Bill MalloneeHere It Opens With A Prayer, But It Closes With A SongSelf-Released [2022] Bill Mallonee may not be a household name, but he’s been making music for over 30 years, a decade leading the Athens, GA band Vigilantes of Love, and 20 years producing indie rock, folk/rock, and Americana as a solo artist. Currently … Read more
Bobby OrozaGet On The OthersideBig Crown Records [2022] By now, we have heard many artist experiences on how they survived the pandemic when everything was shut down. It is one thing for a large venue and mass sales artist to halt their daily activities but I don’t think many people understand how the lack of … Read more
HorsegirlVersions Of Modern PerformanceMatador Records [2022] Chicago’s Horsegirl is a fantastic throwback nod to some indie guitar greats of the past that include Sonic Youth, My Bloody Valentine and Gang Of Four. The trio of Penelope Lowenstein (guitar, vocals), Nora Cheng (guitar, vocals), and Gigi Reece (drums) represent a fresh face of artists that have … Read more
Sharon Van EttenWe’ve Been Going About This All WrongJagjaguwar [2022] There’s a lot going on in our world right now, and rocker Sharon Van Ettan, like many of us, takes the whole mess quite personally. In her song “Anything,” she admits to being “Up the whole night, undefined/Can’t stop thinking about peace and war.” But … Read more
Drive-By TruckersWelcome 2 Club XIIIATO Records [2022] The opening chords of Drive-By Truckers’ fourteenth studio album carry the dense distorted grungy guitar sound of The Dirty South in a way that recalls many of the band’s releases across their long, 26-year history. They lead the listener into the 7-minute talking blues of Patterson Hood’s The … Read more
DehdBlue SkiesFat Possum Records [2022] Chicago’s Dehd have grown with each album they have released since their self-titled debut came out in 2016. The band really seemed to be hitting a musical peak with 2020’s Headphone Approved Flower Of Devotion and with all the critical acclaim the indie band experienced – way more attention! That … Read more
WilcoCruel CountrydBpm Records [2022] The advance word on Wilco’s 12th studio album, Cruel Country, was that the long 21-song double-disc release would be a return of sorts to leader Jeff Tweedy’s country music roots. Tweedy’s previous work in Uncle Tupelo was largely responsible for creating that expectation, something the band strived to distance itself from … Read more
Golden ApplesGolden ApplesLame-O Records [2022] Led by guitarist/songwriter Russell Edling, Philadelphia-based Golden Apples started as more of a solo project but now has evolved into a full band lineup. Edling and the group showed a catchy indie pop style on their excellent Headphone Approved debut, Shadowland, just last year so this sophomore effort represents a … Read more
ColaDeep In ViewFire Talk Records [2022] Deep In View is the debut album from Cola. The band is made up of former Ought members Tim Darcy (vocals, guitar) and Ben Stidworthy (bass) alongside drummer Evan Cartwright (US Girls, The Weather Station). Titled after philosopher Alan Watts’ anthology of the same name, the record thrives on … Read more
MonophonicsSage MotelColemine Records [2022] San Francisco’s Monophonics have been serving up a high quality of soulful psychedelia since 2012’s In Your Brain. Over the years, the Bay Area band has increased their range and style while staying honest to the classic soul sounds. Sage Motel keeps the progression going as the record once again has … Read more
The SmileA Light For Attracting AttentionXL Recordings [2022] Thom Yorke will never tire of writing music. He might get “bored” of focusing on a single project for a while but, he just finds somewhere else to focus his creative output. Cue Glastonbury 2021 and the debut of Thom Yorke, Johnny Greenwood, and Tom Skinner (Sons … Read more
Spread JoyIIFeel It Records [2022] Chicago’s energetic post punk rockers, Spread Joy have returned with their sophomore release just a year after their excellent Headphone Approved self-titled debut hit our ears. The high energy band once again keeps the adrenaline level up and delivers another short in your face type of album. In fact, II … Read more
The WaterboysAll Souls HillCooking Vinyl [2022] Just a year short of 4 decades since Mike Scott introduced The Waterboys on its eponymous debut, the singer/songwriter best known for giving the world “The Whole of the Moon, continues to expand on his vision for “The Big Music.” A Scot by birth, Scott comes by his interest … Read more
Sunflower BeanHeadful Of SugarMom + Pop Music [2022] Like many smaller, working bands, the pandemic forced the power punk/pop trio, Sunflower Bean, to stop playing out, calling their future into question. The three members were forced into separate lockdowns while NYC shuttered all live music venues, creating identity crises for musicians that had been described … Read more
Rolling Blackouts Coastal FeverEndless RoomsSub Pop Records [2022] Melbourne, Australia’s Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever is a band that has the appearance of following an older music model. I believe with their third long player, Endless Rooms, that model continues to pay large dividends. Artist development is pretty much a thing of the past these days … Read more
Jon Spencer & The HITmakersSpencer Gets It LitBronze Rat/Shove Records [2022] All the way back to his early years in Pussy Galore, Jon Spencer has been wild, loose and unpredictable. The garage rock that he initially played transferred over to some punk blues in Boss Hog and then the super swag of the Jon Spencer … Read more
Diane CoffeeWith PeoplePolyvinyl Records [2022] Diane Coffee is the solo creative pop music project and nom de guerre of Shaun Fleming, who played drums for a while for Foxygen, and had a voice acting career in the early 00’s on a number of Disney Channel animated TV series, Kim Possible and Lilo & Stitch, … Read more
Ryan AdamsChrisPAX-AM [2022] Ryan Adams is playing for redemption on his 19th studio album, Chris, which he’s described as the third part of a trilogy that began with his 2020 release, Wednesday. Of course, Adams has been persona non grata since the NYTimes in February of 2019, where his ex-wife Mandy Moore and several other … Read more
Mister GoblinBunnyExploding In Sounds Records [2022] Sam Goblin (Two Inch Astronaut) returns with his third long player under the Mister Goblin moniker titled Bunny. The album is the quick follow up to last year’s Headphone Approved record, Four People In An Elevator And One Of Them Is The Devil, and now firmly roots Mister Goblin … Read more
Kurt Vile(watch my moves)Verve Records [2022] (watch my moves), the ninth studio album from Kurt Vile if you include his collaboration with Courtney Barnett on 2017’s Lotta Sea Lice, finds the Philadelphia-based folk/rock singer/songwriter guitarist in now familiar territory. A traditionally laid-back creator of jangly guitar rock, Vile used some of the pandemic shutdown to … Read more
King Gizzard & The Lizard WizardOmnium GatherumKGLW [2022] Over the last decade, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard have followed their muse wherever it happens to take them. From their early garage punk records and psychedelic trips to their latter-day excursions in prog rock, thrash metal, microtonal experiments, and electronica, the band is never afraid … Read more
Psychedelic Porn CrumpetsNight GnomesMarathon Artists [2022] From the outside looking in, the Psychedelic Porn Crumpets have been a band that I’ve always had interest in but have never pursued. Today that changes with the release of their 5th album Night Gnomes. Hailing from Australia (which has become an incredible psychedelic hotspot over the years) the … Read more
FonFon RuCollapse Of The Silver BridgeRepeating Cloud Records [2022] The sophomore album from Portland, Maine, post-punkers FonFon Ru is full of energy as it covers multiple sounds of the genre while being extremely focused. Collapse Of The Silver Bridge prominently features vocalist/guitarist Harry James, as his unique sounding voice drives each of the eight tracks … Read more
WeezerSZNZ: SpringCrush Music/Atlantic Records [2022] Even if you haven’t loved every step on the journey with Weezer, you have to be impressed by composer/bandleader Rivers Cuomo’s work ethic and high-quality output. Frankly, I was less than enamored with the mega-buzz that accompanied the band’s cover of “Africa” by Toto than say, the original the first … Read more
