new release Archive
07 Oct 2021
Album Review: The Orange Peels — Celebrate the Moments of Your Life
One never quite knows what to expect from The Orange Peels, and within that uncertainty lies a part of the group’s charm. They certainly don’t fit neatly into any particular […]
02 Oct 2021
Album Review: Professor Longhair – Fess at Home
This intimate recording absolutely sparkles. You are right there at Tipitina’s in 1973 as Henry Roeland Byrd (Professor Longhair, or “Fess” to those in the know) stretches out for a […]
30 Sep 2021
Album Review: Nektar – …Sounds Like Swiss
Nektar was one of those bands that got lost in a sea of great music. Though they were British, being based in Germany certainly didn’t help gain them exposure in […]
28 Sep 2021
Album Review: The Mommyheads — Age of Isolation
The Mommyheads aren’t widely known outside of New York City (and Sweden), and that’s a shame. With wit that sometimes rivals that of XTC, a melodic sense that recalls 10cc […]
27 Sep 2021
Mushroom: Don’t Sit This One Out
When critics try to describe Mushroom, they call upon labels like krautrock, free jazz, freakout, ambient and electronic. Launched in 1997 by drummer Pat Thomas, Mushroom is all of those […]
26 Sep 2021
Album Review: Jim Basnight and The Moberlys – Seattle – New York – Los Angeles
Describing something as underrated is sometimes little more than a lazy way of approaching an artist’s work. But it can have useful meaning. In the case of The Moberlys, the […]
25 Sep 2021
Album Review: Steve Barton – Love & Destruction
Steve Barton is best known as one of two guitarists and songwriters in Translator, the San Francisco band that gave us “Everywhere That I’m Not.” But while the band went […]
24 Sep 2021
Album Review: Memphis Slim – 1964 Live
As Ray Templeton reminds us in his liner notes for this newly-issued archival release, “When Memphis Slim first visited Europe in 1960, he was already a twenty year veteran recording […]
23 Sep 2021
Sandy’s: Rewarding the Listener’s Investment
The third album from psych-pop outfit Sandy’s, Magic Mind has a shimmering, multilayered character that may evoke thoughts of Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots-era Flaming Lips, early Crowded House and […]
19 Sep 2021
Album Review: The Cruzados – She’s Automatic
When Los Angeles punk outfit The Plugz metamorphosed into The Cruzados in 1984, they altered their musical approach. The spiky punk textures showcased on the soundtrack of Repo Man remained, […]