Joseph Arthur Come To Where I’m From (20th Anniversary Edition)Real World Records [2020] In 2000, the T Bone Burnett and Rick Will co-produced sophomore album from folk rock singer songwriter Joseph Arthur on the relatively new Real World label, created to give Peter Gabriel an outlet to expose folk to many of his world music … Read more
Bob Dylan Rough And Rowdy WaysColumbia Records [2020] At this point, there’s really no easy way to explain the unique place that Bob Dylan has marked out for himself in the rock music pantheon to those who set themselves beyond the reach of his artistic influence. In 2016, when Dylan was awarded the Nobel Prize … Read more
Neil Young HomegrownReprise Records [2020] This long “lost” Neil Young album was recorded late in 1974, two years after his classic solo, commercial breakout album, Harvest, which contained some of Young’s best known and loved songs – “Heart of Gold,” “Are You Ready for the Country,” “Old Man,” “Alabama,” and “The Needle and the Damage … Read more
JPLSapiens – Chapitre 1/3: ExordiumQuadrifonic [2020] The first thing you hear is the devil’s interval – the tritone being playing by a French Horn that just seems too appropriate. It’s little more than a nod to Tales From Topographic Oceans but it sets the stage for everything to come. Jean-Pierre Louveton (known simply as JPL) … Read more
Thee MVPsScience FictionEeasy Records [2020] It seems like more and more these days I need to look harder through my email to find some really good riff driven rock music. I know the suppression of rock is coming from the bigger general listening audiences current tastes but if your band is not from Australia, there … Read more
This week TFN brings you the garage pop from Arizona’s Exbats, Jay Watson (Tame Impala, Pond) and his newest GUM record from Australia and finally a quieter set of indie tunes from LA’s Photo Ops. Don’t forget the most important part here: Discover, Support, Share! The ExbatsBisbee, Arizona I can never pass over a solid … Read more
London-based punk trio Dream Wife – Rakel Mjöll, Bella Podpadec and Alice Go – released their sophomore album So When You Gonna… last week via Lucky Number, earning Rough Trade’s coveted title of Album of the Month. So When You Gonna… was produced and mixed by Bjork-producer Marta Salogni, deals with topics such as miscarriage … Read more
Terry Ohms · Curse Of The Bat TFN is thrilled to premiere a new track today from Birmingham’s Terry Ohms. The group is the alter ego of Wes McDonald, who has been making records under one moniker or another for the last 20 years that includes Vulture Whale, The Ohms and currently People Years. “Curse … Read more
Muzz MuzzMatador Records [2020] According the dictionary, “muzz” is a transitive verb which is British slang that means “to confuse” someone, or make them muzzy, which suggests that someone might be ill or drunk, while to make a picture “muzzy” means it’s unclear or out of focus. Which makes it a curious choice for a … Read more
Built To Spill Built To Spill Plays The Songs Of Daniel JohnstonErnest Jenning Record Co. [2020] Who: Indie rock icons, Built to Spill cover 11 tracks from another indie rock icon, Daniel Johnstone. Sound: Boise, Idaho indie rock legends play it safe and respectful to give a fitting and often times, endearing tribute to Daniel … Read more
Jaime Wyatt Neon CrossNew West Records [2020] Over the decades, county music has loved a hard luck story, a tears in your beer weeper about a romance gone bad, hard livin’ and hard lovin’ with the promise of a party on the weekend. But it also came with the expectation of authenticity, the idea … Read more
RVGFeralOur Golden Friend [2020] Melbourne’s RVG have returned with their sophomore album, Feral, and it completely rises the quartet to another level. There has been plenty of quality rock bands coming from Australia these days but where most of TFN highlights from that continent have been psychedelic garage rock, RVG will stun you with their … Read more
ICEThe Ice AgeRidingEasy Records [2020] In 2015 Riding Easy Records released the first volume in their Brown Acid series (compiled by Riding Easy’s Daniel Hall and Permanent Records owner Lance Baressi), which collects rare and unreleased tracks from the “underground comedown,” roughly defined as “after the first wave of psychedelia and before the emergence of … Read more
Jeff RosenstockNO DREAMPolyvinyl Records [2020] If you were to see Jeff Rosenstock walking down the street of Los Angeles you would have no idea that this is the dude that keeps punk rock alive and well in 2020. At 37, Rosenstock has become an unlikely hero in the scene with a band resume that includes … Read more
The 1975 Notes On A Conditional FormDirty Hit/Interscope Records [2020] By now, there are some constants that we can assert about The 1975. They like to dream big, and they love a wide concept with lots of room for experimentation. They come up with cool, often long album titles. Oh, and musically, well, they are … Read more
Rolling Blackouts Coastal FeverSideways To New ItalySub Pop Records [2020] Avoiding the sophomore album slump is a monumental task for any group that had a successful debut like Melbourne-based band Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever. Hope Downs (2018) had the college jangle at times like R.E.M., which then combined with the raw rock of The Replacements. … Read more
Dion Blues With FriendsKeeping The Blues Alive [2020] There are different levels of fame. There’s “one hit wonder” famous, and “once upon a time” famous, where you are remembered for your hits, and people flock around to remember when they were young. There’s that level of fame where the whole world knows you by just … Read more
Looking for some artists to spend some cash on Bandcamp tomorrow when they will waive their fees again to support the artists? Well, we have three you should consider with the mult-sounds of New York’s Mosses, a fantastic voice out of Durham in Skylar Gudasz and a solid five-piece band from Cambridge called Coo & … Read more
Victor Wainwright And The Train Memphis LoudRuf Records [2020] Keyboard player Victor Wainwright may have grown up in Georgia, as he suggests in the title from his 2005 debut Piana from Savannah, but as he sings on the title track of his new album he is now Memphis Loud. That track alone goes a long … Read more
2nd GradeHit To HitDouble Double Whammy [2020] With such a heavy world right now the sophomore record from Philadelphia’s 2nd Grade is the perfect dose of indie power pop to brighten any mood. Hit To Hit offers 24 tracks over 42 minutes and if you do the quick math it equals a short song music … Read more
Thao & The Get Down Stay DownTempleRibbon Music [2020] After 2016’s A Man Alive release Thao Nguyen lost interest in her music and the group as she struggled with multiple life issues. The good news is that she has returned with the groups fifth album Temple and it probably represents one of the most personal … Read more
Today The Fire Note is participating in #BlackOutTuesday and stands in solidarity with the #BlackLivesMatter movement and the protests against police violence. It is always our responsibility to work on anti-racism and TFN supports the voices affected by oppression, racism and hate. We ask that you all do the same. Below is a list of … Read more
Nick Andre · Snake Bite ft. Zion I Lateef The Truth Speaker Deuce Eclipse Here is a new track from San Francisco based music producer and co-founder of Slept On Records, Nick Andre. Nick has worked with some really talented artists and his new single “Snake Bite” features several of them which includes Zion I, … Read more
Perfume Genius Set My Heart On Fire ImmediatelyMatador Records [2020] You get the sense listening to the fifth album from Perfume Genius, aka Mike Hadreas, that at heart he’s a torch singer. Whatever the musical direction or production style an individual track takes – and he does just about everything here, from dirge-y electronica to … Read more
Today you can hear an unexpected duo out of California delivering a rock and metal mix, a rock power pop with punk edges from Chicago and some bedroom dreaminess from the West coast. Discover, Support, Share! Mrs. PissSacramento, California Mrs. Piss is a new collaboration between Chelsea Wolfe and Jess Gowrie. Drawing on their collective … Read more