Simon Workman 
The Autumn Defense Fifth Yep Roc Records [2014] Fire Note Says: Wilco members offer up immaculately-produced 60s-style pop-rock. Album Review: A collaboration between Wilco bassist John Stirratt and Wilco multi-instrumentalist Pat Sansone, The Autumn Defense started releasing albums around the same time as Wilco’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (though Sansone didn’t join Wilco until 2003). Now … Read more
Temples Sun Structures Fat Possum Records [2014] Fire Note Says: Temples’ impressive debut is melodic psych done right Album Review: Temples is a four-piece hailing from the small English town of Kettering and while they haven’t been around for long, their brand of pop-inflected psych rock has garnered a lot of attention. Listening to Sun … Read more
Lakefield Swan Songs EP Self-Released [2014] Fire Note Says: Lakefield makes a triumphant exit on their final release. Album Review: A full-length album and some touring under their belt, Lakefield has decided to call it quits six years after they formed. As a thank you to fans the Vancouver band has recorded Swan Songs, a … Read more
Kalle Mattson Someday, The Moon Will Be Gold Parliament Of Trees [2014] Fire Note Says: On Someday, The Moon Will Be Gold, Kalle Mattson expands his sound with collaborators. Album Review: Indie folk has always seemed to me to be a hard genre to break into—unless you have really strong songs, the genre itself seems … Read more
The New Old-Fashioned “Ladies” b/w “Indie Movie Scenes” Toxic Beauty Records [2014] Featured a few months back in one of our monthly Bandcamp Features, Dayton, Ohio’s The New Old-Fashioned are a five-piece Folk Rock/Alt-Country band fronted by songwriter/guitarist David Payne. The band’s sound recalls classic acts like Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Neil Young, and … Read more
Lo Fine Want Is A Great Need ASR [2013] Fire Note Says: Lo Fine’s third skillfully blends rock and folk with experimental elements. Album Review: Kevin O’Rourke and the revolving cast of Lo Fine have been making records for over a decade now, and while this is the first one this humble reviewer has had … Read more
Guided By Voices Motivational Jumpsuit GBV Inc. [2014] Fire Note Says: GBV hit a home run with their strongest “classic lineup reunion” album yet! Album Review: When Guided By Voices re-formed in 2011, no one knew how long it would last or how any new albums would stack up with their previous work. But the … Read more
Gloom Balloon You Make Me Feel Like A Natural Disaster / Fix The Sunshine Pts. 1-7 (An Ode To Bill Doss) Maximum Ames Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Gloom Balloon recall both the pop and experimental aspects of OTC while adding their own spin. Album Review: When I discovered The Olivia Tremor Control a couple … Read more
The Black Hollies Somewhere Between Here And Nowhere Ernest Jenning Record Co. [2013] Fire Note Says: The Black Hollies’ latest floats between ethereal psych and slow-burning rock. Album Review: Jersey City’s Black Hollies are obviously influenced by 60s acts (just look at their name, for one thing). Trippy guitars, buzzing synths and piping organs combine … Read more
The Paper Kites States Nettwerk Records [2013] Fire Note Says: The Paper Kites build on the success of their Young North EP. Album Review: When I reviewed The Paper Kites previous release, the Young North EP (TFN Review), I noted that the band seemed poised for greatness. The warm, shuffling folky atmosphere of the EP … Read more
Black Books Black Books Self-Released [2013] Fire Note Says: This may be Black Books’ first album, but they’ve clearly done their homework. Album Review: The biographical blurb on Black Books’ BandCamp page notes that the band has been “playing music together since forever.” It shows. Their debut album is by no means a classic, but … Read more
Royal Forest Spillway King Electric Record Company [2013] Fire Note Says: Royal Forest seamlessly blend Americana, psychedelia, and alternative rock on Spillway. Album Review: It’s usually a good sign when you come across an album you can’t easily categorize. Records that fit neatly into a genre box can be great, but they can also be … Read more
Death Cab For Cutie Transatlanticism (10th Anniversary Edition) Barsuk [2013] Fire Note Says: Ben Gibbard’s Transatlanticism demos are a great addition to the original. Album Review: Transatlanticism has always been my favorite Death Cab album. Their earlier albums had some great songs, but not all of them were great, and most were either limited by … Read more
Dent May Warm Blanket Paw Tracks [2013] Fire Note Says: Dent May’s latest provides a Warm Blanket of smooth, quirky indie pop. Album Review: Dent May’s music doesn’t sound like the product of someone from Mississippi. From the opening chords of “Turn Up the Speakers,” it’s apparent that this is no “southern rock” album, if … Read more
Paul McCartney New Hear Music [2013] Fire Note Says: Paul McCartney returns with one of his strongest modern-era albums. Album Review: Paul McCartney has been has been on quite a winning streak lately. However you feel about his recent standards album (the cheekily-titled Kisses on the Bottom), his recent records of original songs—under his own … Read more
It should come as no surprise that we’re big fans of 60’s music here at The Fire Note. That decade not only produced some of our favorite bands and records of all time, but its influence can still be felt today. We also enjoy finding the needle in a haystack—those albums we discover that not … Read more
Blouse Imperium Captured Tracks [2013] Fire Note Says: Blouse go all-out shoegaze on their sophomore album. Album Review: Blouse began a few years ago as a collaboration between vocalist/guitarist Charlie Hilton, bassist Patrick Adams, and Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s Jake Portrait. Placing Hilton’s ethereal vocals overtop a slew of synthesizers, their first self-titled album got them … Read more
The Kinks Muswell Hillbillies (Deluxe Edition) Universal Music UK [1971; 2013] Fire Note Says: Kinks klassic gets loaded up with great bonus material! Album Review: After “Lola” and its accompanying album (1970’s Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One,), The Kinks had a good deal of bargaining power: the single took the world by … Read more
Buffalo Tales Roadtrip Confessions Foyle Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Buffalo Tales’ tunes ramble and tremble on a roadtrip through Americana (by way of Australia). Album Review: It seems like every few years a slew of bands are lauded for “bringing back” roots rock, folk rock, Americana, whatever you want to call it. One only … Read more
Janelle Monáe The Electric Lady Wondaland Arts Society/Bad Boy [2013] Fire Note Says: Is The Electric Lady starting to run out of juice? Album Review: When Janelle Monáe started to garner mainstream attention with 2010’s The ArchAndroid, her style was totally unique. Equal parts James Brown, David Bowie, Lauryn Hill, and Alan Parsons, Monáe combined … Read more
Subways on the Sun recently released their fantastic debut album, The Honeymoon Stagecoach, which we reviewed earlier in August (TFN Review). The Seattle-based band plays catchy alternative rock and is influenced by a wide range of artists from The Beatles and Blur to Sonic Youth and Catherine Wheel. We recently caught up with the band … Read more
Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin Fly By Wire Polyvinyl Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Fly By Wire takes listeners on a tour of Cold War rock and pop. Album Review: Although Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin (SSLYBY from here on out) are named after Russia’s president of the 1990s, their music is rooted … Read more
Laura Veirs Warp And Weft Raven Marching Band Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Veirs offers up a more lushly-produced follow up to July Flame. Album Review: Portland-based Laura Veirs’ ninth album Warp And Weft feels like a natural extension of her excellent 2010 effort July Flame. But where that album felt as organic and natural … Read more
Bob Dylan Another Self Portrait (1969-1971): The Bootleg Series Vol. 10 Columbia Records [2013] Fire Note Says: From one of Dylan’s most reviled albums comes one of his most essential releases. Album Review: 1969-71 was one of many periods of transition for Bob Dylan, but it was one of the most important. He’d already gone … Read more
Fairport Convention Rising For The Moon (Deluxe Edition) UMG/Island Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Fairport Convention’s last album with Sandy Denny gets the deluxe treatment. Album Review: Fairport Convention are often credited with inventing folk rock—the British flavor of folk rock, that is. Their trilogy of 1969 albums with lead singer Sandy Denny—What We Did … Read more