Cut Worms: Cut Worms [Album Review]

Cut WormsCut WormsJagjaguwar [2023] Besides making the case that all the good band names have been taken, Max Clarke’s third, self-titled album as Cut Worms feels like an attempt to take singer/songwriter pop music back to the early days of rock & roll before the Beatles and Stones started speeding things up, with front-loaded loud … Read more

Lonnie Holley: Oh Me, Oh My [Album Review]

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

Unknown Mortal Orchestra – “Layla” [Video]

Unknown Mortal Orchestra announces the release of the previously-teased forthcoming double album V, due March 17th via Jagjaguwar. Conceived in Palm Springs, California between the dry freeways and the lush coastline of Hilo, Hawaii, V is led by Hawaiian-New Zealand musician Ruban Nielson and draws from the rich traditions of West Coast AOR, classic hits, weirdo pop and Hawaiian … Read more

Gordi: Inhuman (EP) [Album Review]

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

Sharon Van Etten: We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong [Album Review]

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

Angel Olsen: Aisles EP [Album Review]

Angel OlsenAisles EPSomethingscosmic/Jagjaguwar [2021] Ever walk through the store shopping and whatever is playing over the speakers as background noise catches your attention? We have all been there – humming some “Karma, karma, karma, karma, karma chameleon” from Culture Club looking for a shirt, singing along with Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time” as you are … Read more

Big Red Machine – “The Ghost Of Cincinnati” [Video]

Big Red Machine have announced the second album from Aaron Dessner’s (The National) ever-morphing project with Justin Vernon ( Bon Iver). How Long Do You Think It’s Gonna Last? was produced by Dessner at his Long Pond studio in upstate New York and, over the course of 15 songs, celebrates his unique creative partnership with … Read more

Dinosaur Jr.: Sweep It Into Space [Album Review]

Dinosaur Jr. Sweep It Into SpaceJagjaguwar [2021] In a case of being in the wrong place at the right time, alternative rock power trio Dinosaur Jr. had their best-selling, major label releases in the first half of the 90’s, which got them lumped in with the grunge bands of the Pacific Northwest like Nirvana and … Read more

Okay Kaya: Watch This Liquid Pour Itself [Album Review]

Okay Kaya Watch This Liquid Pour Itself Jagjaguwar [2020] Fire Note Says: There’s a quirky artfulness in the minimalist experimental pop of Okay Kaya, as she mixes wry lyrical observations with simple vocal melodies. Album Review: Arriving just a week after the passing of Monty Python’s Terry Jones, the debut of Okay Kaya has a … Read more

Angel Olsen: All Mirrors [Album Review]

Angel Olsen All Mirrors Jagjaguwar [2019] TFN Album Review: Angel Olsen has become one of the premiere indie voices over the last several years which was boosted by her TFN Blazing Top 5 record in 2016, My Woman. From this point in time, Olsen has been building momentum and style which has all come together … Read more

Bon Iver: I,I [Album Review]

Bon Iver I,I Jagjaguwar [2019] Album Review: While “I,I”, the fourth album from Bon Iver, begins with “Yi” a 30 second smattering of electronic noise, voices, and an unsettling sense of dislocation, which would lead one to expect another album in the more experimental mode of 2016’s 22, A Million, soon something more focused and … Read more

Black Mountain: Destroyer [Album Review]

Black Mountain Destroyer Jagjaguwar [2019] Who: Stoney, space rock outfit from hailing from Vancouver, British Columbia. This album represents a new lineup having Rachel Fannan (Sleepy Sun) and Adam Bulgasem (Dommengang, Soft Kill). Sound: Black Mountain is a group of fuzzy, metal, rock warriors. Their albums never shy away from proggy passages or psychedelic situations. … Read more

Sharon Van Etten: Remind Me Tomorrow [Album Review]

Sharon Van Etten Remind Me Tomorrow Jagjaguwar [2019] Fire Note Says: Remind Me Tomorrow isn’t a total reinvention of the wheel, but it’s a welcome evolution that finds Sharon Van Etten at the top of her game. Album Review: Ever wondered what it would sound like if Arcade Fire and The National teamed up? No? … Read more

Unknown Mortal Orchestra: Sex & Food [Album Review]

Unknown Mortal Orchestra Sex & Food Jagjaguwar [2018] Fire Note Says: Unknown Mortal Orchestra shed some synths for more strings in this fun batch of songs. Album Review: I’ll alway remember the first time I heard Unknown Mortal Orchestra. In that basement in 2011 I’d never heard a style like it. I didn’t know that … Read more

Angel Olsen: Phases [Album Review]

Angel Olsen Phases Jagjaguwar [2017] Who: Indie singer/songwriter Angel Olsen began performing at a young age in St. Louis coffee shops and now after three full length albums she has progressed into one of the best female voices on the scene. Phases is a collection of B-sides, rarities, and demos from the past several years, … Read more

The Friday Fire Track: Wolf People – “Ninth Night”

How about some spirit-raising purveyors of pagan folk psyche prog from the UK? You say what? That is right, Wolf People are back in full force with a new album titled Ruins coming out November 11th via Jagjaguwar. Today we hit you with the first single off the record, “Ninth Night,” that sets the tone … Read more

Bon Iver: 22, A Million [Album Review]

Bon Iver 22, A Million Jagjaguwar [2016] Fire Note Says: The constantly evolving Bon Iver! Album Review: I never thought that Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon would stay contained to one style, sound or genre but the turn he has taken on his third record 22, A Million was not expected, slightly perplexing and a musical … Read more

Angel Olsen: My Woman [Album Review]

Angel Olsen My Woman Jagjaguwar [2016] Fire Drill Album Review: Angel Olsen’s third album makes a loud, brash entrance; My Woman’s first three tracks are top notch, including the remarkable “Shut Up Kiss Me.” That track will make you stop what you’re doing and take notice. It sounds like a Blondie song with its in-charge … Read more

Sharon Van Etten: I Don’t Want To Let You Down EP [Album Review]

Sharon Van Etten I Don’t Want To Let You Down EP Jagjaguwar [2015] Album Review: Sharon Van Etten’s new 5-track EP, I Don’t Want To Let You Down, feels like a coda to last year’s standout LP Are We There. However, this release is lacking some of the humor and fire that had Are We … Read more

Unknown Mortal Orchestra: Multi-Love [Album Review]

Unknown Mortal Orchestra Multi-Love Jagjaguwar [2015] Fire Note Says: UMO redefine what you thought you knew. Album Review: If you would have told me this time last year that I‘d be shaking my ass to a Unknown Mortal Orchestra album, I‘d have called you crazy. Having sprung out of New Zealand in 2011 with their … Read more