Flotation Toy Warning The Machine That Made Us Talitres [2017] Fire Note Says: Flotation Toy Warning returns after a 13-year hiatus and deliver a staggering masterpiece. Album Review: To say that I have been eagerly awaiting this album for some time would be a bit of an understatement. 2004’s Bluffer’s Guide to the Flight Deck … Read more
U2 w/ The Lumineers: MetLife Stadium; Meadowlands, New Jersey – Wednesday, June 28, 2017 After U2’s triumphant tour two years ago in support of their Son(g)s of Innocence release, everyone expected the next tour would center around the promised sequel, Songs of Experience. While the album was given a positive review critically in some corners … Read more
Beach Fossils Somersault Bayonet Records [2017] Fire Note Says: Beach Fossils keep things moving and interesting on Somersault. Album Review: Beach Fossils are impressive for many reasons, but the other bands that started as their offshoots is attention-grabbing. Former members John Pena and Cole Smith started Heavenly Beat, and DIIV, respectively. While Beach Fossils sit … Read more
Dan Auerbach Waiting On A Song Easy Eye Sound / Nonesuch Records [2017] Fire Note Says: Dan Auerbach is here to handle you with care. Album Review: Dan Auerbach is now at a musical level where everyone takes notice when he is involved with a project. It does not matter if he is producing records … Read more
King Washington Potential The End Records [2017] Fire Note Says: Inventive modern pop/rock quartet from LA, King Washington channel the best musical inclinations of the past in a hip, fresh sound. Album Review: King Washington is a talented indie-rock band from LA whose sound reveals artists that have mastered the musical vocabulary of some of … Read more
Matthew Sweet Tomorrow Forever Honeycomb Hideout/Sony/RED [2017] Fire Note Says: Matthew Sweet is back after a six-year hiatus and Tomorrow Forever finds him in top form. Album Review: With 11 albums under his belt, Matthew Sweet knows who he is. This eleventh LP, Tomorrow Forever, sees Sweet return to his power pop roots with clean, … Read more
Deep State Thought Garden Friendship Fever [2017] Fire Note Says: Deep State churn up a big, fast, punk rock sound on their second album, Thought Garden. Album Review: The four-piece punk rock band Deep State, from Athens, GA, churn up a big, fast swirl of sound for their second album, Thought Garden. From the start … Read more
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard Murder Of The Universe ATO/Flightless Records [2017] Fire Note Says: King Gizzard continue their 2017 releases with the chaptered concept album Murder Of The Universe. Album Review: Melbourne’s King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard are back with a behemoth of an album titled Murder Of The Universe. It is … Read more
Emperor X Oversleepers International Tiny Engines [2017] Fire Note Says: Offering an up-tempo lyrical tour of politics and contemporary despair, Oversleepers International will bewilder listeners and keep them on their toes with genre-bending arrangements. Album Review: If Conor Oberst had a knack for pop and dropped out of a Political Science PhD. program, he might’ve … Read more
Fleet Foxes Crack-Up Nonesuch Records [2017] Fire Note Says: Fleet Foxes go through artistic growth on Crack-Up. Album Review: Remember back to hazy, crazy days of the summer of 2008, when people were listening to folk music again, and we all fell in love with an indie act from Seattle that was leading the pack … Read more
Big Thief Capacity Saddle Creek Records [2017] Fire Note Says: Second album from Brooklyn quartet is more varied, more broken, more human. Album Review: After the clamour and scrawl of Big Thief’s debut album, Masterpiece, it might be a surprise to some that they start their follow up album, Capacity, with the track “Pretty Things” … Read more
The Dig Bloodshot Tokyo Roll Call Records [2017] Who: The Dig is a four-piece band from NYC. Sound: Groove-oriented rock/pop. TFN Final Take: The Dig give off a good first impression. The first two tracks on Bloodshot Tokyo show what the band is capable of: a bit dreamy, very catchy, and just odd enough to … Read more
Kevin Morby City Music Dead Oceans [2017] Fire Note Says: Kevin Morby changes the scenery and tempo for album number four. Album Review: Kevin Morby broke out last year with his fantastic third LP, Singing Saw. The record was easily his best to date and rightfully earned the #3 spot on TFN Top 50 of … Read more
R. Ring Ignite The Rest SofaBurn Records [2017] Who: Kelley Deal (Breeders) and Mike Montgomery (Ampline) join forces for their debut LP. Sound: Ignite the Rest is a stunning full length debut from R. Ring. It is so good that I have quit whining about wanting another Breeders LP…almost. TFN Final Take: To be truthful, … Read more
The Killers “The Man” Island Records [2017] The Killers are back. And if anybody thought that they would be dialing it back, they’ve got a post-Eighties disco-funk wall of sound to reckon with. The Las Vegas pop rock vets yesterday released the lead single from “Wonderful Wonderful,” their first full length LP since 2012’s “Battle … Read more
The Rubs Impossible Dream HoZac Records [2017] Who: The Rubs hail from Chicago and Impossible Dream is their sophomore album. Sound: Impossible Dream is a solid power pop album that has classic recording vibes that will remind you of Big Star while singer Joey Rubbish floats out some Elvis Costello type chops. The modern roll … Read more
Todd Rundgren White Night Cleopatra Records [2017] Fire Note Says: Veteran rocker Todd Rundgren mixes it up with Robyn, Trent Rezner of NIN, some new hip-hop friends, and a host of his contemporaries as he stretches out on this experimental synth pop collection. Album Review: Disclaimer: Although I’ve written professionally (and as a hobby) as … Read more
Fascinating Picture This Quality Time/Jurassic Pop Records [2017] Who: Fascinating is one of our favorite Ohio “slop-pop” groups that is fronted by Quality Time Records main man Ricky Hamilton. Sound: Fascinating plays a delightfully fuzzed up lo-fi post-punk that is gritty, determined and quick. TFN Final Take: Clearly, TFN enjoys distorted catchy pop tunes. You … Read more
Chris Stapleton From A Room: Volume 1 Mercury Records Nashville [2017] Fire Note Says: Chris Stapleton has arrived just in time to save country music from itself. Album Review: By the time, Chris Stapleton got around to releasing his 2015 solo debut, Traveller, he’d pretty much proved there he was an artist deeply rooted in … Read more
CFM Dichotomy Desaturated In The Red Records [2017] Who: Charles Francis Moothart, aka CFM, continues to branch out on his second solo LP. Sound: Dichotomy Desaturated is a bit of a departure from Moothart’s past work with Ty Segall, Mikal Cronin and Fuzz. TFN Final Take: Charles Francis Moothart’s second solo LP as CFM is … Read more
Nowhere Else Festival: Featuring Over the Rhine & the Band of Sweethearts, Birds of Chicago, Red Dirt Boys, Carrie Newcomer, Carrie Rodriguez, “Treasure of the Broken Land: The Songs of Mark Heard” with various artists, Matt Haeck, Levi Parham, and Phil Madiera Clinton County, OH – May 27 & 28, 2017 The forecast for Memorial … Read more
Gorillaz Humanz Parlophone/Warner Bros. [2017] Fire Note Says: Cartoon urban, dance/rap-core band, Gorillaz return with a mix-tape for the apocalypse. Album Review: Two cartoon bands come to mind: Gorillaz, and The Archies. Okay, The Monkees’ four characters were definitely conceived as cartoon-esque two-dimensional stick figures, but as time developed they grew as individualized, even humanized … Read more
Dream Machine The Illusion Castle Face Records [2017] Who: Dream Machine is a new band from lo-fi master Matthew Melton (Bare Wires, Warm Soda) and his wife Doris. Sound: You get Melton’s craft of fuzzed up power pop with the late 60’s / early 70’s rock of The Doors, Deep Purple and Iron Butterfly. This … Read more
The Mountain Goats Goths Merge Records [2017] Fire Note Says: John Darnielle tweaks his approach for his 16th proper album. Album Review: As story tellers go, John Darnielle has few peers: Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie, Sufjan Stevens, maybe a handful of other names, but the league to which he belongs is exclusive indeed. For the … Read more
The Smith Street Band More Scared Of You Than You Are Of Me SideOneDummy Records [2017] Fire Note Says: More Scared of You Than You are of Me is a fast and, ironically, fearless record that excels when its makers refuse to hold back. Album Review: Some bands are at their best when they’re at … Read more