Fancey: Love Mirage [Album Review]

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Fancey Love Mirage Stoner Disco Records [2017] Fire Note Says: Love Mirage is a soundtrack for all seasons, from the sunny thaw of Winter to the liberating joy of summertime. Album Review: Love Mirage, is the third release from Canadian polymath performer, Todd Fancey. Recorded under the name Fancey, retro influenced goodness is consistent throughout … Read more

Vagabon: Infinite Worlds [Album Review]

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Vagabon Infinite Worlds Father/Daughter Records [2017] Fire Note Says: Vagabon delivers an emotionally superb debut. Album Review: Rarely anymore does a debut album get me revved up but that is exactly what happened the first time I heard the songs of Cameroon-born artist Laetitia Tamko, aka Vagabond. Infinite Worlds is an album of finding herself … Read more

Rhiannon Giddens: Freedom Highway [Album Review]

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Rhiannon Giddens Freedom Highway Nonesuch Records [2017] Fire Note Says: Freedom Highway is a monumental achievement from Rhiannon Giddens. Album Review: One of the most powerful things that art can do is hold up a mirror to popular culture and society at large to reveal the ugly underbelly, the dark history that would otherwise be … Read more

Enemies: Valuables [Album Review]

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Enemies Valuables Topshelf Records [2016] Fire Note Says: Enemies go out on a high note. Album Review: The moment you fire up Enemies’ third album Valuables, you’re greeted with a jammy, proggy, sound. The Irish band, who announced their breakup after the release of this album, does an incredible job at creating ambience. Subdued vocals … Read more

Son Volt: Notes Of Blue [Album Review]

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Son Volt Notes Of Blue Transmit Sound/Thirty Tigers [2017] Fire Note Says: Jay Farrar employs plenty of finger-picking here that finds Son Volt rocking on song’s that capture life in the American Midwest. Album Review: It’s been four years since the last Son Volt album, Honky Tonk (Rounder, 2013), and Jay Farrar describes his effort … Read more

The Friday Fire Track: CFM – “Rise And Fall”

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CFM is the project of Charles Moothart. If you don’t know the band or name, you should know that he is a member of Fuzz, GØGGS and Ty Segall’s band. Today’s Friday Fire Track is from CFM’s second album, Dichotomy Desaturated, which is out April 7th via In The Red Records. “Rise and Fall” brings … Read more

TFN New Music Spotlight: The Poison Arrows – “Stuck On Screen”

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Chicago indie mainstays The Poison Arrows have a new album coming and “Stuck On Screen” is the first track. The band: Patrick Morris (Ex Don Caballero), Justin Sinkovich (ex Adombombpocketknife) and Adam Reach offer veteran crafted garage rock from Chicago and the special treat here is that “Stuck On Screen” features extra vocals from Scott … Read more

Ryan Adams: Prisoner [Album Review]

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Ryan Adams Prisoner PAX AM/Blue Note Records [2017] Fire Note Says: Ryan Adams explores heartbreak and loss on one of the best albums of his career. Album Review: It all starts with a rager, “Do You Still Love Me?” Which rocks like no other song on the album rocks. It’s the paranoia that gets the … Read more

Priests: Nothing Feels Natural [Album Review]

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Priests Nothing Feels Natural Sister Polygon Records [2017] Who: D.C. based experimental punk. Sound: Priests have toned down the surf punk rock distortion and rage for a more nuanced and precise sound peppered with bitter and biting social commentary. TFN Final Take: I have been listening to Priests for a few years and was impressed … Read more

Beach Slang: Here, I Made This For You (Mixtape Vol. 2) [Album Review]

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Beach Slang Here, I Made This For You (Mixtape Vol. 2) Polyvinyl Records [2017] Who: After just releasing their sophomore full-length, A Loud Bash Of Teenage Feelings (2016), Beach Slang returns with the second installment of its covers mixtape series. Sound: Replacements meets Bruce Springsteen rock from Philly on a can’t miss karaoke night! TFN … Read more

Young Legs: The Petal And The Page [Album Review]

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Young Legs The Petal and The Page Mint 400 Records [2016] Fire Note Says: Young Legs is heartfelt, bold, and enthralling. Album Review: Young Legs is primarily Steven Donahue, who hails from New Jersey. His second full-length album, The Petal and The Page defies genre classification. At times it is beautiful folk music, at others … Read more

Graham Repulski: I’m Even Younger Now [Album Review]

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Graham Repulski I’m Even Younger Now Shorter Recordings [2017] Who: Graham Repulski is a prolific lo-fi songwriter based in Philadelphia that has a plethora of releases which are full of catchy melodies and one minute master pieces. Sound: Lo-fi auteur Graham Repulski follows up 2016’s triple album release with a concise slab of psychedelic noise … Read more

The Friday Fire Track: The Cairo Gang – “What Can You Do?”

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You are well aware that TFN is consistently following Ty Segall, so we would not be doing our duty if we did not feature the new track by The Cairo Gang. Not familiar with the group? Well, The Cairo Gang is singer/songwriter/guitarist Emmett Kelly which is currently part of Segall’s Freedom Band. Kelly played on … Read more

Cloud Nothings: Life Without Sound [Album Review]

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Cloud Nothings Life Without Sound Carpark Records [2017] Fire Note Says: Leaving some of the angst behind, Baldi and co. turn the music towards inspiration. Album Review: Ever since we reviewed their sophomore album, 2012‘s Attack On Memory, Cloud Nothings had made nothing but the strongest impression on me and The Fire Note. Their follow … Read more

Here Lies Man “st” LTD Clear Vinyl – (Marcos Garcia from Antibalas)

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Marcos Garcia is the guitarist for Antibalas and frontman for Chico Mann. He has a new project in Here Lies Man, which is a fuzzed-out psych-rock combo that is being framed as Black Sabbath playing Afrobeat. Not sure about you but it just sounds like something everyone should hear! Right now you can still grab … Read more

Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears: Backlash [Album Review]

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Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears Backlash INgrooves Music Group [2017] Fire Note Says: Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears make the soulful rock return you expect! Album Review: Austin’s Black Joe Lewis is back and once again is adding The Honeybears into the moniker after his 2013 solo titled record Electric Slave. If you … Read more

Sinai Vessel: Brokenlegged [Album Review]

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Sinai Vessel Brokenlegged Tiny Engines [2017] Who: Sinai Vessel began as a one-man project for singer/guitarist Caleb Cordes which released a debut full length in 2011 and his Profanity EP in 2014, with the help of some volunteer musicians. The band we hear today formed after the 2014 release so Brokenlegged feels like a true … Read more

The Bitter Chills: Feel-Good Songs for Feel-Bad People [Album Review]

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The Bitter Chills Feel-Good Songs For Feel-Bad People Mint 400 Records [2017] Fire Note Says: The Bitter Chills take a big step forward, on their witty, often funny folk rock songs. Album Review: If you’re like me, and who isn’t, perhaps you’ve been taking life a little too seriously of late, maybe you find yourself … Read more

Ty Segall: Ty Segall [Album Review]

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Ty Segall Ty Segall Drag City Records [2017] Fire Note Says: Segall delivers one of the best albums of his career. Album Review: Opening with the thunderous guitar riff of “Break a Guitar” it is immediately obvious that Ty Segall is going to be a pretty special album. Last year’s Ty Segall offering Emotional Mugger … Read more

The Friday Fire Track: Jay Som – “The Bus Song”

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Last year, Jay Som – a.k.a. Bay Area-based singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Melina Duterte – released her early collection of songs entitled Turn Into. Now it is time for her proper debut on Polyvinyl titled Everybody Works due out March 10th. Today’s Friday Fire Track is from that new record and you will quickly hear why there is … Read more