rant Archive
24 Jul 2022
Album Review: Florence Dore — Highways & Rocketships
I’ve lost count of how many musicians I’ve encountered who bristle at the prospect of being labeled. And while there’s a usefulness in applying a genre label to an artist, I get it: drawing a line around a creative artist can cause people to make snap judgments. Florence Dore is nominally an Americana artist. And
12 Aug 2019
Hundred-word Reviews for August 2019, Part One
It’s that time again: reviews of new music that passes the rigorous “smash or trash” competition happening periodically at my CD changer. Diplomats of Solid Sound — A Higher Place First off, let’s give credit where it’s due and acknowledge that Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings are owed a debt for reintroducing soul to today’s
06 Jan 2018
Hundred Word Reviews for January 2018, Part 1
As we begin another calendar year, now seems like a good time to clear out some of my backlog. All of these albums are new (or at least newish) releases. Paul Moran – Smokin’ B3 Vol. 2: Still Smokin’ As a lover of soulful organ jazz a la Jimmy Smith, I was taken in by
13 May 2015
Hundred Word Reviews for May 2015, Part 8
Today, it’s five more capsule reviews. It’s great stuff all, dating from the 1970s. Stories – Stories Untold: The Very Best of Stories The, um, story of Stories in inextricably tied up with that of the Left Banke (“Walk Away Renee”). The music on this set from Real Gone Music draws not only for the
18 Sep 2014
Boots by George Harrison, Hair by Robert Smith: The Posies Interview, Part Four
Continued from Part Three… Bill Kopp: There’s a track of yours on Yellow Pills Volume 2, “Saying Sorry to Myself.” To my ears it has all the hallmarks of the first album. I like the way you take a bit of the lyric of “The Ballad of John and Yoko” and stand it on its