Curtis Harding Face Your Fear ANTI- [2017] Fire Note Says: Curtis Harding can hold a groove with the best! Album Review: With the recent passing of the “Screaming Eagle of Soul,” Charles Bradley in September, Sonny Knight in June and Sharon Jones last year, the retro soul movement has taken a serious blow. Their talents … Read more
Bruce Cockburn Bone On Bone True North Records [2017] Fire Note Says: Bruce Cockburn may be the most successful living singer-songwriter that most Americans have never heard of. Album Review: Even with 33 albums to his name and a host of music awards in his native Canada, Bruce Cockburn may be the most successful living … Read more
Melkbelly Nothing Valley Wax Nine Records [2017] Who: Chicago quartet Melkbelly, comprised of Miranda Winters (vocals/guitar), brothers Bart (guitar) and Liam Winters (bass), and James Wetzel (drums)’ have just released their debut album, Nothing Valley, on Wax Nine Records, a sister label to Carpark Records headed by Sadie Dupuis of Speedy Ortiz. Sound: Melkbelly give … Read more
Robert Plant Carry Fire Nonesuch Records [2017] Fire Note Says: Carry Fire is Plant’s passion for life and love as expressed in music. Album Review: At 69, Robert Plant has been on a musical journey of discovery for a long, long time, but it only became obvious once he stepped out of the shadow of … Read more
Buffalo Killers Alive And Well In Ohio Alive Naturalsound Records [2017] Who: Alive And Well In Ohio marks the eighth album from Cincinnati’s Buffalo Killers. This album was recorded at their Howler Hills Farm analog studio and mixed and mastered by Mike Montgomery (R. Ring, Ampline). Sound: Buffalo Killers offer up a laid back muscular … Read more
Iron & Wine Beast Epic Sub Pop Records [2017] Fire Note Says: Sam Beam takes Iron & Wine back to basics on LP number six. Album Review: Ever since the first Iron & Wine album, 2002’s The Creek Drank The Cradle, the band has consistently added new dimensions to their basic sound. From the dense, … Read more
Prophets Of Rage Prophets Of Rage Fantasy Records [2017] Fire Note Says: This rap/rock supergroup converts the live energy and potent political lyrics of their past works into new rage-filled music for these challenging times. Album Review: One of the best live tours in the Fall of last year’s election season was the collaboration of … Read more
Racquet Club Racquet Club Rise Records [2017] Who: Racquet Club is a new veteran indie group that features members of Knapsack, The Jealous Sound, and Samiam. Sound: If you were fans of Knapsack and The Jealous Sound, Racquet Club follows suit with their style of indie emo rock lead by vocalist/guitarist Blair Shehan. TFN Final … Read more
Neil Finn Out Of Silence Lester Records [2017] Fire Note Says: Neil Finn, late of Crowded House and Split Enz, delivers mature, intimate pop sounds focused by piano and an orchestra. Album Review: Face to face with terrorism, whether of the international kind that generates so much of the news and dialogue these days, or … Read more
Beck Colors Fonograf/Capitol Records [2017] Fire Note Says: Beck knows that we just need a safe place where we can boogie. Album Review: A funny thing happened back in 2015 when Beck won three Grammys for his album Morning Phase, released the previous year; the album picked up the prestigious awards for Album of the … Read more
A. Savage Thawing Dawn Dull Tools [2017] Who: A. Savage is best known as one of the frontman for Parquet Courts. This is his first solo record, that was recorded between December 2016 and June 2017 by a group of Savage’s friends that included members of Woods, Ultimate Painting, PC Worship, EZTV, Sunwatchers, and Psychic … Read more
Alvvays Antisocialites Polyvinyl Records [2017] Fire Note Says: Alvvays’s second album is an indie pop delight. Album Review: Alvvays made a splash three years ago with their self-titled debut. Their jangle pop was both interesting and fun, and it produced a couple of solid singles. The question is: will Alvvays be able to revisit those … Read more
Cage The Elephant Unpeeled RCA Records [2017] Fire Note Says: A clever way to appreciate a consistent rock band. Album Review: As someone who’s writing his third Cage The Elephant review, it surprises me how much I enjoyed Unpeeled. Let me explain: Each studio album for Cage The Elephant has varied in its highs and … Read more
Courtney Barnett & Kurt Vile Lotta Sea Lice Matador Records [2017] Fire Note Says: You are invited to the conversation between Courtney and Kurt. Album Review: In today’s indie music scene I cannot think of that many pairings that have an equal rising momentum of Kurt Vile and Courtney Barnett. Both successful singer/songwriters in their … Read more
Queens Of The Stone Age Villains Matador Records [2017] Fire Note Says: In a world of posers, Homme and Co. return to maintain the fact that rock can still be cool. Album Review: Queens of the Stone Age have been making records since 1998. In fact, frontman Josh Homme has been influencing music ever since … Read more
ORB Naturality Castle Face/Flightless Records [2017] Who: ORB hail from Australia and run around with label mates King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard which are both on Flightless and Castle Face Records. Naturality is their sophomore record. Sound: The band is known for their thunderous heavy sludge riffs. Naturality continues this muscle but now finds … Read more
Kelley Stoltz Que Aura Castle Face Records [2017] Kelley Stoltz continues to fly under the radar with his addicting psych indie rock. His newest long player on Castle Face, Que Aura, has a slickness to it that feels natural and seems easy for Stoltz as he incorporates plenty of keyboard snyth floating songs with his … Read more
The Cairo Gang Untouchable GOD? Records [2017] Album Review: Untouchable is the first Cairo Gang lp that I would say is top to bottom great. Now don’t get me wrong, Emmett Kelly has made some damn fine albums under the Cairo Gang moniker, but Untouchable is the one for me for sure. I don’t know … Read more
The Killers Wonderful Wonderful Island Records [2017] Fire Note Says: Epitomizing the band behind it, Wonderful Wonderful is grandiose, towering and bound to polarize. Album Review: In a lot of ways, The Killers are the Hillary Clinton of radio rock. Just…hear me out on this. Both have enjoyed wild swings in relevance and popularity during … Read more
Cheap Trick We’re All Alright! Big Machine [2017] Fire Note Says: Cheap Trick is still writing songs they care about, and their fans will too. Album Review: The first thing to notice here is that we have new music from Cheap Trick, recently inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2016. There … Read more
The Blow Brand New Abyss Self-Released [2017] Fire Note Says: On Brand New Abyss, The Blow submerges listeners in an accessible and confessional sea of synths, secrets and electro vibes. Album Review: When people think of electronic music, they typically don’t think of warm, soft synths, frank monologues and sparse arrangements. But with Brand New … Read more
The Side Eyes So Sick In The Red Records [2017] Southern California punk quartet The Side Eyes deliver a very raw in your face debut that rides on the fire inside of 22-year old lead singer Astrid McDonald. McDonald is the daughter of Go-Go’s guitarist-songwriter Charlotte Caffey and Redd Kross singer-guitarist Jeff McDonald so she … Read more
Lung Bottom Of The Barrel Self-Released [2017] Not many bands have the guts to have an electric cello be the focus but that is exactly what we get from Cincinnati’s Lung. Kate Wakefield (vocals, electric cello) and Daisy Caplan (drums), give you a powerful fierceness that never slows down. Lung keep you on the edge … Read more
Benjamin Gibbard Bandwagonesque Turntable Kitchen [2017] If you could only bring along one indie power pop record from the nineties to a desert island there is a good chance a good number of people would pick Teenage Fanclub’s Bandwagonesque (1991). Now, take that record and let a guy like Death Cab For Cutie’s Benjamin Gibbard … Read more
Filthy Friends Invitation Kill Rock Stars [2017] Fire Note Says: Sleater-Kinney’s Corin Tucker joins Peter Buck, Scott McCaughey, Kurt Bloch and Bill Rieflin to create an alt/rock super-group that’s more interested in the music than name recognition, and the record’s all the better for it. Album Review: You must reach a point, one would guess, … Read more