Hiss Golden Messenger just announced the forthcoming release of new studio album Quietly Blowing It, out June 25 via Merge Records. Written, arranged, and produced by bandleader/songwriter M.C. Taylor, Quietly Blowing It is the highly anticipated follow-up to 2019’s Terms of Surrender, which has been nominated for a 2021 GRAMMY® Award for Best Americana Album. … Read more
Teenage Fanclub returns in 2021 with their new album Endless Arcade. The legendary Scottish group’s first album since 2016’s Here, is out March 5th via Merge Records. Accompanying the album announcement is Endless Arcade’s opening song “Home,” with a music video. Though the track stretches to seven minutes on the album, its coda has been … Read more
The Mountain Goats Getting Into KnivesMerge Records [2020] The Mountain Goats’ singer/songwriter John Darnielle may be thought of by some as the poet laureate of all things nerdy due to entire albums drawn from the world of wrestling (Beat the Champ), Dungeons & Dragons (In League With Dragons), 80’s post-punk art rock (Goths), and obscure … Read more
The Mountain Goats are Getting Into Knives with the release of their new album on October 23. Already anticipated by TFN, Knives follows other recent Mountain Goats releases like April’s Songs for Pierre Chuvin and 2019’s In League with Dragons, but it has been more than five years since we’ve had a Mountain Goats music video in our lives. That changes with “Get … Read more
Bob Mould Blue HeartsMerge Records [2020] Bob Mould was raging against the machine a full decade before Rage Against the Machine was a band. Early albums with the Minneapolis-based punk trio Husker Du, including the monumental Zen Arcade, proved provocative and influential, due largely to Mould and drummer/singer Grant Hart’s penchant for writing fast, edgy … Read more
Bob Mould has released “Siberian Butterfly” off of his explosive upcoming album Blue Hearts, which arrives via Merge Records on Friday, September 25. Pre-orders are available HERE. Mould released this statement about “Siberian Butterfly”: The genesis of “Siberian Butterfly” spoke to the notion of “collectors” – people with excessive means who gather the works of creative folk for their … Read more
H.C. McEntire’s new song “Time, On Fire” builds and retracts with a driving pop drum beat, exploring movement like the ebb and flow of a river. It’s the perfect scene setter for Eno Axis, a new album McEntire aptly named after the river she lives beside, North Carolina’s sprawling Eno. McEntire describes “Time, On Fire” … Read more
WaxahatcheeSaint CloudMerge Records [2020] There are typically several times in a year when a record comes out that you just know it is good from the first track. Really good! That is exactly the feeling I experienced with Waxahatchee’s fifth record Saint Cloud. “Oxford” is the lead track and in the first several lines of … Read more
Cable TiesFar EnoughMerge Records [2020] There is one word to describe lead singer-guitarist Jenny McKechnie of Cable Ties – FIERCE! You will get to know her very well on Far Enough, the Melbourne group’s sophomore album and first for Merge Records. The opening track “Hope” is really all you need to hear to get hooked … Read more
Mikal Cronin Seeker Merge Records [2019] TFN Album Review: Seeker is Mikal Cronin’s fourth LP but he is probably known best as Ty Segall’s bass player. If you have been following the excellent solo work of Mikal Cronin you have become familiar with his more indie pop leanings of his last two excellent albums but … Read more
Redd Kross Beyond The Door Merge Records [2019] Album Review: Here in the new dark ages, I can think of no better antidote to the political malaise or our troubled times than the return of power-pop (with the emphasis on the “power” & the “pop”) wunderkinds, Redd Kross. Arriving in the 80’s along-side Material Issue, … Read more
The Mountain Goats In League With Dragons Merge Records [2019] Fire Note Says: Mountain Goats’ 17th album, In League With Dragons, takes on the world of Dungeons & Dragons, and various other wizards in singer/songwriter pop/rock that belies the darker stories. Album Review: After addressing the coming of age issues of Transcendental Youth back in … Read more
Ex Hex It’s Real Merge Records [2019] Who: It’s Real marks the return of Ex Hex. It has been five years since the power trio released their debut Rips. Sound: Ex Hex has a modern Joan Jett vibe with L7 type riffs. TFN Final Take: Right from the beginning of opening track “Tough Enough,” you … Read more
Bob Mould Sunshine Rock Merge Records [2019] Fire Note Says: Mould has always been one of alternative music’s bright shining stars. Album Review: Bob Mould makes a determined effort on his 14th solo studio album to turn from the darkness toward the light of Sunshine Rock. It’s a burst of positivity that he spells out … Read more
Mike Krol Power Chords Merge Records [2019] Who: LA-based Mike Krol is all about the power chords and hooks on his new LP. Sound: Power Chords is a delightful balancing act of garage rock, fuzz , power pop and earnest lyrics. TFN Final Take: Power Chords is the first Mike Krol album I have heard. … Read more
Wye Oak The Louder I Call, The Faster It Runs Merge Records [2018] Fire Note Says: Wye Oak puts out an album that’s worth going back to again and again. Album Review: The Baltimore duo Wye Oak (Jenn Wasner and Andy Stack) continue to hone and evolve their sound on their sixth studio album, The … Read more
Titus Andronicus A Productive Cough Merge Records [2018] Who: A continually evolving band from New Jersey that is on their fifth full length. Sound: Known for their early indie punk rock, Titus Andronicus keep changing their game as A Productive Cough offers a more Bruce Springsteen meets Lucero that time warps back to 70’s Stones … Read more
Superchunk What A Time To Be Alive Merge Records [2018] Who: Chapel Hill’s Superchunk pull no punches and hit the current U.S. administration On the Mouth for being so Foolish. Sound: A relentless, urgent slice of Superchunk’s style of power-pop punk that never takes its foot off the gas. TFN Final Take: Superchunk have put … Read more
Waxahatchee Out In The Storm Merge Records [2017] Fire Note Says: Katie Crutchfield continues to impress with a tight and inspired set. Album Review: If you don’t know the names Waxahatchee or Katie Crutchfield don’t feel too bad. Now you do and, if I’m right, so will a large swath of the music consuming public. … Read more
The Mountain Goats Goths Merge Records [2017] Fire Note Says: John Darnielle tweaks his approach for his 16th proper album. Album Review: As story tellers go, John Darnielle has few peers: Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie, Sufjan Stevens, maybe a handful of other names, but the league to which he belongs is exclusive indeed. For the … Read more
Teenage Fanclub Here Merge Records [2016] Fire Note Says: Teenage Fanclub return with a familiar power pop sound. Album Review: Scottish alternative rockers, Teenage Fanclub, are best remembered for breakout albums like Bandwagonesque, Grand Prix, and Songs from Northern Britain, which all appeared in the band’s 90’s heyday when their brash power-pop instincts were in … Read more
Eric Bachmann Eric Bachmann Merge Records [2016] Fire Drill Album Review: A few chords into Eric Bachmann’s new record might make you think that your tracks are mislabeled because the Archers of Loaf and Crooked Fingers frontman is not brining you a solo dose of indie rock at all on his self-titled debut under his … Read more
Bob Mould Patch The Sky Merge Records [2016] Fire Drill Album Review: A loud Bob Mould record is a good one. Patch The Sky continues to turn up the volume, much like his previous two Merge Records releases, and once again finds Mould writing catchy and crunchy tunes. Patch The Sky finds more reverb than … Read more
Arcade Fire The Reflektor Tapes (Cassette Release) Sonovox/Merge Records [2015] Fire Drill Album Review: In conjunction with the theatrical release of their feature film The Reflektor Tapes, Arcade Fire also released a deluxe edition of Reflektor (2013) with bonus tracks. Now, if you already have the record then this cassette-only release of the six unreleased … Read more
Telekinesis Ad Infinitum Merge Records [2015] Fire Drill Album Review: I will stand by Telekinesis’ debut album (Telekinesis!) as one of the best power pop collections in the past ten years. Sadly, Michael Lerner (the artist behind the Telekinesis moniker) continues to drift away from the sound that worked so well then. His latest album, … Read more