SHOWER CURTAIN WORDS FROM A WISHING WELL ANGEL TAPES/FIRE TALK It’s always quite comforting when you hear an indie band combine some fuzzy, lightly distorted guitars with gentle, subdued vocal harmonies, particularly if the songwriting is [...]
OFFICE CULTURE ENOUGH RUINATION RECORDS There are a number of artists that rarely or never took the usual formulaic route when creating their music, something that you can call experimental pop/modern music. Listening to Enough, a sweeping [...]
JAMISON FIELD MURPHY IT HAS TO END RAMP LOCAL Sometimes, artists are involved with a fast-rising band, in this case it is Baltimore’s Tomato Flower. One of the band’s main songwriters Jamison Field Murphy, decided to do a solo [...]
JOHN DOUGLAS STILL OR SPARKLING? REVEAL RECORDS There are some compelling reasons Trashcan Sinatras’ John Douglas has made a name as a solo artist as well, as his self-titled album from this time last year showcased his impeccable [...]
TONY VAZ PRETTY SIDE OF THE UGLY LIFE JUBILEE GANG Tony Vaz is one of those mavericks in music that have a left-of-center concept in songwriting (think R. Stevie Moore gone everywhere), where it is so hard to put a finger (or ear) where his [...]
ERISY WATT NOT EITHER OR BUT EVERYTHING FIRST CITY ARTISTS As a singer songwriter in that late 60s, early 70s, there are two ways to go about creating your music. You can strictly stick to the ‘old’ cannons and stick to the form as [...]
PAUL SPRING KIND OF HEAVEN INDEPENDENT Queens, NY-based songwriter and guitarist Paul Spring recorded his latest album, Kind Of Heaven, live in two days, with only two guests to accompany him, quite a feat. With the help of drummer Jon Nellen [...]
THE CLEARWATER SWIMMERS THE CLEARWATER SWIMMERS NEW MARTIAN RECORDS How does a roots and slow core combination sound to you? Well, if it on first pitch sounds a bit incongruous, Portland/NYC band The Clearwater Swimmers escape the possible murky [...]
ADELINE HOTEL WHODUNNIT RUINATION RECORDS When artists pick up monikers, these may be telling signs, and yet, they may not be. Brooklyn’s Dan Knishkowy goes under one – Adeline Hotel, and based on his latest album Whodunnit, that [...]
BIG SHARE PRINTED PICTURES INDEPENDENT Some just might remember Bent By Elephants, a collaborative musical effort that produced some interesting music from 2009 to 2015. Part of that effort were Chesley Walsh & Luke Fowlie, the [...]
FUR TRADER WHOSE DREAM IS THIS INDEPENDENT It has become a sort of a tradition for artists to pick more than one role in the creation of their art, and in this case, music. So, it might come as no surprise thar Los Angeles singer/songwriter [...]
VARIOUS ARTISTS WHY DON’T YOU SMILE NOW: LOU REED AT PICKWICK RECORDS 1964-65 LIGHT IN THE ATTIC RECORDS Back in the sixties Pickwick Records were supposed to be a budget version of the then-dominating songwriter powerhouse that was New [...]
CLINIC STARS ONLY HINTING KRANKY RECORDS There’s always a specific feel to artists releasing their music through Kranky Records, but also a very individual take on that specific feel. There’s no exception to that ‘rule’ [...]
LEA THOMAS COSMOS FOREVER TRIPLE DOLPHIN RECORDS Dream pop in any shape and form has become a bit of a jaded (sub) genre these days if it is handled by the artists that only go through the motions and simply use it as an empty musical shell. [...]
ULNA GAZEBO INDEPENDENT Is there anything wrong when the music of a certain artist/band seems to follow in the footsteps of another? Not really, particularly if it is the footsteps of a great one, like in this case, late great Eliot Smith, and [...]
ALLYSHA JOY THE MAKING OF SILK FIRST WORD RECORDS An instantly recognizable voice is something that can make or break an artist’s work. If it works, it gives the music that specific touch that the listeners could attach to, even if the [...]
ROBYN HITCHCOCK 1967: VACATIONS IN THE PAST TINY GHOST RECORDS When you have been hailed as one of the key players in the neo-psychedelia for such a long time, at some point you have to go back and look at where, when, how, and surely why, you [...]
WAYNE GRAHAM BASTION WATERLOO RECORDS No, Wayne Graham is not a singer-songwriter, nor is he a single person (in this case at least)—Wayne Graham is a band from Kentucky, and Bastion is their ninth and latest album. The quartet picked the band [...]
BOB SUMNER SOME PLACE TO REST EASY NORTH COUNTRY COLLECTIVE/FLUFF & GRAVY As an artist, there are two ways to go about tackling Americana music- you can play it straight, picking up the traditional elements (country, folk, other roots forms) [...]
MO KENNEY FROM NOWHERE INDEPENDENT Mo Kenney (they/them) is up to their fifth album titled From Nowhere. Yet, from wherever that is, Juno-nominated songwriter’s music here is coming from somewhere good. Presenting all the usual as well as [...]
DAVID LUNING LESSONS INDEPENDENT Yet another Americana artist? Well, yes and no really, as Americana as a genre has long been an expanding musical category that includes so many disparate musical elements that often don’t have much in [...]
THE NEW STUDENTS LITTLE BLUE DOT INDEPENDENT Can modern be old? Sure, if you ask Long Island collective The New Students, who seem bound to try and reverse the process that is ongoing in Americana music. Instead of taking old songs and music in [...]
SIMA CUNNINGHAM HIGH ROLLER RUINATION RECORD CO. High Roller might officially be Sima Cunningham’s debut solo album, but the Chicago artist has already been making a name with that city’s duo Finom, as well as one more prominent [...]
SHADY COVE PART II INDEPENDENT Working within the sub-genre that is defined as dream-pop might sound a simple task to some listeners, but bringing in something else there, that touches upon other musical streams like bedroom or jangle pop, or [...]
