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
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
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
Gang Of Four Anti HeroGill Music [2020] After the death of long-time Gang of Four leader and lead guitarist, Andy Gill, in February, the band released the posthumous EP This Heaven Gives Me Migraine. It included a few spoken words from Gibb, a new track that had been slated for their follow up to last … Read more
The Lees Of MemoryMoon ShotSelf-Released [2020] There is something really refreshing and energizing about the latest The Lees Of Memory record Moon Shot. For all of those unfamiliar, The Lees of Memory is an indie rock trio featuring Superdrag co-founders John Davis and Brandon Fisher along with drummer Nick Slack. Moon Shot now represents the … Read more
BeansAll Together NowFlightless Records [2020] All Together Now is the Geelong-based quintet Beans (formally Baked Beans) follow up to their 2018 debut record Babble. The group has taken their already organ driven psych rock and perfected the formula as All Together Now is bigger, more addictive and dives deeper into the nostalgia of classic rock. … Read more
Pretenders Hate For SaleBMG [2020] Like many of the innovative, influential women artists who carved out a name for themselves in the early days of modern rock & roll music – Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Nina Simone, Janis Joplin, Grace Slick, Joni Mitchell, Linda Ronstadt, Joan Jett – Chrissie Hynde is practically a force of nature … Read more
Paul Melancon The Get Gos Action Hour!Self-Released [2020] Atlanta-based, power-pop indie rock artist, Paul Melancon released a number of full-length albums in the early 2000’s to a modicum of local success, even touring with the Indigo Girls. But then, as he described in this new album’s Kickstarter campaign, he went radio silent due to “severe … Read more
IntercoolerRead The RoomSilent Echo Records [2020] Brisbane, Australia’s Intercooler is not well known in the US but Read The Room is the bands fourth album and first since 2011. After making music together since 2001, the group got back in the studio with their original lineup and created one of the most hook filled powerpop … Read more
The Beths Jump Rope GazersCarpark Records [2020] The debut of Auckland, New Zealand band The Beths, Future Me Hates Me, was one of the musical bright spots of 2018, making it onto a lot of music critics’ ‘best of’ lists. We hear a continuation of the band’s bright power pop, and the smart songwriting by … Read more
BOYOWhere Have All My Friends Gone?Park The Van [2020] BOYO’s new album Where Have All My Friends Gone? is a refreshing slice of indie rock that blends lo-fi, bedroom pop and fuzzy guitars into one genre as its breakout simple melodies pull you into each song. BOYO of course is the moniker for Los Angeles-based … Read more
BananagunThe True Story Of BananagunFull Time Hobby [2020] When you name your band “Bananagun,” you’re setting up certain expectations for the listener. At the very least, they’re going to anticipate some eclectic music, possibly with a tropical vibe, and an oddball sense of humor. Hailing from Melbourne, Australia, the band mostly delivers on those promises … Read more
Japandroids Massey Fucking Hall (Live)ANTI- [2020] There’s a telling moment in Vancouver band Japandroids’ live concert album set, about three and half minutes into their third song “Heart Sweats,” where it feels like a natural ending. Drummer Dave Prowse stops playing and takes a long drink of water, while Brian King’s guitar’s power chords are … Read more
Mong TongMysteryGuruguru Brain [2020] If you have been reading the pages of TFN over the past year, you have probably noticed more press on the psychedelic scene that mostly has come from the other side of the globe. One of the leading labels on the cutting edge of the movement is Guruguru Brain. Their newest … Read more
KhruangbinMordechaiDead Oceans [2020] Khruangbin is the Houston-based group comprised of Laura Lee Ochoa (bass), Mark Speer (guitar), and Donald “DJ” Johnson (drums) and their third record, Mordechai, is easily one of the most chill party albums of 2020. Once again, the group brings their blended sounds of East Asian surf-rock, Persian funk, and Jamaican dub. … Read more
Ron Sexsmith HermitageCooking Vinyl [2020] While I’ve practically made it a personal mission to bring Canadian singer/songwriter Bruce Cockburn to the attention of American audiences whenever possible, there are numerous other Canadian artists who haven’t really gotten their due here in the lower 48. Ron Sexsmith came to American attention early in his career with … Read more
Joseph Arthur Come To Where I’m From (20th Anniversary Edition)Real World Records [2020] In 2000, the T Bone Burnett and Rick Will co-produced sophomore album from folk rock singer songwriter Joseph Arthur on the relatively new Real World label, created to give Peter Gabriel an outlet to expose folk to many of his world music … Read more
Neil Young HomegrownReprise Records [2020] This long “lost” Neil Young album was recorded late in 1974, two years after his classic solo, commercial breakout album, Harvest, which contained some of Young’s best known and loved songs – “Heart of Gold,” “Are You Ready for the Country,” “Old Man,” “Alabama,” and “The Needle and the Damage … Read more
Thee MVPsScience FictionEeasy Records [2020] It seems like more and more these days I need to look harder through my email to find some really good riff driven rock music. I know the suppression of rock is coming from the bigger general listening audiences current tastes but if your band is not from Australia, there … Read more
Built To Spill Built To Spill Plays The Songs Of Daniel JohnstonErnest Jenning Record Co. [2020] Who: Indie rock icons, Built to Spill cover 11 tracks from another indie rock icon, Daniel Johnstone. Sound: Boise, Idaho indie rock legends play it safe and respectful to give a fitting and often times, endearing tribute to Daniel … Read more
ICEThe Ice AgeRidingEasy Records [2020] In 2015 Riding Easy Records released the first volume in their Brown Acid series (compiled by Riding Easy’s Daniel Hall and Permanent Records owner Lance Baressi), which collects rare and unreleased tracks from the “underground comedown,” roughly defined as “after the first wave of psychedelia and before the emergence of … Read more
Rolling Blackouts Coastal FeverSideways To New ItalySub Pop Records [2020] Avoiding the sophomore album slump is a monumental task for any group that had a successful debut like Melbourne-based band Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever. Hope Downs (2018) had the college jangle at times like R.E.M., which then combined with the raw rock of The Replacements. … Read more