chamber pop Archive
06 Feb 2023
Western NC Songwriters: Nine of a Kind

Asheville and its environs are home to a deep bench of musical talent. Whether they’re homegrown or drawn to the region to pursue their musical careers, singer-songwriters make their mark […]
24 Feb 2022
Album Review: The Left Banke – Strangers on a Train

When the terms “baroque pop” or “baroque rock” come up in conversation, discussion of The Left Banke is assuredly to follow. While the group scored only a few hits – […]
19 Dec 2019
Album Review: Curt Boettcher & Friends — Looking for the Sun

Those who take the trouble to dig deep into pop culture know that there exist around the margins an untold number of worthy artists who never got their due. Said […]
31 Dec 2018
Musoscribe’s Best of 2018

Even having shifted my focus these last few years toward interviews and feature writing, I still manage to listen to and review quite a few albums. In one form or […]
12 Nov 2015
November 100-word Reviews, Part 4

My roundup of worthy albums that deserve coverage continues with five more hundred-word reviews. Each of these deserves deeper coverage, but “so much music, so little time.” Dig ’em all. […]
24 Dec 2014
Best of 2014: Concerts
One of the many pleasures associated with living in the small mountain city of Asheville NC is access to great live music. I grew up in the 70s and 80s […]
03 Apr 2014
Festival Review: Big Ears 2014, Day 3 (Part One)
Dean and Britta I had already seen Dean Wareham and his wife/collaborator Britta Phillips on Day One of Big Ears 2014. But what was advertised for their Sunday performance – […]
31 Mar 2014
Festival Review: Big Ears 2014, Day 1
Dean Wareham We arrived in Knoxville in plenty of time to grab front-row seats in the beautiful Tennessee Theatre. It certainly helped that attendance for Wareham’s set was light (the […]
25 Jan 2013
The Chris Stamey Interview
Chris Stamey has been an important – if ever-so-slightly underground – part of the American music scene for decades. An early post-Big Star collaborator with Alex Chilton, he went on […]
04 Feb 2008
The Polyphonic Spree: Fragile Army, Reinforcements of Hope
There are so, so many things out there that remind you: this is all good. –Tim DeLaughter Tim DeLaughter, leader and lyricist of Dallas-based The Polyphonic Spree, reflects on the […]