new release Archive
19 Apr 2021
Album Review: Polyrhythmics — Man From the Future
Polyrhythmics are an eight-piece band from the Pacific Northwest. If your tastes run toward ‘70s fuk and soul, the current-day funk-soul revival of (primarily but not always instrumental) bands like […]
18 Apr 2021
Album Review – Gerald Gradwohl Group — Episode 6
What might it sound like if Metallica was influenced by Allan Holdsworth? The answer might just be Episode 6, the new album by the Gerald Grawhol Group. But then Metallica […]
17 Apr 2021
Album Review: Too Much Joy — Mistakes Were Made
I’m long past the point of being surprised when I discover a new (now to me, that is) group that’s been making great music for years. But I’m certainly still […]
14 Apr 2021
A tUnE-yArDs Extra
I recently engaged Merrill Garbus of Oakland-based indie group tUnE-yArDs; our conversation was the basis of my recent feature in SF Weekly. But a few of the topics we discussed […]
13 Apr 2021
Different by Design: tUnE-yArDs Get Comfortable Being (a little) Less Weird
When Merrill Garbus made Bird-Brains – the 2009 debut recording from her Oakland-based project tUnE-yArDs – part of what earned the album critical plaudits was its quirky, offbeat character. Eleven […]
12 Apr 2021
Tower of Power: Towering Achievement, Powerful Homecoming
Tower of Power celebrates a half century of funk & soul with new live CD+DVD recorded in Oakland When Emilio “Mimi” Castillo launched Tower of Power with fellow sax player […]
11 Apr 2021
Album Review: Alabama Slim — The Parlor
When key rock musicians acknowledged their debt to blues figures in the 1960s, many of those bluesmen found themselves with a new and younger audience. Their belated wider recognition came […]
10 Apr 2021
Album Review: Selwyn Birchwood – Living in a Burning House
Even before the shrink wrap is off Selwyn Birchwood’s third album, it’s telegraphed that the package represents a more serious offering than what has come before. From its title to […]
09 Apr 2021
Kirk Fletcher’s Pathway to (and Through) the Blues, Part Five
Continued from Part Four … Fletcher celebrated his 45th birthday in December 2020; that’s still relatively young to be taking a look back at one’s life journey. But in some […]
08 Apr 2021
Kirk Fletcher’s Pathway to (and Through) the Blues, Part Four
Continued from Part Three … I’m Here & I’m Gone was Fletcher’s attempt at making what he calls “a sort of business card, so I could get gigs.” Looking back […]