Dan Mangan Thief Arts & Crafts “I get sick of the same taste in my mouth and sometimes I need to sing someone else’s song to cleanse my palate.” A good cover song ought to sound as if the artist has connected to the beauty that exists in [...]
Blinker The Star Juvenile Universe Independent Jordon Zadorozny is one of those one-man musical operations that always surprises but never lets down. Juvenile Universe, his latest album as Blinker the Star, is no exception in either of those [...]
Terry Draper Lost Magentalane Music This seemed to come out of the blue, a second album from Terry Draper in 2020. Lost follows on the heels of Sunset On Mars, released by the former drummer and songwriter of Klaatu earlier in 2020. It seemed [...]
Young Marble Giants Colossal Youth (40th Anniversary Edition) Domino Records There are only two questions concerning Colossal Youth, the seminal album by the British trio Young Marble Giants. The first one is asks “was this album evolutionary or [...]
AC/DC Power Up Sony Music Despite the running joke that all of their albums sound the same, AC/DC remains among the biggest bands in the world, a seemingly unwavering position they’ve held since ‘80 that has survived over 10 records, countless [...]
Elton John Elton: Jewel Box EMI/Universal Music Canada Elton: Jewel Box, a newly-released boxed set, delves into Elton John’s extensive back catalogue. Containing 148 songs, including 60 previously unreleased ones, Sir Elton curates this [...]
Cranberries No Need To Argue (Remastered) Island Records/UMe Irish alt-rock group The Cranberries have released a reissue of their second album, No Need To Argue. Along with various B-sides, demos, and live tracks, it features remastered [...]
Yukon Blonde Vindicator Dine Alone Records Vancouver’s Yukon Blonde has gone from alternative rock to experimental indie pop on their latest effort. Vindicator is touted as the first album entirely written by the band itself and the result begs [...]
Keith Richards & The X-Pensive Winos Live At The Hollywood Palladium Mindless Records It’s a special occasion when Keith Richards decides to step out on his own. While these moments are increasingly rare, they almost always stand as [...]
Brian Eno Film Music: 1976-2020 Universal Music This compilation has been long awaited by Eno fans. Film Music: 1976 – 2020 is a fairly comprehensive package of Brian Eno’s soundtrack work for the past four decades. For fans, such as I, [...]
Billie Holiday Billie: The Original Soundtrack Verve Records What can you say that has not already been said about Billie Holiday, one of the best–if not the best—singer, male or female, ever? Maybe that there’s an upcoming documentary [...]
Small Town Titans The Ride AntiFragile Music Perhaps best known for their viral covers – from rock classics like Queen’s “Fat Bottomed Girls” to their most viewed video, “You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grinch” – Pennsylvania’s Small Town Titans have [...]
Junior Wells Blues Brothers Cleopatra Records Blues legend Junior Wells was born in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1934 and died early in 1998. A powerful singer and master harmonica player, he played with many Chicago blues greats, sealing his status [...]
Alter Bridge Walk The Sky 2.0 Napalm Records Having released Walk The Sky last year, Alter Bridge embarked on a short-lived North American tour in January and February of this year. Salvaging what they could from the canceled tour, the band has [...]
Jeremy Inkel Hijacker Artoffact Records Jeremy Inkel was a musical scientist whose work featured prominently in his roles with Frontline Assembly and Left Spine Down. He also offered significant contributions to Delerium and Noise Unit. He spent [...]
Thelonious Monster Oh That Monster Immediate Family Records 16 years ago, Thelonious Monster released their last album, California Clam Chowder, a collection of interpretations, but not quite covers, from some of the most iconic artists ever. [...]
Various Artists Brown Acid: The Eleventh Trip RidingEasy Records There could be a few reasons why RidingEasy Records have had 11 runs with their ‘Brown Acid’ series so far, but two pop out as key. One is that their crate diggers have had great [...]
Motörhead Ace Of Spades (40th Anniversary Box Set) BMG 1980. Year of the Rubik’s Cube. CNN launches this year and we can now leave reminders on Post-It Notes. Light pop acts such as Captain and Tennille, Olivia Newton-John and Blondie dominate [...]
The OBGMs The Ends Black Box Music Following a series of singles released throughout this year, Toronto-based alternative punk band The OBGMs have returned with their latest album, The Ends. The 10-track record, clocking in at just over 23 [...]
Tom Morello Comandante Independent With only a few days’ notice, Tom Morello’s latest surprise EP, Comandante, has arrived. It is his first true follow-up to 2018’s The Atlas Underground – save a string of singles and an instrumental version of [...]
Church Of Trees Progression Independent It is hard to believe that Church Of Trees is only four years old, given the quantity (and high quality) of music that has been produced under that banner. Church Of Trees is more of a project than a band. [...]
Tobacco Hot Wet & Sassy Ghostly International Hot Wet & Sassy, the newest album from Portland-based experimental AND electronic outfit Tobacco, saunters through dripping, eclectic beats and saturated synthesizers. Anyone who’s seen a [...]
Elvis Costello Hey Clockface Concord Records Over the last 40 plus years, Elvis Costello has produced some of the most influential and varied work known to pop music. His virtuosity and willingness to change have given him legendary status that [...]
Ice Nine Kills I Heard They KILL Live!! Fearless Records The Boston-based metal core band Ice Nine Kills has released a live album titled “I Heard They KILL Live!!” just in time for Halloween. They sold out a 3,000-capacity venue headliner show [...]
