review Archive
23 Jul 2020
Album Review: Spygenius – Man on the Sea
One observation made about The Beatles when they hit America is that they sang without thick Liverpudlian (Scouse) accents; they keys to their success were clearly myriad, but that may […]
21 Jul 2020
Album Review: Swingadelic — Bluesville
The point at which big band vocal jazz and r&b meets is one I enjoy exploring. And so, too, does the aggregation known as Swingadelic. On the New York City […]
20 Jul 2020
Album Review: Mrs. Fun — Truth
I tend to look with skepticism at guitar-drum duos; for me, it’s been done to death, and few did it with as much creative success as Flat Duo Jets. But […]
19 Jul 2020
EP Review: Local Nomad — s/t
I nearly gave this one a miss, based on the cover art alone. The cover graphic immediately made me think that I held in my hand a new release from […]
18 Jul 2020
Album Review: Open Sound — s/t
Fernando Perdomo is everywhere (including the virtual pages of this music magazine). Equally comfortable in (and skilled at) progressive rock and powerpop, he’s a utility man to the stars since […]
17 Jul 2020
Album Review: The 81’s — 2 Things & 118 Others
The 81’s (that’s their punctuation, not mine) make a Crazy Horse-styled, shaggy rock that bears the influence of folk (in the lyrical approach) and punk (in the guitar textures). Music […]
16 Jul 2020
Album Review: Cupid’s Carnival — Color-blind
When it comes to certain substrains of powerpop (itself a subgenre), being derivative is a feature, not a bug. Do you sound like the Beatles, Badfinger, Raspberries? Success! And quite […]
14 Jul 2020
Album Review: Coke Belda — 4
If Peter Noone was American, his singing voice might be all but indistinguishable from that of Coke Belda. And the music that Herman’s Hermits made isn’t miles away from the […]
13 Jul 2020
Album Review: Diamond Hands — III
Fans of hooks and high-energy, melodic rock should stop whatever they’re doing and make immediate purchase of this LP. Diamond Hands’ III is influenced by mid-period Beatles, but it also […]
12 Jul 2020
Album Review: The Limits – Songs About Girls
Reunions are a common occurrence in rock music. 1960s garage rock band The Limits never achieved any notability outside their hometown, but a new group bearing that name came out […]