indie Archive
01 Sep 2019
Album Review: Moonlight Street Folk — Collective Will
There’s no shortage of acoustic-based, folky bands in Western North Carolina. Standing out from the crowd is thus more of a challenge than it would be for musicians operating in another musical idiom. But Moonlight Street Folk have developed a distinctive sound that sets them apart. The Asheville quintet’s debut album, Collective Will, features seven
25 Aug 2019
Album Review: Stereospread — Beautiful Noise
Jumping ahead of critics who might apply their own subjective labels to the band’s music, Asheville-based Stereospread has taken on the task itself, calling the sounds it makes “indietronica.” Launched in 2012 by James Hopkins and Sara Snyder Hopkins, Stereospread is a pop-leaning duo. The pair’s debut recording was a 2015 EP, Come Back Home.
11 Aug 2019
Album Review: Bark — Terminal Everything
As a rule, I look askance at guitar-and-drum duos; for my money, Dex and Crow did it well enough back in the Flat Duo Jets days that I don’t really need anybody else to do it. But when the artists involved are Tim Lee and Susan Bauer Lee, attention must be paid. The former was
03 Jul 2019
Rising Appalachia: Water is Life
Though it’s easy to take water for granted – just turn on the tap and there it is – for hundreds of millions of the Earth’s people, access to clean water is a goal, not a reality. The United Nations considers universal access to clean drinking water a human right, but that doesn’t magically make
27 Jun 2019
Buzzing About Asheville: Queen Bee and the Honeylovers
Traditionally, concept albums have been almost exclusively within the rock idiom. But Asheville singer and songwriter Whitney Moore has breathed new life into the form by applying it to a very different musical style: jazz. Celebrating the release of the local history-themed Asheville, Moore’s band, Queen Bee and the Honeylovers played a show at Isis
22 Jun 2019
Ryan RnB Barber: Persistence Pays Off
As recently as 2015, Ryan Barber was homeless. But through a combination of determination and talent, today the Asheville musician is realizing his life and music goals. The newest release from Ryan RnB Barber – today a ubiquitous presence in the Asheville music scene – is a solo album pointedly titled Rejuvenation. Backed by his
26 May 2019
Album Review: Tim Williams — Sorry
Some would argue that the album era is over. There’s even a Wikipedia entry defining said era as the mid 1960s to mid 2000s. Prior to the middle of the ‘60s, the 45 r.p.m. single was the coin of the realm in the world of popular music. The Beatles and many others shifted the paradigm
15 May 2019
Even More Hundred-worders for May 2019
I’m determined to keep my backlog of music-for-review to a manageable size. Making that happen means that once again it’s time for ten of my quickie reviews. So off we go. These are all new or very recent titles of new music. Girls on Grass – Dirty Power I really like this record. Right off
05 May 2019
New Releases from Asheville-based Artists
Three new record releases from Western North Carolina artists explore different musical styles, but they all share a focus on themes of love and optimism. Tellico – Woven Waters For its second album, Asheville folk/bluegrass band Tellico – formed by former members of Dehlia Low – weighs in on world events. The album’s centerpiece is
03 Apr 2019
Purple Image: Funk-Psych Lost and Found, Part Two
Continued from Part One… First setting up in Adams’s basement, the new group began work. To insulate the sound and avoid annoying the neighbors, Adams says, “I put out an edict that each member bring a mattress. We had eight mattresses on the walls and windows.” They worked collaboratively to develop a full arrangement of