LambchopThe BibleMerge Records [2022] Over the decades, Kurt Wagner and his various collaborators have more than lived up to their early claim to the title “Nashville’s most f@%#ed up country band,” and that alone may explain how Lambchop’s artful, yet difficult music can leave one wanting, even searching for meaning and understanding and still filled … Read more
Richard X. Heyman67,000 Miles An AlbumTurn-Up Records [2022] The speed of the earth as it moves in orbit around the sun is 67,000 miles an hour, even though we go through our daily lives entirely unaware of our constant motion. An original member of the 60’s Jersey band, The Doughboys, Richard X. Heyman follows up … Read more
Archers Of LoafReason In DeclineMerge Records [2022] I know that I was not alone in my excitement when I heard that the original four members of Archers Of Loaf reunited and made a new album, Reason In Decline. It has been 24 years since this band released White Trash Heroes (1998), so I think the … Read more
SloanSteadyYep Roc Records [2022] Steady represents Sloan’s 13th full length album, and its release today coincides with the 30th anniversary of their debut record Smeared which came out in October 1992. Sloan are one of the rare bands to make it to their 13th album with all four original members which leads to their consistent … Read more
Lou ReedWords & Music, May 1965Light In The Attic Records [2022] The standard rock critic cliché often attributed to Brian Eno—he of early Roxy Music fame who went on to collaborate/produce albums with Robert Fripp, David Bowie, and U2 among many others, and a respected creator of experimental/ambient music—states that “The first Velvet Underground album … Read more
Daniel LanoisPlayer, PianoModern Recordings [2022] Here’s a sentence I never expected I’d write: Daniel Lanois has made a quiet, quaint, and charming little piano album. That’s right, the Daniel Lanois who joined with Brian Eno to produce two of U2’s most important albums, The Joshua Tree and Achtung, Baby, and produced albums by Bob Dylan, … Read more
DisqDesperately Imagining Someplace QuietSaddle Creek Records [2022] Can you imagine what it would have been like to release your debut record days before the forever changing pandemic lockdown? Well, that is exactly what happened to Madison, Wisconsin’s Disq as their debut, Collector (2020), was essentially released to silence. No touring and no real way to … Read more
The CultUnder The Midnight SunBlack Hill Records [2022] If they gave out rewards for perseverance, there’s no doubt that singer Ian Astbury and guitarist Billy Duffy on the long-running band The Cult would be major contenders. The band broke through commercially with their second album in 1985, Love, which included “She Sells Sanctuary,” one of … Read more
Tedeschi Trucks BandI Am The Moon: IV. FarewellFantasy / Concord Music [2022] There’s a satisfying sense of closure flowing nicely through the six songs of this final chapter in the Tedeschi Trucks Bands’ I Am The Moon project, with 18 songs spread over three previous EPs released monthly over the summer. The subtitle Farewell captures … Read more
Yeah Yeah YeahsCool It DownSecretly Canadian [2022] Returning to recording nine years after their last album, Mosquito, NYC’s Yeah Yeah Yeahs are back with a brief 8-track album acting as if nothing has really changed, and the dance floor is calling. Formed in 2000, the arty punk/dance rock trio – Karen O on vocals and … Read more
MercylandWe Never Lost A Single GamePropeller Sound Recordings [2022] Before David Barbe recorded three studio albums next to Bob Mould in his band Sugar, he was in another post-punk trio out of Athens, GA, Mercyland. Schooled in the fine art of studio engineering and record production by John Keane, Barbe and a couple others opened … Read more
Mike Adams At His Honest WeightGraphic BlandishmentJoyful Noise Recordings [2022] In spite of the inevitable earworm infestation, power-pop has proven to be one of the most reliable and long-lasting musical genre trends. Early British Invasion bands laid the groundwork, and iconic bands like Big Star, Cheap Trick, Weezer, and my personal favorite Material Issue have … Read more
Flogging MollyAnthemRise Records [2022] Although they were formed in Los Angeles in the late 90’s, Flogging Molly is a Celtic rock band led by Irish-born lead singer and songwriter Dave King. Taking their name from the first Irish pub that supported the band, Flogging Molly has followed the time-honored path of bands like The Pogues … Read more
Rhett MillerThe MisfitATO Records [2022] When Rhett Miller recorded his solo debut in 1989 with his friend and producer Murry Hammond, the two had not yet imagined that they’d go on to form Old 97’s – Miller on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Hammond on bass – and record a dozen albums over the course … Read more
BoonBad MachineWindow Sill Records [2022] Bad Machine, the fourth album from Philadelphia experimental rock and pop band Boon, is the second release from the now established quartet of Brendan Principato, Drew Sher, Andy Senken, and Dan Lynch. On the album’s first single, “Talking To” the bright guitar tones weave together like the poppier side of … Read more
GordiInhuman (EP)Jagjaguwar [2022] Gordi is the stage name adopted by Sophie Payten, an Australian artist once described as “folktronica,” for her unique mix of simple acoustic folk songs with lush atmospheric electronica and the heavy reverb and studio effects that give her voice an otherworldly feel. “Way I Go” opens with a strummed acoustic guitar, … Read more
Tall DwarfsUnravelled: 1981 – 2002 (Box Set)Merge Records [2022] Curiously, I’ve come across a number of American bands who might have 3 albums in their catalog even though they’re playing to small crowds here at home, yet their bio suggests that they’re “big in New Zealand.” Well, Tall Dwarfs are actually a New Zealand band … Read more
Kiwi Jr.ChopperSub Pop Records [2022] With Chopper, Canada’s Kiwi Jr. have now released three consistent indie rock albums over the last four years. This record feels bigger compared to previous efforts even though its ten tracks still deliver a similar catchy jangly rock experience but now the band has expanded into adding synths to the … Read more
Ryan AdamsFMPAX-AM [2022] All art is created within a larger social/cultural/political context, and when an artist makes a personal statement with their art or music, it will also to one degree or another say something about that person’s inner life, thoughts, and may reflect on their relationships, their experience in relation to the larger context. … Read more
She & HimMelt Away: A Tribute To Brian WilsonFantasy / Concord Music [2022] She & Him is the occasional musical duo that consists of actress and singer Zooey Deschanel, from the TV sitcom “New Girl” and films like “500 Days of Summer” and “Elf,” and M. Ward, who besides making about a dozen solo albums … Read more
WireNot About To DiePinkflag [2022] When an unofficial bootleg of this collection of band demos and sonic experiments first surfaced in the early 80’s, we’re told that the members of UK post-punk band Wire were none too pleased. But here, four decades later, with the band – three of the original members still intact – … Read more
Steve Earle & The DukesJerry JeffNew West Records [2022] Steve Earle remembers playing the Sand Mountain Coffee House in Houston, TX, when just starting out. He says there was a mural on the club’s back wall with the painted faces of Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark, and Jerry Jeff Walker; he could see the mural … Read more
Caroline SpenceTrue NorthRounder Records [2022] Virginia native, Caroline Spence did what any Americana singer/songwriter would do after winning the American Songwriter Lyric Contest and additional accolades at the Kerrville Folk Festville in 2014, she moved to Nashville and began making records for the Rounder label. Her 2017 release, Spades & Roses, won her comparisons to … Read more
InterpolThe Other Side Of Make-BelieveMatador Records [2022] On the easy-going final track of NYC-band Interpol’s 7th studio album, The Other Side of Make-Believe, vocalist Paul Banks sings, “I keep pushing it forward/all these obstacles in my way,” so perhaps the best advice given all of life’s challenges and disappointments is to “Go Easy.” In the … Read more
Tedeschi Trucks BandI Am The Moon: II. AscensionFantasy/Concord Music [2022] As promised, a month after the initial EP from the “I Am The Moon” project, Tedeschi Trucks Band returns with this 7-song second chapter, a further continuation of this thought experiment fleshed out in the band’s rich, musical vocabulary. On I. Crescent, especially in the … Read more