk” for his role as frontman/vocalist with The Stooges, an early proto-punk … Read more
Belle And Sebastian: Late Developers [Album Review]
Belle And SebastianLate DevelopersMatador Records [2023] When novelist Nick Hornsby wrote that “Sentimental music has this great way of taking you back somewhere at the … Read more
Brendan Benson: Low Key [Album Review]
Brendan BensonLow KeySchnitzel Records [2022] Brendan Benson released his seventh solo album, Dear Life, early in 2020, and even though he played all the instruments … Read more
Too Much Joy: All These Fucking Feelings [Album Review]
Too Much JoyAll These Fucking FeelingsPropeller Sound Recordings [2022] It seems that when the members of Too Much Joy pulled their instruments out of mothballs … Read more
Nora O’Connor: My Heart [Album Review]
Nora O’ConnorMy HeartPravda Records [2022] Chicago-based vocalist Nora O’Connor’s list of credits providing backing vocal support, both in the studio and on tour, is as … Read more
Mike Baggetta/Jim Keltner/Mike Watt: Everywhen We Go [Album Review]
Mike Baggetta/Jim Keltner/Mike WattEverywhen We GoBIG EGO Records [2022] I can’t be the only music fan that has imagined what it would be like to … Read more
Todd Rundgren: Space Force [Album Review]
Todd RundgrenSpace ForceCleopatra Records [2022] Fifty two years into a career that includes more than twenty solo studio albums, another ten with the band Utopia, … Read more
Spoon: Lucifer On The Moon [Album Review]
SpoonLucifer On The MoonMatador Records [2022] In just a few weeks, The Fire Note will publish its writers’ favorites and picks for the best releases … Read more
Dream, Ivory: About A Boy [Album Review]
Dream, IvoryAbout A BoyAWAL [2022] The music of Dream, Ivory is the product of Filipino/American twentysomething siblings raised on the endless musical resource of the … Read more
Weyes Blood: And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow [Album Review]
Weyes BloodAnd In The Darkness, Hearts AglowSub Pop Records [2022] Singer/songwriter Natalie Mering performs under the moniker Weyes Blood, a name derived from her original … Read more
The Tallest Man On Earth: Too Late For Edelweiss [Album Review]
The Tallest Man On EarthToo Late For EdelweissANTI- [2022] Swedish folk singer/songwriter Kristian Matsson performs under the moniker The Tallest Man on Earth, and Too … Read more
Phoenix: Alpha Zulu [Album Review]
PhoenixAlpha ZuluLoyaute/Glassnote Records [2022] It’s been 13 years since French electro/pop/alt/dance band Phoenix released their American breakout album, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix with hit singles “Lisztomanio” … Read more
Lambchop: The Bible [Album Review]
LambchopThe BibleMerge Records [2022] Over the decades, Kurt Wagner and his various collaborators have more than lived up to their early claim to the title … Read more
Weezer: SZNZ – Autumn [Album Review]
WeezerSZNZ: AutumnCrush Music/Atlantic Records [2022] Sure as autumn follows summer, Weezer has delivered their third volume in this year’s concept album project, SZNZ: Autumn. While … Read more
Simple Minds: Direction Of The Heart [Album Review]
Simple MindsDirection Of The HeartBMG [2022] Scottish band Simple Minds came to the attention of American rock audiences in the early 80’s alongside UK bands … Read more
Dropkick Murphys: This Machine Still Kills Fascists [Album Review]
Dropkick MurphysThis Machine Still Kills FascistsDummy Luck Music [2022] In 2003, Boston-based Celtic punk rock band Dropkick Murphys covered Woody Guthrie’s song “Gonna Be a … Read more
Death Cab For Cutie: Asphalt Meadows [Album Review]
Death Cab For CutieAsphalt MeadowsAtlantic Records [2022] While responses to the 2018 release from Death Cab For Cutie were mixed, there were hints in several … Read more
Richard X. Heyman: 67,000 Miles An Album [Album Review]
Richard X. Heyman67,000 Miles An AlbumTurn-Up Records [2022] The speed of the earth as it moves in orbit around the sun is 67,000 miles an … Read more
The 1975: Being Funny In A Foreign Language [Album Review]
The 1975Being Funny In A Foreign LanguageDirty Hit/Polydor/Interscope Records [2022] One of the challenges in describing the music and albums of The 1975 in the … Read more
Robyn Hitchcock: Shufflemania! [Album Review]
Robyn HitchcockShufflemania!Tiny Ghost Records [2022] With 22 studio albums to his credit, and the subject of a concert film by Jonathan Demme, Robyn Hitchcock may … Read more
Lou Reed: Words & Music, May 1965 [Album Review]
Lou ReedWords & Music, May 1965Light In The Attic Records [2022] The standard rock critic cliché often attributed to Brian Eno—he of early Roxy Music … Read more