Damon AlbarnThe Nearer The Fountain, More Pure The Stream FlowsTransgressive Records [2021] In many ways, Damon Albarn’s official second solo album is as influenced by his physical surroundings in Iceland, as his early breakthrough albums with the band Blur – Modern Life Is Rubbish, Parklife, and The Great Escape – offered a window into the … Read more
Robert Plant | Alison KraussRaising The RoofRounder Records [2021] The huge success created by the first collaboration by Led Zep rock howler Robert Plant and Americana/bluegrass darling of the Grand Ol’ Opry Alison Krauss was so counterintuitive that once they’d picked up their 6th Grammy Award for Raising Sand, “Album of the Year” for 2008,” … Read more
Gary Clark Jr.: Express LIVE; Columbus, OH; Tuesday, November 9, 2021 Before the lights went down and Gary Clark Jr. led his band to the stage of Express LIVE in Columbus on Tuesday night, it became clear as the roadies were setting tuned guitars into stands, turning on the guitar amps, checking levels on drums, etc., … Read more
Sufjan Stevens & Angelo De AugustineA Beginner’s MindAsthmatic Kitty Records [2021] Just as Sufjan Stevens turned to video game culture to inspire the music of his triumphant 2020 release, The Ascension, often echoing the genre’s use of electronic sounds and fast beats, here in collaboration with Angelo de Augustine, they turn to a variety of … Read more
Courtney BarnettThings Take Time, Take TimeMilk!/Mom+Pop Music/Marathon Artists [2021] Aussie indie/rock singer/songwriter Courtney Barnett’s third album, Things Take Time, Take Time, is the kind of intimate reflection on the small moments that combine to give shape to a person’s life that you might expect coming out of a pandemic lockdown. The chorus of “Rae Street,” … Read more
Laura Jane GraceAt War With The Silverfish (EP)Polyvinyl Records [2021] By now fans of Laura Jane Grace are well acquainted with her transitional journey, the physcial culmination of her songs on Against Me!’s 2014 album, Transgender Dysphoria Blues. While it’s not entirely clear what the future holds for Against Me!, Grace has been busily producing … Read more
My Morning JacketMy Morning JacketATO Records [2021] From all reports, there was a pretty good chance that the last music recorded by the members of My Morning Jacket playing together could easily have been the sessions that gave us 2015’s The Waterfall, and 2020’s leftovers, The Waterfall II. In the downtime following that tour, singer/songwriter … Read more
Lilly HiattLatelyNew West Records [2021] Nashville singer/songwriter Lilly Hiatt had the misfortune to release her last album, the Lincoln Parish (formerly of Cage the Elephant) produced Walking Proof, in March of 2020 just as the country was shutting down due to the pandemic. It was the kind of record you’d have expected the alt country/Americana … Read more
Mac McCaughanThe Sound Of YourselfMerge Records [2021] One of the perks of owning a record company would have to be that you get to make an album every now and then for your own pleasure, following your own muse without too much concern about marketing trends and commercial viability. Mac McCaughan, of the band Superchunk … Read more
Ada LeaOne Hand On The Steering Wheel The Other Sewing A GardenSaddle Creek Records [2021] All of the songs Ada Lea wrote for her follow-up to her 2019 release, What We Say In Private, describe events that have a deep connection to points in the neighborhood where she grew up in her native Montreal. While … Read more
The War On DrugsI Don’t Live Here AnymoreAtlantic Records [2021] It’s hard to imagine a new release with more anticipatory buzz than this new studio album from The War on Drugs. Following the band’s break out 2014 album, Lost in the Dream, which solidified the bona fides of Adam Granduciel’s songwriting, the band’s cohesion, and … Read more
Allison RussellOutside ChildFantasy Records [2021] In her solo debut album, Outside Child, Allison Russell finally gets around to telling her own story, in her own unique way. Previously in the Vancouver roots music group Po’ Girl, Russell migrated to the American midwest where she formed Birds of Chicago with her now husband JT Nero, mixing … Read more
Pokey LaFargeIn The Blossom Of Their ShadeNew West Records [2021] Anyone familiar with the work of Pokey LaFarge will tell you that his music is deeply rooted in the music of the past, think the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s, before rock got to rolling, when pop on the radio mingled jazz, country and lots of … Read more
Madi DiazHistory Of A FeelingANTI- [2021] If there are actually five stages of grief, Nashville singer/songwriter Madi Diaz may have stumbled on a few more levels of pain on her ANTI- Records debut, History Of A Feeling, where she explores her sense of loss at the ending of a significant relationship. Diaz left the Berklee … Read more
The Wild FeathersAlvaradoNew West Records [2021] As Nashville’s Wild Feathers entered their second decade as a band, they were more or less forced to pause and reflect on their early successes, like when their 2013 Jay Joyce produced debut rose to number one on the Billboard magazine’s Heatseeker’s chart of up-and-coming acts, and the band’s … Read more
Steve GunnOther YouMatador Records [2021] Steve Gunn may have started out as a go-to sideman who worked with Kurt Vile, desirable for his estimable guitar chops, here on his sixth solo album the singer/songwriter has created a potent collection that allow all his musical gifts and influences to coalesce. Recorded on the left coast, the … Read more
The BethsAuckland, New Zealand, 2020Carpark Records [2021] Power pop/rock band The Beths are easily the best thing to come out of New Zealand since Crowded House. With two strong studio albums under their belt – Future Me Hates Me in ’18, and Jump Rope Gazers in ’20 – the band took advantage of their nation’s … Read more
José GonzálezLocal ValleyCity Slang/Mute Records [2021] Swedish folk singer/songwriter and guitarist, José González brings his unique finger picking approach and take on world music to his fourth studio album on Local Valley, drawing on influences from Latin America and Africa. His fluid, often groovy approach to folk is enhanced by his six nylon stringed Spanish … Read more
The Ophelias CrocusJoyful Noise Recordings [2021] The Ophelias, an indie folk/rock quartet which got their start in Cincinnati, return with a third studio album, Crocus. While the four members came together after playing the role of the “token girl” in a male band, their collaboration grew from their combined creativity marked by the unique voice … Read more
Jeff Elbel + Ping The Threefinger OperaMarathon Records [2021] When life gives you lemons, the crafty among us make limoncello, the saying goes. If you have a talent for language and storytelling, you can turn any horrible event into The Great American Novel. But what if you are a musician and you have an injury … Read more
Alanis Morissette, “Jagged Little Pill 25th Anniversary Tour”, w/ Garbage, and Cat Power: Riverbend Music Center; Cincinnati, OH; Wednesday September 15, 2021 When Alanis Morissette finally hit the stage on Wednesday night you would have a hard time remembering that 26 years had passed since the release of her “Jagged Little Pill” as she paced … Read more
LowHey WhatSub Pop Records [2021] Hey What is the 13th studio album from Low, the curious noise band that juxtaposes challenging instrumentals against the sweet and often harmonious vocals of the married Minnesota duo, Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker. Like much of the contemporary compositions made in “serious music” circles (think modern takes on classical), … Read more
Alejandro Escovedo La CruzadaYep Roc Records [2021] Arriving 3 years after Alejandro Escovedo’s wonderful story about two young American immigrants – one from Italy, the other from Mexico – who bond over a love of punk rock and set out to explore the American cultural frontier, La Cruzada is that very same album, with all … Read more
Indigo De Souza Any Shape You TakeSaddle Creek Records [2021] At least twice a day, I hear someone complain about the state of modern music, often shaped by their belief that the music made when they were teenagers was “the golden era” of pop or rock, or music as a whole. What’s both sad and … Read more
St. Vincent: Daddy’s Home World Tour w/ Ali Macofsky: ICON Music Center; Cincinnati, OH – Tuesday, September 7, 2021 With the return of live music events, one of the concerts on my must-see list was St. Vincent, following the release of Daddy’s Home earlier this year, and year’s of hearing stellar reports about her artful … Read more