Scott H. Biram Bad Ingredients Bloodshot By Al Kaufman Scott H. Biram doesn’t give a shit. The Austinite simply wants to wail on his guitar and belt out some hillbilly blues, which is what he does on Bad Ingredients. There’s no spit-shine polish here. No long-haired, pony-tailed guy twisting knobs in the studio. It’s just […]
Tori Amos Night of Hunters Deutsche Grammophon By Ellen Eldridge Those who know of Tori Amos may think she is eternally covered in pixie dust, destined only to a convoluted, yet lovely, web of spun song-children. With Night of Hunters, Amos’ stirs the emotions of long-time fans, and attracts new ones with the concept of […]
Dream Theater A Dramatic Turn of Events Roadrunner Records (for 9-13-11 release) By Ellen Eldridge Dream Theater is really good. I say that because I first heard the band when I was an angst-filled teen and I wrapped my tormented soul around songs like “Wait For Sleep,” and skipped past the often-lengthy guitar solos. But, […]
Staind Staind Atlantic/Roadrunner (for 9-13-11 release) By Ellen Eldridge The turn of the century laced listeners’ ears with the sounds of Staind from its debut Dysfunction in 1999 to the band’s 2001 release, Break the Cycle, that debuted at number one on the Billboard Top 200. Shortly thereafter, Shades of Grey (2003) and Chapter V […]
Glen Campbell Ghost on the Canvas Surfdog Records By Al Kaufman Upon first listen, hearing Glen Campbell sing the line, “People don’t know when they’re looking at soul,” evokes outright laughter. There are many who would argue that, next to Pat Boone, Glen Campbell is probably the biggest American singer with the least amount […]
The Rapture In The Grace Of Your Love DFA Records By Justin Lyons Five years after Pieces of the People We Love, NYC’s The Rapture returns with In The Grace of Your Love, an album that expounds upon the band’s flair for dance punk. There are more traditional instruments than the last outing, but most […]
John Hiatt Dirty Jeans and Mudslide Hymns New West By Al Kaufman In the world of Americana music, John Hiatt is royalty. He is quite simply one of the damn best songcrafters working today. Bonnie Raitt (“Thing Called Love”), Suzy Bogguss (“Drive South”), and Aaron Neville (“It Feels Like Rain”) have all had big […]
George Strait Here For A Good Time MCA Nashville By Amanda Miles “King George” will continue his reign as the undisputed king of country music with the release of his latest album, Here for a Good Time. George’s 39th studio album was recorded in Key West, FL with Strait’s long time producer, Tony Brown. You […]
Red Hot Chili Peppers I’m With You Warner Brothers By Al Kaufman There was a time, some twenty or more years ago, when one of the greatest things to do would be take some drugs, blast the Chili Peppers, get naked, and dance like a maniac; a drug addled, naked maniac to be precise. Fast […]
Hotel Lights Girl Graffiti Bar/None By Al Kaufman Girl Graffiti is so full of hushed tones that when the band finally breaks into the mildly upbeat “Dave Sharkey to the Dance Floor,” (with its “Sweet Jane” guitar intro) it feels like an all out frenzy, albeit the most reserved frenzy in music history. Darren Jessee, […]
The Greencards The Brick Album Darling Street Records By Al Kaufman The Aussies are doing everything they can to out-American the Americans in music. Kasey Chambers continues to make country music better than anything heard on country radio north of the equator. And, since 2003, Aussies Carol Young and Kym Warner have helmed a four-piece […]
The Front Bottoms The Front Bottoms Bar/None By Al Kaufman One thing is sure; Brian Sella and Mathew Uychich, who play acoustic guitar and drums respectively, and make up the folk-punk band The Front Bottoms, have had their hearts ripped out through their noses a few times. It’s a safe bet to assume that this […]
The Weeknd Thursday OVO/XO By Justin Lyons Though some of the mystery surrounding Canadian act The Weeknd (aka Abel Tesfey) has subsided, he still has enigmatic qualities that make Thursday enticing. While the down tempo production from Doc McKinney & Illangelo continues on most of the new tracks, The Weeknd examines a broad range of […]
Hercules and Love Affair Blue Songs Moshi Moshi Records By Al Kaufman Hercules and Love Affair never got memo issued some 30 years ago that simply stated, “Disco is dead.” This is a band that likes its music to pump and thump and bump. Listen to “Answers Come in Dreams” and listen to what can […]
Muppets The Green Album Walt Disney Records By Jeremy Frye Kermit and his crew have certainly been around in the last decade, but your local multiplex has been Muppet-free since 1999’s Muppets From Space. Actor Jason Segal considered this a grave injustice and made it his personal mission to get The Fuzzy Pack back on […]
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