I'm thrilled to see this, and huge congratulations to Sandy for this well-deserved award. Sandy was planning to come over to the US to share music until the pandemic struck. But they sent the award to him, and hopefully he will be able to tour both in the UK and elsewhere in the future. If … Continue reading Sandy McLelland-Album of the Year-Blues & Roots Radio Award
Really, the review I never thought I'd write. The Strokes. The New Abnormal. Someone asked what that meant. Well... Have you been to any of their concerts? Who were you? Not bro, not high school girl, not rich banker, not any of the Jeffrey Epstein group or anyone looking for trash and punk in the … Continue reading The Review I Never Thought I’d Write – The Strokes – The New Abnormal
I don’t look forward to anything, not even my morning coffee. Expectations of the worst sort. Bitter. Expensive. Slightly off cream. Slightly off soy milk. Frequently, no matter which direction things turn in, it’s best to have low expectations. I know people who tell me to have no expectations. In their eyes, I’m practically a … Continue reading Sandy McLelland – Cross the Line – all the stars review
Lull. A new song. “Sea Change.” Voice right up and center. That initial panic. It’s different. Is it going to be another plaintive vocal lament, will it all go wrong, the usual new song worry. And maybe it’s the teasing anxiety that makes the turn to relief bloom into blissful pleasure. That guitar … Continue reading Lull – Sea Change
DKNL - review - Draft - new single Different Recordings 8 lovely, dark stars "Swedish Noir-Pop Make Long Awaited Comeback" Draft is one of those words with both good and bad meanings in English. Draft can be the first thing you hand in, a step to having completed a paper, or a book, or even … Continue reading DNKL returns – review of Draft
In these interesting times, when even in the midst of doing something pleasurable, the siren call of the fall of western empire overwhelms and darkly enchants, it can be a little tricky to focus. Music could go either way, like history. Either one could take refuge in slickly produced examples of the corporate machine drooling … Continue reading Reunionunion – Perspective – album review
I had the pleasure of interviewing Bardi Johannsson of Gang Bang last year, and listening to him describe his musical process and the varied types of work he was involved with, from straight albums to theatrical music to film scores, was a reminder of all the possibilities in creative collaboration. His beautiful compositions could set … Continue reading Starwalker – Johannsson and Dunckel together
If you have heard of Lucius, it might have been via Matt Sharp, of Weezer past, and his incarnation as The Rentals, where they did sharp work providing vocals for Lost in Alphaville. Or it might have been Wildewoman, their debut album. Or maybe you noticed the two highly stylized look-alike women providing a unique … Continue reading Lucius releases new album Good Grief – review
New single from Lull – “Cicada/Rainer” This North London based-band was formed in early 2014 by Jon, Toby, Filipe and Simon. Their press compares them to Smashing Pumpkins, My Bloody Valentine and Slowdive. But they are very much their own. February 29th sees the release of single “Cicada/Rainer” on Plastic Fish. Cicada starts off with … Continue reading Lull brings out new music – Cicada and Rainer
Seratones Live at Mercury Lounge, NYC Seratones blew in on a southern breeze to NYC’s Mercury Lounge. Let’s let the singer, AJ Haynes, introduce, just as she did from the stage on Houston Street: “From Shreveport, Louisiana – you can blame us for all the slush and shit.” There’s definitely a warm weather vibe from … Continue reading Seratones – live at Mercury Lounge, NYC
