Lucinda Williams Good Souls Better AngelsHighway 20/Thirty Tigers [2020] Lucinda Williams has a remarkable, ragged, resilient singing voice, that is the perfect instrument for her honest, world-weary songs. I’m often reminded when I hear her singing that it was to Williams that Elvis Costello turned to in 2004 to share vocals for his song “There’s … Read more
X AlphabetlandFat Possum Records [2020] Of the bands that came out of the L.A. scene in the late 70’s and early 80’s, I tend to connect X with those bands that had a strong roots music connection that fueled their creativity. X arrived on the punk scene playing hard, fast sounds, sparked by the unique … Read more
Fiona Apple Fetch The Bolt CuttersEpic Records [2020] The title of Fiona Apple’s fifth album is telling. Drawn from the British crime-drama “The Fall,” which featured Gillian Anderson as a detective who, discovering some shackles where a woman has been abused, cries out: Fetch The Bolt Cutters. Those words become a metaphor for an artist … Read more
Soul Asylum Hurry Up And WaitBlue Élan Records [2020] Soul Asylum came of age in the early 80’s in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul playing the same clubs as Husker Du, The Replacements, The Suburbs, who all went on to sign major label record deals. Led by singer David Pirner and guitarist Dan Murphy, … Read more
WaxahatcheeSaint CloudMerge Records [2020] There are typically several times in a year when a record comes out that you just know it is good from the first track. Really good! That is exactly the feeling I experienced with Waxahatchee’s fifth record Saint Cloud. “Oxford” is the lead track and in the first several lines of … Read more
Black Market BrassUndying ThirstColemine Records [2020] Black Market Brass is a Minneapolis-based group performing their own brand of originally composed Afrobeat/Afrofunk music, and Undying Thirst is the group’s sophomore album and Colemine Records debut. The instrumental group is comprised of eleven musicians that form such a powerful force together that this record will blow you … Read more
Sleepies Time v PleasureSelf-Released [2020] Who: Sleepies awake from their three year hiatus to deliver a unique take on their sound. Sound: Sleepies branch off from their established jangly post-punk sound and dive into the early years of stripped-down post-punk with stunning results. I have been a fan of Sleepies since I heard the herky-jerky … Read more
Shell Of A Shell Away TeamExploding In Sound Records [2020] Who: Nashville, Tennessee quartet, Shell of a Shell ramp up the tension for their debut LP. Sound: Shell of a Shell continue to impress. Their sound makes me think of a blend of Pile’s or Rodan’s edginess and unconventional arrangements mixed with a contrasting side … Read more
Greg Dulli Random DesireRoyal Cream/BMG [2020] Greg Dulli may just now be getting around to making a solo studio album, but both as the lead singer for alt/rock heroes Afghan Whigs, and as the creative center of The Twilight Singers he’s cut a wide musical swath across a variety of music genres in his 30-plus … Read more
Drive-By Truckers The Unraveling ATO Records [2020] Album Review: The Drive-By Truckers are back with their 12th album, an obvious follow-up to their politically charged ’16 release, “American Band.” If anything, on The Unraveling, songwriters Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley have taken their inspiration right from the headlines as they write songs of protest over … Read more
Wolf Parade Thin Mind Sub Pop Records [2020] Fire Note Says: Wolf Parade, stripped back to the original Montreal power trio, create a strong mix of 80’s new wave sounds and forward-thinking modern rock on Thin Mind, their 5th album. Album Review: Thin Mind, the fifth full-length album from Montreal’s Wolf Parade, arrives with the … Read more
Mr. Wrong Create A Place Water Wing Records [2020] TFN Album Review: Create A Place is the sophomore album from Portland, Oregon’s Mr. Wrong and it can be summed up in one word – RIPPER. The female trio of Mof (guitar), Leona (bass) and Ursula (drums) offer up more fierceness here in their 9 songs … Read more
Joe Henry The Gospel According To Water earMUSIC [2019] Fire Note Says: Joe Henry’s 15th album arises out of a dire diagnosis, with reflections on mortality the befit a celebration of life. Album Review: Joe Henry’s 15th studio album, The Gospel According to Water, is unlike any other record you’ll listen to this year. All … Read more
Paul Orwell SMUT Heavy Soul! Records [2019] TFN Album Review: Sixties influenced London rocker Paul Orwell has returned with his third record SMUT and it is a retro sounding barn burner. It’s loud, it’s brash and it does not take much time hitting any brakes. This carefree delivery by Orwell is his engaging quality and … Read more
(Sandy) Alex G House Of Sugar Domino [2019] TFN Album Review: It is hard to believe that Alex Giannascoli, aka (Sandy) Alex G, has now released three albums on Domino Records with House of Sugar. The record represents his ninth album overall, which for some artists could be their entire catalog, but at age 26 … Read more
Ty Segall Pig Man Lives Volume I See Note / Drag City Records [2019] TFN Album Review: Ty Segall has been consistently releasing his style of garage indie rock music since 2007. Pig Man Lives Volume I is his new 4 LP vinyl only release compilation that captures his demos that span from 2007-2017. For … Read more
Angel Olsen All Mirrors Jagjaguwar [2019] TFN Album Review: Angel Olsen has become one of the premiere indie voices over the last several years which was boosted by her TFN Blazing Top 5 record in 2016, My Woman. From this point in time, Olsen has been building momentum and style which has all come together … Read more
Jesse Malin Sunset Kids Wicked Cool / Velvet Elk Records [2019] Fire Note Says: Jesse Malin’s 8th album recalls the best of an earlier era, with help from producer Lucinda Williams, and guest spots from Billie Joe Armstrong and Joseph Arthur. Album Review: Obviously, there’s no actual formula when it comes to writing a great … Read more
Guided By Voices Sweating The Plague GBV, Inc. [2019] TFN Album Review: Sweating The Plague is Guided By Voices third album release in 2019 and I feel it is their best. That statement alone could be debated for weeks, and already has in GBV groups across the land, but when the last strum of guitar … Read more
Tool Fear Inoculum RCA Records [2019] Fire Note Says: 13 years later Tool reawakens to deliver one of the most anticipated albums ever. Album Review: Speaking on Tool’s fifth album, Fear Inoculum, lead vocalist Maynard James Keenan, says, “the album covers the idea of embracing where we are right now, acknowledging where we’ve come from … Read more
Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds Ghosteen Ghosteen Ltd. [2019] Album Review: Even though we’d been told that the 2016 release from Nick Cave And the Bad Seeds, Skeleton Tree, had been written before the tragic death of his 15-year-old son, Arthur, the album’s stark, grief-stricken music and Cave’s emotional rendering of the song’s lyrics, … Read more
Gong Gong Gong Phantom Rhythm Wharf Cat Records [2019] Who: Guitar-and-bass duo Gong Gong Gong are from Beijing’s underground indie scene and Phantom Rhythm is their debut LP. Sound: Phantom Rhythm is a psychedelic blues jam that also has an energetic jazz and surf background that is sewn together by Cantonese lyrics. TFN Final Take: … Read more
WIVES So Removed City Slang [2019] Who: So Removed is the debut album from Queens, NY-based post-punks WIVES. Sound: WIVES have the New York swagger of The Strokes, channel the DC post-hardcore of Girls Against Boys, contain an edge of The Fall and bring out a similar Frank Black type Pixies vocal delivery. TFN Final … Read more
Kal Marks Let The Shit House Burn Down Exploding in Sound Records [2019] Who: Boston’s Kal Marks rip their way through a 5-track EP, laying everything to waste with their wonderfully grotesque sound. Sound: Kal Marks make beautiful, grungy noise. Off-putting to some, but it draws me in every time. TFN Final Take: Let The … Read more
Oso Oso Basking In The Glow Triple Crown Records [2019] Who: Long Island band Oso Oso return with their third album Basking In The Glow. Sound: Basking In The Glow has a catchy indie power pop and if you like Jimmy Eat World, Young Guv and The Promise Ring. TFN Final Take: If done correct, … Read more