Phil Madeira Hornet’s NestMercyland Records [2021] With three jazzy piano albums under his belt in the last couple years, it’s no surprise by now that one of Phil Madeira’s musical heroes is jazz icon Thelonious Monk. That may be a surprise to anyone who’s only heard Madeira at his day job, playing backup to one … Read more
Mouse Rat The Awesome AlbumDualtone/Entertainment 720 [2021] Everyone’s heard the famous Oscar Wilde quote that “Life imitates Art far more than Art imitates Life,” but who could have guessed that the mythical band Mouse Rat from the TV comedy “Parks & Recreation” would announce their intention to release an album into the real world on … Read more
Jackson Browne Downhill From EverywhereInside Recordings [2021] Mention Jackson Browne’s name these days and folks’ eyes tend to glaze over while they try to explain the difference between folk/rock and soft rock as if it matters. But both as a songwriter and a performer, he’s always had a lot more going on artistically than those … Read more
The Joy Formidable Into The BlueHassle Records [2021] On its 5th full-length release, Welsh alternative rockers The Joy Formidable continue to deliver on The Big Roar, the title of its 2011 debut. A decade later on Into The Blue, the trio continue to evolve beyond their influences by wall-of-distortion shoegaze bands like My Bloody Valentine … Read more
T. Hardy Morris The Digital Age Of RomeNew West/Normaltown Records [2021] Sometimes an artist or musician taps a universal theme of love, hope, or purpose that transcends the everyday, and feels relevant in any context in which it is experienced because it’s not specific to any event or era. Classic rock songs may suggest a … Read more
Robert Finley Sharecropper’s SonEasy Eye Sound [2021] Robert Finley is a classic late bloomer. As the title of his sophomore album for Dan Auerbach’s Easy Eye label suggests, he’s a “Sharecropper’s Son,” who grew up singing Gospel music in the church, playing guitar and acting as bandleader in an Army band while serving in the … Read more
Emmylou Harris & Los Lobos: Rose Music Center; Dayton, OH – Saturday, August 7, 2021 Emmylou Harris was singing alternative country before it was cool, long before it was called Americana. With 14 Grammys and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, Harris’ early start singing harmony vocals for the likes of Gram Parsons (The Byrds, Flying … Read more
Yola Stand For MyselfEasy Eye Sound [2021] 2019 was a great year for British singer/songwriter, Yola, who’s debut solo album Walk Through Fire earned her a Best New Artist nomination at the Grammys. Born Yolanda Quartey in Bristol, England, the expatriate currently living in Nashville spent that summer on tour opening for Sheryl Crow, and … Read more
James Taylor & His All-Star Band w/ Jackson Browne: Wright State Nutter Center; Dayton, OH – Wednesday, August 4, 2021 Given the boyish grin on 73-year-old James Taylor’s face throughout his 90 minute set in front of the mostly full Nutter Center arena on Wednesday night, it would be hard to say who was the … Read more
Son Volt Electro MelodierTransmit Sound/Thirty Tigers [2021] There was a time back in the day, when Uncle Tupelo, the band often credited with kick-starting the alternative country craze, would close their shows with encore covers of Neil Young rocker “Cortez the Killer” or maybe “Cinnamon Girl,” Jay Farrar playing lead guitar through his worn SG. … Read more
Los Lobos Native SonsNew West Records [2021] When a band that’s been around just two years short of half a century puts out an album of covers, you might be tempted to think they were creatively running on fumes, about to run out of gas. But when Los Lobos creates an album celebrating the … Read more
Mudhoney Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge (30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)Sub Pop Records [2021] Mudhoney, a band name that just screams Seattle “grunge,” formed in 1988 after the demise of the band Green River, setting free Mark Arm and Steve Turner as well as two guys who went on to join Pearl Jam, Stone Gossard and … Read more
Hiss Golden Messenger Quietly Blowing ItMerge Records [2021] On the current single from his new album, “Sanctuary,” singer/songwriter MC Taylor, a.k.a. Hiss Golden Messenger, gets that the world is a mess right now. “Feeling bad, feeling blue,” he sings, acknowledging that “I know it feels like hell now/‘Til we get to the otherside,” he wants … Read more
Vanishing Shores MapsSelf-Released [2021] Cleveland, Ohio band Vanishing Shores delivers the kind of high energy, anthemic rock on their debut full-length release Maps, that aspires to fill arenas with big guitar sounds, floating synths, and big, power pop sing along choruses. This 8-song album is set-up like an opening set you might hear, delivered by … Read more
Sleater-Kinney The Path Of WellnessMom + Pop Music [2021] On the tenth album from Portland, Oregon’s Sleater-Kinney, the duo of Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein sound like the veteran musicians that they are working hard to both re-connect to the band’s nearly 30-year legacy, while continuing to evolve as they see fit. The tension is … Read more
Rose City Band Earth TripThrill Jockey Records [2021] Rose City Band is guitarist Ripley Johnson, a celebrated guitarist from Portland, Ore. who also sings and plays guitar with psychedelic rock band, Wooden Shjips, and as part of the more kraut-rock/psychedelic duo Moon Duo. Earth Trip, his third as Rose City and second on the Thrill … Read more
Faye Webster I Know I’m Funny hahaSecretly Canadian [2021] Atlanta-based, singer-songwriter Faye Webster got the biggest boost to her career when the first single from her new album, “Better Distractions,” found its way onto former President Barrack Obama’s 2020 end of year playlist, earning the song national and international attention. Smartly, the 23-year-old leads off … Read more
The Wallflowers Exit WoundsNew West Records [2021] By the time Jakob Dylan stepped into the studio with his band The Wallflowers to record Bringing Down the Horse, the band’s breakthrough 1996 sophomore album, it was more than obvious that he’d been studying the classics. But it was more complicated and interesting than simple lineage, the … Read more
Richard X Heyman Copious NotesTurn-Up Records [2021] Richard X Heyman, like most power-pop artists who came of age in the 80’s, draws on earlier generations for influences, most obviously the Beatles and British Invasion bands, LA sound bands like the Byrds, and pop songwriters from folk, R&B, and Motown. Starting out as a drummer in … Read more
Danny Elfman Big MessANTI-/Epitaph Records [2021] Rarely has an artist captured the tone and energy of their recording project as accurately and succinctly as Danny Elfman does here in the album title Big Mess. Of course, Elfman is best known of late as the composer of music scores for over a 100 films going all … Read more
The Mountain Goats Dark In HereMerge Records [2021] It’s hard off the top of my head to imagine a more prolific and talented songwriter currently working today than John Darnielle, the creative talent at the heart of The Mountain Goats. (Bill Mallonee is the only other contender that comes to mind.) But of course, quantity … Read more
Garbage No Gods No MastersStunvolume/Infectious Music [2021] Ever since Garbage came out of the box in 1995, the band – boasting Scottish front woman Shirley Manson and oft-lauded producer Butch Vig on drums – has created edgy alternative rock by wedding techno and electronic influences with dance-y, trip-hop rhythms and smart, crunchy power pop melodic … Read more
Black River Delta Shakin’SofaBurn Records [2021] After a couple of listens to the hardcore blues rock of Black River Delta’s third album, Shakin’, you’d likely be surprised to learn that this band doesn’t come from the southern U.S., or even Ohio like the similar sounding Black Keys, but is actually comprised of a quartet from … Read more
Liz Phair SoberishChrysalis Records [2021] When Liz Phair’s debut album, Exile In Guyville, was released in 1993, she was a critic’s darling and an indie rock superhero for her gutsy lyrical bravado. While the album was a modest commercial success, it was named the number one album of that year by Spin Magazine and the … Read more
Chrissie Hynde Standing In The Doorway: Chrissie Hynde Sings Bob DylanBMG [2021] Chrissie Hynde was fresh from the release of another very good Pretenders’ album, Hate For Sale, when everyone was reckoning with the fact that the pandemic wasn’t a passing thing, and tours and concerts were going to be on hold for another year. … Read more