Bent Arcana Bent ArcanaCastle Face Records [2020] Who: John Dwyer’s Bent Arcana was quite a surprise. To call them a supergroup doesn’t feel quite right but the players are on point. Filling out the line up: Ryan Sawyer, Peter Kerlin, Kyp Malone, Brad Caulkins, Tom Dolas, Marcos Rodriguez, Laena “Geronimo” Myers-Ionita, Joce Soubiran, and Andres … Read more
DMA’S The GlowInfectious Music [2020] In the half a dozen years that DMA’s have been together, they’ve proven to not only be productive, with an EP and now three full length albums to their credit, but also commercially viable in their native Australia and beyond. The band formed around three songwriters – singer Thomas O’Dell, … Read more
Sweeping PromisesHunger For A Way OutFeel It Records [2020] Sometimes simplicity is the key to great music and what you actually don’t hear can sometimes be the highlight. That is exactly what the Boston post-punk unit Sweeping Promises delivers on their debut album Hunger For A Way Out. The groups’ swagger, controlled intensity and focused … Read more
KnotKnotExploding In Sound Records [2020] I will totally admit that I was saddened in 2015 when I heard the news that Boston’s Krill had called it quits. The band produced some really good records that could be counted on for some powerful and quick post-punk. My mourning place for Krill was healed this year when … Read more
Kllo Maybe We CouldGhostly International [2020] These cousins from Melbourne Australia, Kllo (rhymes with “flow”) return with a follow-up to their 2017 electro-pop debut, Breakthrough. As described in their bio, the two abandoned recording together late in 2018, following tours that took them around the world twice, unsure about their musical direction and focus. Drawn … Read more
Moby All Visible ObjectsLittle Idiot/Mute Records [2020] The fact that we’re talking about the 17th album by Moby says a lot. Few artists have the distinction of taking a music form often limited to the club scene – dance, electronica, ambient – and giving it mainstream relevance, earning pop radio airplay in the bargain. Early … Read more
BullySUGAREGGSub Pop Records [2020] There is a lot to be said about restarts. That is what Bully’s third record, SUGAREGG, feels like as founder Alicia Bognanno admits that finding the proper treatment for her bipolar II disorder radically altered her mindset, freeing her from a cycle of paranoia and insecurity about her work. With that … Read more
Guided By VoicesMirrored AztecGBV Inc. [2020] Go big or go home feels like the unwritten motto on the newest Guided By Voices album Mirrored Aztec. On their second record release of 2020, GBV looks to hit every one of these eighteen tracks out of the rock n’ roll park! For fans, that means big riffs, … Read more
Old 97’s TwelfthATO Records [2020] The Old 97’s have been plugging away since forming in 1993, playing alt-country with such consistency that it might be tempting to take their musical strengths for granted. Picking up where cow-punk 80’s bands like Jason & the Scorchers and Lone Justice left off, singer Rhett Miller, guitarist Ken Bethea, … Read more
Bright Eyes Down In The Weeds, Where The World Once WasDead Oceans [2020] It’s been 9 years since the last album of new music by Bright Eyes, but singer Conor Oberst has been quite busy in the meantime. In 2016, he released an intimate solo acoustic album titled Ruminations, which was recorded only on guitar … Read more
Jason MolinaEight GatesSecretly Canadian [2020] Eight Gates is the last collection of solo studio recordings Jason Molina (Songs: Ohia, Magnolia Electric Co.) made before he passed away from complications related to alcoholism in 2013. Honestly, you really can’t listen to this record without getting a bit somber as this short 9 song record puts a … Read more
The Chicks GaslighterColumbia Records [2020] With women coming on strong in popular country music last year via strong feminist empowerment anthems from the Highwomen collaborative made up of Brandi Carlile, Amanda Shires, Natalie Hamby, and Maren Morris, and Carlile’s collaborative production giving Tanya Tucker a career reboot, you had to know that we were due … Read more
My Morning Jacket The Waterfall IIATO Records [2020] Back in 2015 when My Morning Jacket was releasing their well-received seventh studio album, The Waterfall, singer/songwriter Jim James reported that the band had recorded enough new music for it to be a double album. Like much of the MMJ oeuvre, that album was marked by the … Read more
WhitneyCandidSecretly Canadian [2020] Whitney really does seem like a band made to release a covers record. Especially, when most of the music business has been on shut down, so a record like Candid even makes more sense. Whitney has already released two records full of that warm 70’s radio ready soft rock sound so when … Read more
Kansas The Absence Of PresenceInside Out Music [2020] It’s one thing to find the right musicians to fill in key slots in a classic band like Kansas so that you can reproduce their sound and recreate the hits for fans who’ve memorized every guitar solo, every nuance and riff in the band’s repertoire. While a … Read more
CorikyCorikyDischord Records [2020] Just the thought of a new Fugazi record makes me want to run to the local record shop even during a pandemic! Ian MacKaye is just one of those personalities that if he is involved in a project you should check it out. With that said, Coriky is his new vehicle that … Read more
Honey RadarSing The Snow Away: The Chunklet YearsChunklet Industries [2020] Honey Radar is currently one of the best lo-fi bands on the indie scene. Led by Philadelphia musician Jason Henn, Honey Radar has been on a creative hot streak with their last two records and the band continually is successful by blending sounds of 60’s … Read more
Damaged BugBug On YonkersCastle Face Records [2020] Bug On Yonkers is the new album from John Dwyer’s (Oh Sees) Damaged Bug moniker and it quite possibly may be the best listen in their catalog. The even more interesting thing about this album is that it is a set of covers from Michael Yonkers. Michael Yonkers? … Read more
NOFX / Frank TurnerWest Coast Vs. WessexFat Wreck Chords [2020] When Fat Mike of NOFX phoned up Frank Turner and asked him if he wanted to do a split covers album the answer was a quick YES! West Coast Vs. Wessex finds NOFX filtering five of Turner’s songs through their lens while Turner pays back … Read more
Chris Taylor Born On The BeatSelf-Released [2020] Chris Taylor, a San Antonio artist, both a singer/songwriter and painter, is exemplary of how real indie rock artists (not those bands we call “indie rock” even though they’re signed to a major label) are struggling to get by, made all the more “interesting” by the current global … Read more
Fontaines D.C.A Hero’s DeathPartisan Records [2020] Last year’s debut, Dogrel, rapidly launched Dublin’s Fontaines D.C. style of post-punk into the spotlight. Quickly, the 5 piece band has returned with 11 new tracks on their sophomore release, A Hero’s Death. This feels like a quick turnaround, even in these COVID days, but after spending multiple rotations … Read more
DehdFlower Of DevotionFire Talk Records [2020] Dehd, the Chicago-based trio of Emily Kempf (vocals/bass), Jason Balla (vocals/guitar), and Eric McGrady (drums), have made grand steps forward on their latest album, Flower Of Devotion. Their 2019 record, Water, was all about not surrounding the songs with extras. Simple instruments, simple singing, and simple overall compositions. The … Read more
Randy Holden Population IIRidingEasy Records [2020] Randy Holden’s Population II has had a long, tortuous road to its most recent reissue, the ins and outs of which could probably support a full-length article if not a book. After stints in various garage rock bands including Los Angeles psych rock act The Other Half, Holden briefly … Read more
Liza Anne Bad VacationArts & Crafts [2020] Georgia-based, indie rocker Liza Anne returns with her fourth album of smart pop-craft, with plenty of 80’s new wave, pop/punk and rock influences on display. Past efforts have dealt with mental health issues head on in songs like “Panic Attack” and “Paranoia,” and here she describes the inner … Read more
The Psychedelic Furs Made Of RainCooking Vinyl [2020] As influential as UK post/punk rock band The Psychedelic Furs has been in modern music circles, it’s pretty surprising to look back at their discography and realize that the entirety of their studio recordings can be found on seven albums released over eleven years, between 1980 and … Read more