Kansas The Absence Of PresenceInside Out Music [2020] It’s one thing to find the right musicians to fill in key slots in a classic band like Kansas so that you can reproduce their sound and recreate the hits for fans who’ve memorized every guitar solo, every nuance and riff in the band’s repertoire. While a … Read more
Chris Taylor Born On The BeatSelf-Released [2020] Chris Taylor, a San Antonio artist, both a singer/songwriter and painter, is exemplary of how real indie rock artists (not those bands we call “indie rock” even though they’re signed to a major label) are struggling to get by, made all the more “interesting” by the current global … Read more
Liza Anne Bad VacationArts & Crafts [2020] Georgia-based, indie rocker Liza Anne returns with her fourth album of smart pop-craft, with plenty of 80’s new wave, pop/punk and rock influences on display. Past efforts have dealt with mental health issues head on in songs like “Panic Attack” and “Paranoia,” and here she describes the inner … Read more
The Psychedelic Furs Made Of RainCooking Vinyl [2020] As influential as UK post/punk rock band The Psychedelic Furs has been in modern music circles, it’s pretty surprising to look back at their discography and realize that the entirety of their studio recordings can be found on seven albums released over eleven years, between 1980 and … Read more
Gang Of Four Anti HeroGill Music [2020] After the death of long-time Gang of Four leader and lead guitarist, Andy Gill, in February, the band released the posthumous EP This Heaven Gives Me Migraine. It included a few spoken words from Gibb, a new track that had been slated for their follow up to last … Read more
Taylor Swift FolkloreRepublic Records [2020] It’s almost hard to say what’s more surprising here, that Taylor Swift dropped a surprise new album last Thursday that was entirely recorded in the months of this virus pandemic quarantine, or that you’re reading about it here on The Fire Note, where we pride ourselves by primarily focusing on … Read more
Weiwu Are You Perfect Yet?Self-Released [2020] Weiwu is the name chosen by Michael Gungor, as he steps away from the contemporary Christian music band that he led with his wife, Gungor, to explore both a broader, more expansive musical and spiritual realm, which for lack of better genre definition has been loosely labeled as “New … Read more
Pretenders Hate For SaleBMG [2020] Like many of the innovative, influential women artists who carved out a name for themselves in the early days of modern rock & roll music – Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Nina Simone, Janis Joplin, Grace Slick, Joni Mitchell, Linda Ronstadt, Joan Jett – Chrissie Hynde is practically a force of nature … Read more
Paul Melancon The Get Gos Action Hour!Self-Released [2020] Atlanta-based, power-pop indie rock artist, Paul Melancon released a number of full-length albums in the early 2000’s to a modicum of local success, even touring with the Indigo Girls. But then, as he described in this new album’s Kickstarter campaign, he went radio silent due to “severe … Read more
Rufus Wainwright Unfollow The RulesBMG [2020] Somehow, even when Rufus Wainwright was getting a lot of buzz for the sophisticated sound on his self-titled debut (’98) and his sophomore outing, Poses, he felt like an old soul, someone who’s idea of pop music came from Cole Porter’s prestigious catalog in the 1930’s, and prone to … Read more
The Jayhawks XOXOSham/Thirty Tigers [2020] While the quartet of musicians at the heart of The Jayhawks have been together more or less for a quarter of a century, much of the attention around the band’s two breakout albums in the 90’s – “Hollywood Town Hall” and “Tomorrow the Green Grass” – much of the focus … Read more
The Beths Jump Rope GazersCarpark Records [2020] The debut of Auckland, New Zealand band The Beths, Future Me Hates Me, was one of the musical bright spots of 2018, making it onto a lot of music critics’ ‘best of’ lists. We hear a continuation of the band’s bright power pop, and the smart songwriting by … Read more
Wire 10:20Pinkflag [2020] While 2020 has taken a lot away from us, like live concerts and international travel, one thing we worth celebrating is that we not only got a strong new Wire album early in the year in Mind Hive, but now, intended as a Record Store Day release, we get a second studio … Read more
Japandroids Massey Fucking Hall (Live)ANTI- [2020] There’s a telling moment in Vancouver band Japandroids’ live concert album set, about three and half minutes into their third song “Heart Sweats,” where it feels like a natural ending. Drummer Dave Prowse stops playing and takes a long drink of water, while Brian King’s guitar’s power chords are … Read more
Phoebe Bridgers PunisherDead Oceans [2020] Phoebe Bridgers’ solo sophomore album arrives amid a growing demand for the young indie rock singer/songwriter. After the release of her debut, Stranger in the Alps in 2017, Bridgers formed the group Boygenius with Julian Baker and Lucy Dacus, releasing and EP in ’18 and then touring. In early ’19, … Read more
Ron Sexsmith HermitageCooking Vinyl [2020] While I’ve practically made it a personal mission to bring Canadian singer/songwriter Bruce Cockburn to the attention of American audiences whenever possible, there are numerous other Canadian artists who haven’t really gotten their due here in the lower 48. Ron Sexsmith came to American attention early in his career with … Read more
Joseph Arthur Come To Where I’m From (20th Anniversary Edition)Real World Records [2020] In 2000, the T Bone Burnett and Rick Will co-produced sophomore album from folk rock singer songwriter Joseph Arthur on the relatively new Real World label, created to give Peter Gabriel an outlet to expose folk to many of his world music … Read more
Bob Dylan Rough And Rowdy WaysColumbia Records [2020] At this point, there’s really no easy way to explain the unique place that Bob Dylan has marked out for himself in the rock music pantheon to those who set themselves beyond the reach of his artistic influence. In 2016, when Dylan was awarded the Nobel Prize … Read more
Neil Young HomegrownReprise Records [2020] This long “lost” Neil Young album was recorded late in 1974, two years after his classic solo, commercial breakout album, Harvest, which contained some of Young’s best known and loved songs – “Heart of Gold,” “Are You Ready for the Country,” “Old Man,” “Alabama,” and “The Needle and the Damage … Read more
Muzz MuzzMatador Records [2020] According the dictionary, “muzz” is a transitive verb which is British slang that means “to confuse” someone, or make them muzzy, which suggests that someone might be ill or drunk, while to make a picture “muzzy” means it’s unclear or out of focus. Which makes it a curious choice for a … Read more
Jaime Wyatt Neon CrossNew West Records [2020] Over the decades, county music has loved a hard luck story, a tears in your beer weeper about a romance gone bad, hard livin’ and hard lovin’ with the promise of a party on the weekend. But it also came with the expectation of authenticity, the idea … Read more
The 1975 Notes On A Conditional FormDirty Hit/Interscope Records [2020] By now, there are some constants that we can assert about The 1975. They like to dream big, and they love a wide concept with lots of room for experimentation. They come up with cool, often long album titles. Oh, and musically, well, they are … Read more
Dion Blues With FriendsKeeping The Blues Alive [2020] There are different levels of fame. There’s “one hit wonder” famous, and “once upon a time” famous, where you are remembered for your hits, and people flock around to remember when they were young. There’s that level of fame where the whole world knows you by just … Read more
Victor Wainwright And The Train Memphis LoudRuf Records [2020] Keyboard player Victor Wainwright may have grown up in Georgia, as he suggests in the title from his 2005 debut Piana from Savannah, but as he sings on the title track of his new album he is now Memphis Loud. That track alone goes a long … Read more
Perfume Genius Set My Heart On Fire ImmediatelyMatador Records [2020] You get the sense listening to the fifth album from Perfume Genius, aka Mike Hadreas, that at heart he’s a torch singer. Whatever the musical direction or production style an individual track takes – and he does just about everything here, from dirge-y electronica to … Read more