new release Archive
20 Feb 2023
Hundred-word Reviews, February 2023 Part 1
It’s been ages since I did one of these, and since my backlog has got out of hand, it’s time. As ever, each of these merits deeper discussion, investigation, discussion […]
18 Feb 2023
Short-format Roundup
Nearly all of my reviews focus on albums. Only when the material truly merits an exception do I cover EPs or singles. Here are quick looks at three new releases […]
11 Feb 2023
Album Review: Amjad Ali Khan et. al. — Music for Hope
Some music based on traditional instrumentation from outside North America (that’s my wordy way of sidestepping the dread “WM” descriptor) can sound a bit, erm, foreign to American ears. Not […]
08 Feb 2023
Album Review: Various Artists – Howlin’ Wolf & His Wolf Gang
Truth in labeling is a valued quality. With that in mind, it’s worth pointing out right up front that – although it’s clearly labeled as such – this is not, […]
05 Feb 2023
Album Review: Richard Öhrn – Sounds in English
Some of the best and most inventive pop has come out of Sweden. Tages, for example, were never well-known in the US, but they made some sterling music. Much more […]
04 Feb 2023
Album Review: Librarians with Hickeys – Handclaps & Tambourines
Their name might be on the unfortunate side, but Librarians with Hickeys know how to craft a winning tune. The trio engages in some straightforward truth-in-labeling on their latest release, […]
03 Feb 2023
Album Review: The Shoe Birds – Southern Fables
It’s unusual – and unexpected – to receive a CD with an accompanying press sheet describing that album as the artist’s final release. But that’s the case with Southern Fables, […]
31 Jan 2023
Album Review: Richard X Heyman – 67,000 Miles an Album
There are few artists as capable of such consistently wonderful songwriting mastery as Richard X. Heyman. A master of jangle, the NYC-based multi-instrumentalist has a seemingly inexhaustible well of creativity, […]
30 Jan 2023
Album Review: Anton Barbeau – Stranger
Upon encountering the title of Anton Barbeau’s latest album, it’s fair to wonder: Is Stranger used here as a noun or an adjective? If it’s the former, the title could […]
29 Jan 2023
Album Review: Bird Streets – Lagoon
John Brodeur is Bird Streets. Last time around – on 2018’s self-titled debut – he collaborated with Jason Falkner; the result was excellent. This time there’s no Falkner, and the […]