Sleater-Kinney: Little Rope [Album Review]

Sleater-KinneyLittle RopeLoma Vista Recordings [2024] Album Overview: Sleater-Kinney’s album Little Rope is one of the most delicately layered records in the band’s nearly 30-year career. It explores themes of grief, loss, and navigating a world in perpetual crisis. The album’s emotional depth is evident in its complex arrangements and a lyrical focus. It is the … Read more

Sleater-Kinney – “Hell” [Video]

Sleater-Kinney has announced their eleventh studio album, Little Rope, which will be released January 19, 2024 via Loma Vista Recordings with a hauntingly intimate music video for lead single “Hell”, directed by Ashley Connor and starring Miranda July. Recorded at Flora Recording and Playback in Portland, Oregon with Grammy-winning producer John Congleton, Little Rope is … Read more

Margo Price: Strays [Album Review]

Margo PriceStraysLoma Vista Recordings [2023] When Nashville singer-songwriter Margo Price made her debut in 2016 with Midwest Farmer’s Daughter, on Jack White’s Third Man label, the album went to No. 1 on the UK Country Album Chart, and she earned a Best New Artist Grammy nomination. Here on her fourth studio album, Price, her co-writer … Read more

Soccer Mommy: Sometimes, Forever [Album Review]

Soccer MommySometimes, ForeverLoma Vista Recordings [2022] On the 2020 release, Color Theory, Soccer Mommy explored emotions across the spectrum, but clearly her lyrics felt most at home in the darker hues and textures of the palette. Of course, Soccer Mommy is singer/songwriter Sophie Allison; buoyed by a strong critical response and tours opening for Liz … Read more

Andrew Bird: Inside Problems [Album Review]

Andrew BirdInside ProblemsLoma Vista Recordings [2022] In the follow-up to his fine, Headphone Approved 2019 release, My Finest Work Yet, Andrew Bird continues to deliver smart, thoughtful music that displays his talented violin skills in catchy pop-oriented songs, most that defy simplistic genre categories. On that work, he seemed quite taken with the world of … Read more

Soccer Mommy – “Shotgun” [Video]

Soccer Mommy announces her new full-length album, Sometimes, Forever which will be released on June 24th via Loma Vista Recordings. Produced by Daniel Lopatin of Oneohtrix Point Never, this album cements Sophie Allison’s status as one of the most gifted songwriters making rock music right now. It sees Allison once again tapping into the turn-of-the-millenium … Read more

St. Vincent: Daddy’s Home [Album Review]

St. Vincent Daddy’s HomeLoma Vista Recordings [2021] One of the most intriguing aspects of the musical artistry of St. Vincent, aka Annie Clark, is that as she adapts her musical style to match the artistic aim of each project, she evolves in the way she presents herself, adapting a character to fit the concept. On … Read more

Manchester Orchestra: The Million Masks Of God [Album Review]

Manchester Orchestra The Million Masks of GodLoma Vista Recordings [2021] The sixth album from Atlanta alt/rock quartet Manchester Orchestra feels like the culmination of their 15 years as recording artists, bringing together their early guitar rock inclinations with the orchestrated compositional depth that came later. 2017’s A Black Mile to the Surface embraced a cinematic, … Read more

Artists Of The Week: Discover, Support, Share

Today at AOW, Chicago’s Neal Francis brings a funky groove your way, Kneeling In Piss showcase why they are a hidden gem in Columbus, Ohio and the indie Australian group Skegss make their US debut with a record that covers all areas of rock that should stick in your head. Neal FrancisChicago, Illinois If you … Read more

Manchester Orchestra – “Bed Head” [Video]

Manchester Orchestra have announced their new album The Million Masks of God will be released April 30th, 2021 via Loma Vista Recordings. The first single, “Bed Head” is two old friends existing in two separate realities,” explains lead singer Andy Hull. “It’s a conversation about the lives they lived, the consequences of life’s decisions, and … Read more

Soccer Mommy: Color Theory [Album Review]

Soccer Mommy color theoryLoma Vista [2020] On her fourth full-lenth album, Soccer Mommy (born, Sophie Allison) has used color coding to telegraph the emotional content of her songs, but her tactic of hiding her darker, emotionally charged lyrics in up-tempo pop melodies remains on “color theory.” In fact, her quick rise in popularity following the … Read more

Andrew Bird: My Finest Work Yet [Album Review]

Andrew Bird My Finest Work Yet Vista Loma Recordings [2019] Fire Note Says: Andrew Bird’s 10th solo album takes on the world of politics with artful music, clever, literate lyrics, and lots of violin and whistling. Album Review: Andrew Bird, the singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, most often associated with his violin playing, has been plugging away … Read more

St. Vincent: Masseduction [Album Review]

St. Vincent Masseduction Loma Vista Recordings [2017] Fire Note Says: St. Vincent builds on the success of her last album, bringing her performance art mechanics, manic guitar noise and energetic electro-pop hysterics face to face with tragedy and lives to tell about it. Album Review: St. Vincent’s eponymously titled 4th solo album, released in 2014, … Read more

Manchester Orchestra: A Black Mile To The Surface [Album Review]

Manchester Orchestra A Black Mile To The Surface Loma Vista Recordings [2017] Fire Note Says: A decade in, Adam Hull and Manchester Orchestra manage to stretch and grow their sound without losing connections to the passion and angst of their celebrated early work. Album Review: There’s an often unspoken challenge for artists that find a … Read more

Local Natives: Sunlit Youth [Album Review]

Local Natives Sunlit Youth Loma Vista Recordings [2016] Fire Note Says: Local Natives release an excitingly hifi new album. Album Review: How much you like the new Local Natives album, Sunlit Youth, depends on how much you’re a fan of music production. This is the third album that the California band has released, and has … Read more

HEALTH: Death Magic [Album Reivew]

HEALTH Death Magic Loma Vista Recordings [2015] Fire Note Says: The interstitial moments on Death Magic are the weapons this band has been sharpening for a decade. Album Review: HEALTH is a slow drive downtown after dark. A stretch of sodium lights, a rotting out office building, a peek down the riot alley in Mouth … Read more

Spoon: They Want My Soul [Album Review]

Spoon They Want My Soul Loma Vista/Republic Records [2014] Fire Note Says: Spoon’s They Want My Soul is a near-perfect return to form. Album Review: Thank God for Spoon. There were many signs pointing to the demise of the rock band that truly owned the first decade of the new millennium with albums like Girls … Read more

Manchester Orchestra: Cope [Album Review]

Manchester Orchestra Cope Loma Vista / Republic Records [2014] Fire Note Says: Manchester Orchestra goes bigger on their fourth album Cope. Album Review: The muscular guitar opening of “Top Notch” on Manchester Orchestra’s fourth album Cope is all business as the band makes the full transition from indie start-ups to mainstream alternative rock act. 2011’s … Read more

St. Vincent: St. Vincent [Album Review]

St. Vincent St. Vincent Loma Vista Recordings [2014] Fire Note Says: St. Vincent returns with a bold sense of confidence. What does that mean for you? Album Review: “I wanted to make a party record you could play at a funeral,” says Annie Clark a.k.a. St. Vincent of her new self-titled album. Being interesting is … Read more