new release Archive
10 Jul 2017
Album Review: Zoe and Cloyd — Eyes Brand New
High quality musicianship is rarely in short supply, especially in Western North Carolina. That fact –coupled with the presence of several top-notch recording studios in the region – means that […]
06 Jul 2017
Jessica Hernandez: Evoking Emotions in Two Languages
Detroit-based vocalist Jessica Hernandez and her band the Deltas earned their first big break when chosen to appear as a musical guest on a November 2014 episode of Late Show […]
03 Jul 2017
Album Review: Paul Butterfield — Live New York 1970
A blues vocalist and harmonica player extraordinaire, Paul Butterfield is most fondly remembered for his time leading the Butterfield Blues Band, an exemplar of the successful hybridization of electric jazz […]
30 Jun 2017
The Black Angels: Slow Death (Part 2)
Continued from Part One… The Black Angels have never been what one would call a commercially-minded group. That said, a few years back Alex told me that “Telephone” off Phosphene […]
29 Jun 2017
The Black Angels: Slow Death (part 1)
The Black Angels are reliable purveyors of a modern rethink of 60s psychedelia. The Austin group’s updated approach is a kind of tribal psych, heavy on droning, hypnotic and irresistible […]
24 Jun 2017
Saturday Bonus Post: Short-form Roundup
Now and then I receive an EP or even a single for potential review. In general those don’t make the cut, as I prefer to write about full-length albums that […]
21 Jun 2017
Album Mini-review: Siena Root — A Dream of Lasting Peace
File next to: Deep Purple, Uriah Heep, Iron Butterfly When Siena Root debuted with 2004’s A New Day Dawning, their music displayed a solid fixation with heavy, 1970s-style rock. The […]
21 Jun 2017
Album Mini-review: Peter Hook & the Light — Unknown Pleasures Tour 2012
Peter Hook was the bassist, multi-instrumentalist and (occasional) singer in two of the more influential bands of the last several decades. These days he’s capitalizing on the enduring popularity of […]
20 Jun 2017
Resonant Rogues’ Musical Welcome Mat
Led by the duo of Sparrow and Keith Smith, Asheville-based band Resonant Rogues combines flavors of Appalachian old-time, early jazz, and Eastern European folk to create a distinctive and original […]
16 Jun 2017
Album Review: Malcolm Holcombe — Pretty Little Troubles
One of the first things one notices when listening to Pretty Little Troubles – the 15th album from Weaverville, N.C. folk artist Malcolm Holcombe – is the sharp contrast between […]