review Archive
04 Aug 2024
Album Review: The Embryos – Selling What You Want to Buy
When we last checked in with the Embryos, it was way back in the “before time.” 2019, actually. The group merited notice not once but twice in that year, having […]
03 Aug 2024
Album Review: Tu-Ner – Tu-Ner for Lovers
Playing the music of King Crimson is technically demanding; it requires a level of musicianship to which most players can only aspire. Actually playing as a member of King Crimson […]
30 Jul 2024
Album Review: Rome 56 – Paradise is Free
Heartland twang, creamy vocal harmonies, shimmering powerpop jangle and Byrdsy/Petty-ish Southern lilt: all of those winning qualities make themselves known with the first minute of “The Man Behind the Man […]
21 Jul 2024
Album Review: The Tremeloes – Master
The cheery, breezy pop of The Tremeloes won the band more than 20 Top 40 hits between 1963 (when they were still known as Brian Poole and the Tremeloes) and […]
20 Jul 2024
Album Review: APB – The Radio 1 Sessions
A postpunk band from rural Scotland near Aberdeen, APB never quite hit the big time. The band released but two albums during its time in the spotlight, though the group […]
14 Jul 2024
Album Review: Donovan’s Brain — Fire Printing
I’ve covered more releases than I can easily count by Donovan’s Brain. (Okay, I counted, and it’s at least four. Math’s not my strong suit.) And there’s a reason for […]
13 Jul 2024
Album Review: Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee – Live From the Ash Grove
Growing up in the era of rock, I didn’t stumble across the blues until I was in high school. Frequenting a record store, one day I came across a trio […]
12 Jul 2024
Album Review: Barbara Dane – When I Was a Young Girl / On My Way
With a strong and sonorous voice, Detroit-born singer and guitarist Barbara Dane launched her recording career in the late 1950s. An impassioned political activist, Dane’s music was suffused with an […]
11 Jul 2024
Album Review: Altered Five Blues Band – Testifyin’
A five-song EP recorded in a quick two-day session in Nashville, Testifyin’ is the seventh studio release from this Milwaukee-based quintet. Produced by award-winning Tom Hambridge, the new set showcases […]
10 Jul 2024
Album Review: The Wicked Lo-Down – Out of Line
Formed in 2020 just prior to the world hitting the pause button, New England-based quintet The Wicked Lo-Down builds its sound on a combination of r&b and Texas blues. Led […]