The Gaslight AnthemHistory BooksRich Mahogany Recordings [2023] The Gaslight Anthem, after a nearly decade-long hiatus, returns with their sixth full-length album, History Books. This New Jersey-born band continues to deliver their soulful, life-affirming rock sound, delving into topics ranging from mortality and mental health to the delicate aspects of human relationships. Since the release of … Read more
King Gizzard & The Lizard WizardThe Silver CordKGLW [2023] At this point in King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard’s career, it is a given that each new record will take you on a different musical journey. It is also a given that no genre is off-limits. Their extensive history and numerous outputs have seen the … Read more
Teenage FanclubNothing Lasts ForeverMerge Records [2023] One has to wonder if anyone thought about the possibility that they might be wearing the band name Teenage Fanclub still, over thirty years later, while the principle members were getting close to 60? Whether they were expecting to be a flash in the pan, or were in it … Read more
Cherry GlazerrI Don’t Want You AnymoreSecretly Canadian [2023] Clementine Creevy, also known as Cherry Glazerr, describes her fourth record, I Don’t Want You Anymore, as a “mature” album. This reference primarily relates to her personal growth rather than being a reflection of the record itself. This statement holds true in both the musical and lyrical … Read more
Graham Parker & The GoldtopsLast Chance to Learn the TwistBig Stir Records [2023] There was a time, the late 70’s to be exact, when Graham Parker’s name was often mentioned alongside Elvis Costello and Joe Jackson as the “angry young men” of British new wave or punk/pop, with regular debates about which artist was the … Read more
WilcoCousindBpm Records [2023] As a long-time fan of Jeff Tweedy and Wilco, I should probably acknowledge at the top that Cousin is not the rock record I was hoping for or expected. Talk around the band’s fanbase began suggesting as far back as 2018 that the Chicago based band, once labeled the “American Radiohead” (or … Read more
DeeperCareful!Sub Pop Records [2023] Already with two albums behind them, Chicago-based Deeper is ready for their close-up on this Sub Pop debut. There’s little doubt as you take in the lush landscapes of the thirteen tracks here that this guitar driven quartet has absorbed some of the major punk/pop influences of the late-70’s and 80’s, … Read more
Will Butler + Sister SquaresWill Butler + Sister SquaresMerge Records [2023] There should be little surprise that after spending 18 years playing in Arcade Fire, Will Butler carries some of that band’s sound and temperament with him into his debut with Sister Squares, or that his voice at times recalls that of his brother Win. … Read more
RatboysThe WindowTopshelf Records [2023] If you’ve yet to come to the realization that band names don’t always offer a helpful or accurate sense of the artist’s music, Ratboys is a case in point. First of all they have a female singer, and the primary musical motifs on their fourth studio full-length of original material, The … Read more
Buck MeekHaunted Mountain4AD [2023] By now, it’s obvious that the individual members of Big Thief are just as creative and productive individually as they are working together as a band. After the band released two separate full-length albums in 2019, U.F.O.F. and Two Hands, both earning attention in the Grammy nominating process, singer/songwriter Adrianne Lenker … Read more
Pale JayBewildermentColemine/Karma Chief Records [2023] Who is Pale Jay? The artist, one of Karma Chief Records’ latest signings, is something of an enigma, although we do know a few things about him: he’s trained as a jazz vocalist and pianist, calls southern California home, and always wears a red ski mask and white bucket hat … Read more
Bethany CosentinoNatural DisasterConcord Records [2023] After over a decade and 4 full-length studio albums with Best Coast, her band with multi-instrumentalist Bobb Bruno, Bethany Cosentino has stepped away to create her solo debut, Natural Disaster. Given her previous ventures in power pop/alt rock with excursions into surf rock and country, her solo work here, supported … Read more
Ceili RainCrash This GateSelf-Released [2023] The Celtic pop/rock band Ceili Rain, centered around lead singer Bob Halligan Jr., got its start in 1995 in Nashville, as a more personal artistic expression for the songwriter whose credits include songs recorded by metal acts like Judas Priest (“[Take These] Chains” and “Some Heads Are Gonna Rolls”), KISS, … Read more
Being DeadWhen Horses Would RunBayonet Records [2023] On their debut album, Being Dead takes listeners on a captivating journey through a psychedelic landscape that skillfully combines vintage influences with present-day experimentation. Comprising of friends Falcon Bitch and Gumball, the band demonstrates an adeptness for blending elements of lo-fi, surf, folk, jazz, and indie rock into … Read more
Bush TetrasThey Live In My HeadWharf Cat Records [2023] That this is only the third album from NYC band, Bush Tetras, belies the fact that the band’s remaining original members – guitarist Pat Place and vocalist Cynthia Sley – have been playing around the New York club scene since 1979; the label bio suggest the … Read more
Mull Historical SocietyIn My Mind There’s A RoomXtra Mile Recordings [2023] In this rare and unique artistic venture, author and musician Colin MacIntyre, who records music under the moniker of the Mull Historical Society, seeks to bring together the two artistic worlds of his creative life. As an author, MacIntyre’s debut novel, “The Letters of … Read more
Cut WormsCut WormsJagjaguwar [2023] Besides making the case that all the good band names have been taken, Max Clarke’s third, self-titled album as Cut Worms feels like an attempt to take singer/songwriter pop music back to the early days of rock & roll before the Beatles and Stones started speeding things up, with front-loaded loud … Read more
Lucinda WilliamsStories From A Rock N’ Roll HeartHighway 20/Thirty Tigers [2023] Professionally, 2020 was set up to be a great year for the celebrated singer/songwriter Lucinda Williams. Over two decades after her breakthrough album, 1998’s Carwheels on a Gravel Road, her 15th album Good Souls Better Angels, with its anti-Trump anthem “Man Without a Soul,” … Read more
GrouploveI Want It All Right NowGlassnote Records [2023] Atlanta-based, power-pop meets 90’s indie rock band Grouplove may have come on the scene in 2011 declaring that we should “Never Trust a Happy Song,” but their strong suit has always been those big, high-energy sing-along choruses carried by husband-and-wife lead vocalists, Christian Zucconi and Hannah Hooper. … Read more
Albert Hammond JrMelodies On HiatusRed Bull Records [2023] While The Strokes continue to be an ongoing concern, with the band opening for parts of the recent Red Hot Chili Peppers tour and the word in late in 2022 that the band was back in the studio with producer Rick Rubin, guitarist Albert Hammond Jr has … Read more
Queens Of The Stone AgeIn Times New Roman…Matador Records [2023] To say that Josh Homme has been an influential presence in rock music since the mid-’80s is an undeniable truth. Placed somewhere between a V8 Hemi and the undead Elvis, Homme has stumbled, fuzzed, buzzed, strutted, and grooved through all of his endeavors, gaining notoriety … Read more
Louise PostSleepwalkerEl Camino Media [2023] Nearly 30 years since Louise Post and her partner in crime Nina Gordon burst on the post-grunge alt/rock scene in the band Veruca Salt, Post has stepped away from her band to pursue a solo career and a broader musical palette rooted in more personal storytelling. Arriving on the scene … Read more
Noel Gallagher’s High Flying BirdsCouncil SkiesSour Mash Records [2023] Back when everyone was in lockdown due to the pandemic, Noel Gallagher recorded a bright, Britpop song with a bouncy chorus and full brass and string orchestration titled “We’re Going to Get There in the End,” a bold bit of optimism in the face of our … Read more
RancidTomorrow Never ComesEpitaph Records [2023] After a five-year hiatus, Rancid returns with their tenth studio album, Tomorrow Never Comes. This album marks a solid return to form for the band, blending a familiar sound with a refreshing energy. The album showcases Rancid’s trademark ska-punk style, infused with a more mature and refined edge. The songs … Read more
Shannon LayCovers Vol. 1Sub Pop Records [2023] Shannon Lay, formerly with the band Feels and part of Ty Segall’s backing band, has released a handful of indie releases as well as Sub Pop. On the abtly titled Covers Vol. 1 she serves up 9 songs written by her influences, past and current. Largely played on … Read more