St. Paul & The Broken BonesAngels In Science FictionATO Records [2023] For all their efforts to expand their 8-piece band’s sound to include psychedelia and hip-hop rhythms, and as wide ranging as their lyrical pursuits have been – whether exploring Greek mythology, space travel and astronomical phenomenon, or sci-fi fantasy – St. Paul and The … Read more
The Tallest Man On EarthHenry St.ANTI- [2023] In the title track of The Tallest Man on Earth’s 7th album, Henry St. Swedish singer-songwriter Kristian Matsson drops the façade for a moment, acknowledging that “I’m a little dude in the scape of songs/I know I’m wrong, I just feel it right.” While Matsson has described himself … Read more
FeistMultitudesInterscope Records [2023] Arriving six years after her last release, Canadian singer/songwriter Feist decided to workshop the songs for her sixth full-length album in a series of intimate residency events in Ottawa, Toronto and Hamburg. Throughout the 12 tracks of Multitudes, Feist returns repeatedly to the direct approach of folk music, finger-picking a nylon string … Read more
The Natural LinesThe Natural LinesBella Union [2023] From his own reporting, indie rocker Matt Pond PA has been trying to quit the music business for years, except for one thing. He says, “The problem is that I can’t stop writing songs.” So even after announcing in 2017 that he was laying his stage moniker—his real … Read more
MudhoneyPlastic EternitySub Pop Records [2023] Thirty-five years in, and two years after the Deluxe Edition re-release of their second full-length album, Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge; 30th Anniversary, Mudhoney has nothing to prove. Formed by singer/guitarist Mark Arm and lead guitarist Steve Turner, after their band Green River, which also included Pearl Jam’s Jeff Ament … Read more
Alasdair RobertsGrief In The Kitchen And Mirth In The HallDrag City Records [2023] Scottish-native and singer/guitarist, Alasdair Roberts has always loved the traditional folk music of his homeland, and again after two dozen or so solo and collaborative releases, he returns here with 12 traditional ballads. Recorded live in the studio over the course of … Read more
The New PornographersContinue As A GuestMerge Records [2023] For over two decades, The New Pornographers have been a reliable indie rock staple with a line-up that has varied from studio recordings to live shows on occasion. Formed in Vancouver by A.C. Newman, with Neko Case, a solo artist in her own right, and a crew … Read more
U2Songs Of SurrenderInterscope Records [2023] A while back, it became cool for a significant moment in time for major touring rock acts to pause in the middle of their set and pull out the acoustic guitars and move to a couch on the edge of the stage to create an intimate concert moment, no doubt … Read more
Lonnie HolleyOh Me, Oh MyJagjaguwar [2023] Long before Lonnie Holley made any music, he had been discovered as a visual artist and sculptor, initially making sandstone carvings from discarded stone linings used for industrial molds, but later constructing found-art sculptures from junkyard detritus and things discarded by our consumer-driven culture. Holley’s childhood as an African … Read more
Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs PigsLand Of SleeperRocket Recordings/Missing Piece Group Records [2023] Disciples of the riff fall to your knees and raise your hands to the heavens shouting, “we’re not worthy!” Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs is here to crush your skull with the solar mass of multiple black holes. Hailing … Read more
Philip SelwayStrange DanceBella Union [2023] Philip Selway, best known as the drummer in Radiohead, has released his third solo album revealing an affinity for the elegant and artful, technologically enhanced, somewhat experimental, larger than life arrangements that has long been part of his main band’s largest works. Surprisingly, Selway and producer Marta Salogni brought in … Read more
InhalerCuts & BruisesGeffen Records [2023] The first thing anyone is going to tell you about Irish band Inhaler is that the band’s singer and rhythm guitarist is Elijah Hewson, the son of U2’s Bono, and the minute you have that information it’s almost impossible not to hear the vocal similarities. What all the debates about … Read more
Shonen KnifeOur Best PlaceGood Caramel Records [2023] The Japanese female pop/punk trio that is Shonen Knife have been plugging along since the early 80’s, parlaying their novelty act status to a couple of major label releases in the early 90’s, including Rock Animals. Here on their 24th album, they are still plugging away, still pounding away … Read more
The 1984 DraftBest Friends ForeverPoptek/Sell The Heart/Engineer Records [2023] The Dayton music scene has no shortage of great bands, from heavy hitters like The Breeders and Guided by Voices to rising stars and personal favorites like M. Ross Perkins, The Gabbard Brothers, Heather Redman, and Speaking Suns. The 1984 Draft is another band you can … Read more
The WAEVEThe WAEVETransgressive Records [2023] The WAEVE represents a new collaboration between Blur lead guitarist and second vocalist Graham Coxon and Rose Elinor Dougall, who was in the British pop girl group The Pipettes in the 00’s, before pursuing a solo career that included collaborating with Mark Ronson, performing on his third solo album, “Record … Read more
Dave RowntreeRadio SongsCooking Vinyl [2023] 2023 is shaping up to be a big year for fans of the Britpop/alternative rock band Blur. While the quartet hasn’t toured since supporting their 2015 release, Magic Whip, Blur has already sold out one performance at London’s Wembly Stadium for this summer, and a second show currently on sale … Read more
Belle And SebastianLate DevelopersMatador Records [2023] When novelist Nick Hornsby wrote that “Sentimental music has this great way of taking you back somewhere at the same time that it takes you forward, so you feel nostalgic and hopeful at the same time,” he tapped into a vibe that runs close to the surface in the … Read more
HouseghostAnother RealmRad Girlfriend Records [2022] Another Realm is the sophomore album from punk group Houseghost out of Dayton, Ohio. The trio is made up of drummer Tyler Beaty (Goon, Break Yourself), guitarist/vocalist Nick Hamby (The Raging Nathans), and bassist/vocalist Kayla Hamby. The record was released in mid December of last year and is definitely worth … Read more
Nora O’ConnorMy HeartPravda Records [2022] Chicago-based vocalist Nora O’Connor’s list of credits providing backing vocal support, both in the studio and on tour, is as long as her arm. She’s recorded and toured with Iron and Wine, The Decemberists, Andrew Bird, Robbie Fulks, and sang on Mavis Staples’ “You Are Not Alone” album produced by … Read more
Todd RundgrenSpace ForceCleopatra Records [2022] Fifty two years into a career that includes more than twenty solo studio albums, another ten with the band Utopia, plus production credits on albums by the Grand Funk Railroad, The Tubes, New York Dolls, Psychedelic Furs, and Meatloaf’s mega-selling multiplatinum Bat Out of Hell, among others, plus a tour … Read more
SpoonLucifer On The MoonMatador Records [2022] In just a few weeks, The Fire Note will publish its writers’ favorites and picks for the best releases of the year, and it’ll be no surprise to find Spoon’s Lucifer on the Sofa near the top of my list. The “Headphone Approved” release has been nominated for a … Read more
Dream, IvoryAbout A BoyAWAL [2022] The music of Dream, Ivory is the product of Filipino/American twentysomething siblings raised on the endless musical resource of the internet. The duo released an eponymously titled EP in 2016, which their bio describes as the product of “hip hop heads celebrated for their skilled shoegaze.” In the intervening years, … Read more
Weyes BloodAnd In The Darkness, Hearts AglowSub Pop Records [2022] Singer/songwriter Natalie Mering performs under the moniker Weyes Blood, a name derived from her original stage name Wise Blood, taken from Flannery O’Connor’s debut novel. While her earliest works have been more experimental in nature, Mering has settled into a songwriting that recalls 70’s pop … Read more
The Tallest Man On EarthToo Late For EdelweissANTI- [2022] Swedish folk singer/songwriter Kristian Matsson performs under the moniker The Tallest Man on Earth, and Too Late for Edelweiss is his sixth full-length album, this one entirely made up of covers of songs written by other artists. Singing with just an acoustic guitar tends to get … Read more
PhoenixAlpha ZuluLoyaute/Glassnote Records [2022] It’s been 13 years since French electro/pop/alt/dance band Phoenix released their American breakout album, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix with hit singles “Lisztomanio” and “1901,” but here on their seventh studio album they return with a familiar melodic sensibility and dancefloor fervor. While the bulk of the dance tracks emphasize the band’s most … Read more