Joe Stickley's Blue PrintSmoke Leaves TownPeola Records By Al Kaufman Joe Stickley examines this American life as only a Midwesterner can. Backed by a group that can hold together a rag-tag melody like great Americana bands such as Wilco and The Gourds can, Stickley examines love, loss, and life in subtle, graceful ways.
By Bryan Aiken As if moving with the cloud of fall’s first chill, so came the national tour of eccentric indie-rock stalwarts DD/MM/YYYY and These Arms Are Snakes to Atlanta’s Star Bar. An unlikely pairing already, if not for the bands’ loose common ground of spastic performance, the lineup was made even more disparate by […]
The Kentucky HeadhuntersLive/Agora Ballroom — Cleveland, Ohio — May 13, 1990Mercury By Al Kaufman With all these terms out, such as "outlaw country," "renegade country," or the tamer "Americana," to describe country artists too original to be played on the ultra conservative (in format as well as politics) country radio stations, it's easy to forget […]
By Alexandra Edwards If the critics peg you as the next big insert-seminal-indie-band-here, is it all downhill from there? Is there any way to step out of a shadow you never meant to get under in the first place? These were the questions that The Rural Alberta Advantage were most definitely not contemplating this past […]
By Eileen Tilson If you haven’t heard of Alberta Cross yet, you will. Having recently played with Them Crooked Vultures (Dave Grohl, Josh Homme, and John Paul Jones) at Austin City Limits, the band is just at the start of their tour in support of their debut album, Broken Side of Time (which we reviewed […]
By Scott Roberts It’s not that often that you can truthfully tout a concert as a “Rare Event,” but tomorrow night’s performance by Jon Auer and Matt Brown at Eddie’s Attic actually deserves to be called just that. As half of the singing/songwriting members (along with Ken Stringfellow) of Seattle’s preeminent popsters The Posies, Auer […]
By Eileen Tilson After hearing “Listzomania,” from French band Phoenix’s latest album Wolfgang Amadeus, in the new Cadillac commercial, it is not hard not to realize that this band is poised to be a worldwide success. Selling out shows across the country, Phoenix-mania has already taken hold on America. I followed Phoenix around Atlanta for […]
Pride Parade Dose By Beverly Bryan Pride Parade’s Dose is an enjoyable, if not beautiful, mess. If you love Nirvana, late-’80s SST bands and hate having to take your music seriously you will love it. Something about its extremely unfocused nature makes the album impossible to take seriously. Raw, intense, stoned and utterly pointless, […]
Jer CoonsSpeak By Al Kaufman Jer Coons missed his chance at becoming a national star when he slept through his audition for American Idol. But who knows how far he would have gone? After all, people with actual talent and songwriting skills don't generally win on that show. Jer Coons, at the tender age of […]
Drivin’ N’ Cryin’ Great American Bubble Factory Vintage Earth Music By Scott Roberts Revered veteran Atlanta band Drivin’ N’ Cryin’ have always suffered from a split personality disorder. Their songs run the gamut from loud, anthemic arena rock to hushed, contemplative, country-tinged, front-porch sing-alongs. On their first CD in 12 years, Great American Bubble […]
By Scott Roberts; photos by Sue Volkert Steve Wynn may be the luckiest man alive. His former band The Dream Syndicate created one of the most enduring and beloved albums of the 1980s, 1982’s The Days of Wine and Roses, and Wynn used that as a springboard to a steady, respectable solo career that began […]
The Ettes Do You Want Power Take Root By Beverly Bryan The Ettes’ lovely minimalist name has come to signify lovely minimalist rock. There’s always been a touch of the blues and a lot of grit in their rock n’ roll and on Do You Want Power it has been produced to a high sheen. […]
Various AristsCiao My Shining Star: The Songs of Mark Mulcahy Mezzotint By Eileen Tilson Thom Yorke described Mark Mulcahy’s voice as the most beautiful he has ever heard, and Nick Hornby reflected that Mulcahy’s music was “only ever going to find its audience through word of mouth and recommendations by the like-minded.” To the average […]
Islands Vapours Anti- By Chris Homer Islands' third album Vapours marks a reunion for frontman Nick Diamond and collaborator Jamie Thompson, who has returned to the group after departing following the release of 2006’s Return to the Sea. Vapours showcases Diamond and Thompson’s work as collaborators. The album is packed with catchy synthesizer melodies and […]
By Eileen Tilson First off, congratulations on your success, there is such an incredible buzz about Those Darlins right now! How do you feel about all your recent success, such as being one of the "powerful female bands" in the Oprah magazine? That's huge! Thank you… We feel very grateful to have been so fortunate […]
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