new release Archive
10 May 2021
Album Reviews: Two featuring Fernando Perdomo
In this post-major-label era when many of the so-called barriers to entry have been swept away, the fact that a recording artist is prolific doesn’t provide a reliable indicator as […]
07 May 2021
Album Review: The Boys With the Perpetual Nervousness — Songs From Another Life
Something about this outfits name immediately brings to mind the gentle approach of bands like Belle and Sebastian. And as it turns out, that snap judgment isn’t too wide of […]
05 May 2021
Book Review: Rock and Roll Explorer Guide to San Francisco and the Bay Area
San Francisco has a rich and varied cultural history. The city by the Bay has been home to a long succession of cultural scenes, from the Beat poets to the […]
04 May 2021
Album Review: Richard Barbieri — Under a Spell
For several years, Richard Barbieri was the keyboardist in art rock band Japan; his atmospheric work was a key component of that band’s sound. And once Steven Wilson transformed his […]
03 May 2021
Book Review: Paul Collins — I Don’t Fit In
One of the finest among the so-called new wave bands of the late-late-late ‘70s and very early 80s (the subgenre’s peak period) was The Beat. Renamed Paul Collins Beat to […]
02 May 2021
Album Review: Peggy Lee — Something Wonderful
A casual listener might only be able to name “Fever” – and possibly “Is That All There Is” – but Peggy Lee scored a lengthy run of hit singles. The […]
30 Apr 2021
Pop music’s Terrestrial Paradise: Joel Selvin’s ‘Hollywood Eden’
Many authors have sought to chronicle the cultural ferment that gave rise to the Southern California pop music explosion of the 1960s. And while some efforts have yielded worthwhile books, […]
26 Apr 2021
Album Review: Badfinger — No Matter What: Revisiting the Hits
The appearance of this CD in my mailbox elicited a cringe: would it be terrible? A crass attempt to capitalize on the reputation of a band that made some of […]
25 Apr 2021
Album Review: Allan Holdsworth — Leverkusen ’97
When progressive/fusion guitarist Allan Holdsworth passed away in April 2017, he left behind a substantial body of work. Not long before his death, Manifesto Records put together an impressive boxed […]
20 Apr 2021
Album Review: Binker and Moses — Dem Ones
It take confidence to put together a musical duo featuring only saxophone and drums; there’s nowhere to hide, musically. There’s no traditional rhythm section to establish a foundation, no polyphonic […]