JAH WOBBLE AND JON KLEIN AUTOMATED PARADISE DIMPLE DISCS Since leaving Public Image Ltd, Jah Wobble has been a remarkably prolific artist. He has recently teamed up with Jon Klein, former Siouxsie and The Banshees and Specimen guitarist, for [...]
LEVEL 42 THE LATER YEARS – 2001-2020 CHERRY RED RECORDS Level 42 had a huge career in the 1980s, combining modern jazz, funk, pop, prog and pure rock to create their own sound. Their own distinct genre. However, by the 2000s, they were not [...]
THE ALAN PARSONS PROJECT THE TURN OF A FRIENDLY CARD | EYE IN THE SKY | AMMONIA AVENUE (REISSUES) COOKING VINYL Once, when FM radio mattered and was a little underground, The Alan Parsons Project dominated the airwaves with their concept albums. [...]
DREAMWAVE DRIFTER/MOON DOGS STOLEN BODY RECORDS Psych Rock is a genre that gained popularity in the 1960s, during an era where psychedelic culture was common and artists were often using psychoactive drugs to aid with their creative process. The [...]
FRANK ZAPPA AND CAPTAIN BEEFHEART BONGO FURY (50th ANNIVERSARY EDITION) UNIVERSAL MUSIC Beginning in 1973, until 1975, Frank Zappa achieved his greatest commercial success in the U.S. In fact he had his only top 10 album in 1974, [...]
THE TINES BARROWS FUNNYBONE RECORDS You really have to hit the right notes to come up with unmistakeably great melody. And if you get it right once, you are bound to hit it again and again, and come up with an almost perfectly consistent album, [...]
SPECIAL FRIEND CLIPPING SKEP WAX RECORDS You can try and make a direct comparison to what French/American duo Guillaume Siracusa and Erica Ashleson of Special Friend is doing on Clipping, their second, simply titled album, but at some point, you [...]
MIINA WHERE THE LIGHT GOES INDEPENDENT “Live My Life on Holiday” is one of the singles Miina, aka Laura Mina Mitic. picked from her debut album Where the Light Goes, but what it takes today to makes your music heard (whether it [...]
BLODWYN PIG THE RECORDINGS 1969-1974 CHERRY RED RECORDS Jethro Tull released their debut album in 1968, titled This Was. Shortly after the release, guitarist Mick Abrahams left the band to embark on his own solo career and play a more [...]
TODD RUNDGREN AN EVENING WITH TODD RUNDGREN – LIVE AT THE RIDGEFIELD CLEOPATRA RECORDS Cleopatra Records’ ongoing series of 21st century Todd Rundgren live recordings continues with the release of An Evening With Todd Rundgren – Live At [...]
AEROSMITH AEROSMITH (LEGENDARY EDITION) CAPITOL RECORDS Fifty-three years ago, Aerosmith released their eponymous debut album. Propelled by one of the greatest rock ballads of all time, “Dream On,” 1973’s Aerosmith quickly established the band [...]
TEDESCHI TRUCKS BAND FUTURE SOUL FANTASY RECORDS Okay, you don’t have to be a fan of a certain genre, but then, if you are trying to be objective, there are certain things you simply cannot ignore, and that is the capabilities, [...]
THIS LONESOME PARADISE DEATH MOTELS BAD VIBES GOOD FRIENDS Keep the tempo slow. Saturate the guitar sound with echo and tremolo – no fast chromatic power chords or whizzing licks. Have the vocals at least baritone in range with some added [...]
VICIOUS RAIN THE ANATOMY OF SURVIVING ARISING EMPIRE Vicious Rain has always had a way of creating music that is a mix of turbulence and muted pain, a sound that feels like the moment a storm breaks out-an emotional downpour overhead, as the [...]
THE LONG RYDERS HIGH NOON HYMNS CHERRY RED RECORDS It’s easy to dismiss any performer for abiding by the tropes or cliches of the genre they produce music in. All genres have them too: the oft-used blues-based riffage of classic rock, the [...]
DREAM THEATER LOST NOT FORGOTTEN ARCHIVES: LIVE IN TOKYO, 2010 CENTURY MEDIA Live albums are often a great way to capture a band’s raw energy and talent but can sometimes be tricky to pull off in a successful manner. Dream Theater’s recent [...]
THE BLACK CROWES A POUND OF FEATHERS SILVER ARROW RECORDS Since reforming in 2019, The Black Crowes have remained in constant motion through numerous tours, a recent string of remastered boxsets (including last year’s reissue of Amorica and Live [...]
RUSH GRACE UNDER PRESSURE (SUPER DELUXE EDITION) UMe/MERCURY/ANTHEM When Grace Under Pressure first landed in 1984, it captured Rush at a moment of profound transition. The band was navigating new technology, shifting cultural anxieties, and the [...]
GOLD LEADER GOLD LEADER COLOR RED Hailing from Denver, Gold Leader has dropped their impressive debut, eponymous record. Gold Leader is a collection of instrumental songs that teeters between funk and jazz, giving the band a modern and freshly [...]
DRIVING MRS. SATAN LATE EVER AFTER LIBURIA RECORDS If you think that covering the songs of others is easy by just picking up your instruments and microphones, than you are quite mistaken. Sure you can do that, but then you are just a cover [...]
BRIGITTE CALLS ME BABY IRREVERSIBLE ATO RECORDS Navigating a second album is tricky business, especially when your first release and follow-up tour were received with such acclaim that you’re being tipped as the next big indie band. Such is the [...]
SPENCER HOFFMAN CHERRY PICKER ANXIETY BLANKET RECORDS Being a singer-songwriter from Los Angeles will always draw comparisons with the early to mid-70s, when the so-called golden age of California Sound ruled, well, the airwaves then. In the [...]
CAT CLYDE MUD BLOOD BONE CONCORD RECORDS Really good singer-songwriters these days take much harder routes to creating music of substance. Of course it is the much harder road than just strumming your guitar, tinkling your piano and singing [...]
KIM GORDON PLAY ME MATADOR RECORDS It’s difficult to know what to expect from a Kim Gordon solo record, given her avant-garde aloofness over her years in music, but I had no idea just how strange it would be to spend my next 40 or so minutes in [...]
