pop Archive
30 Jan 2021
Album Reviews: Big Stir Singles — The Seventh and Eighth Waves
Time was, Jordan Oakes reigned as the tastemaker supreme in the powerpop world. His Yellow Pills compilation series shone a light on the very best that the genre had to […]
23 Jan 2021
Album Review: Phil “Fang” Volk — Rocker
Phil “Fang” Volk is best known as bassist for Paul Revere and the Raiders during their most high-profile era, roughly 1965-67. That’s him – the long-running group’s fourth in succession […]
18 Jan 2021
Hundred-word Reviews: January 2021 #2
Here’s five more brief reviews; this time we’ve got progressive rock, powerpop, indie chamber pop, goth rock and one album that’s simply beyond easy classification. What they all have in […]
13 Jan 2021
Kevin Godley: The Consequences of Remote Collaboration (Part 2 of 2)
Continued from Part One… Submissions took the form of rough instrumental audio mixes. Each time Godley came across one with potential, he took things to the next step. “If I […]
12 Jan 2021
Kevin Godley: The Consequences of Remote Collaboration (Part 1 of 2)
In 2020, working remotely is commonplace. Even before circumstances required it, many people found that working from home could be just as efficient as showing up to a formal workplace. […]
22 Dec 2020
Dan Penn: Have ‘Mercy’! Part 2 of 2
Continued from Part One … Asked if there’s a set of rules he follows when making an album, Penn has a ready answer. “No,” he says. “No rules. Just throw […]
21 Dec 2020
Dan Penn: Have ‘Mercy’! Part 1 of 2
This feature appeared previously in Goldmine Magazine. Sixty-plus years into his career, Alabama-born songwriter and musician Dan Penn returns with a new album. Out on August 28, Living on Mercy […]
14 Dec 2020
Book Review: Ready Steady Go!: The Weekend Starts Here
Launched a few years ago, BMG Books broke into the market with the excellent Hotter Than a Pepper Sprout, Billy Edd Wheeler’s lively memoir. Soon thereafter, the publisher began its […]
08 Dec 2020
Album Review: George Benson – Weekend in London
As the emcee tells us right up front, this recording marks the first time George Benson appeared onstage at Ronnie Scott’s in some 45 years. In the interim he has […]
30 Nov 2020
Album Reviews: Redd Kross — Phaseshifter and Show World
Over the span of a decade-plus, Hawthorne, California band Redd Kross navigated the tricky path from punky indie band to one that sounded like the epitome of arena rock. And […]