Filthy Friends Invitation Kill Rock Stars [2017] Fire Note Says: Sleater-Kinney’s Corin Tucker joins Peter Buck, Scott McCaughey, Kurt Bloch and Bill Rieflin to create an alt/rock super-group that’s more interested in the music than name recognition, and the record’s all the better for it. Album Review: You must reach a point, one would guess, … Read more
Neil Young Hitchhiker Reprise Records [2017] Fire Note Says: Neil Young releases a ten song acoustic studio recording from an early, highly productive period in his artistic development. Album Review: In the mid to late 70s, Neil Young had a particularly productive period in his songwriting, it was shortly after the release of the grief-ridden … Read more
The Alarm: Music Box Supper Club; Cleveland, Ohio – August 27, 2017 The Alarm, led by original member Mike Peters, returned to the US for a tour that included a number of dates on Vans Warped tour, and a series of stand alone dates in cities that had befriended the Welsh band in its 80s … Read more
Leah Senior Pretty Faces Flightless Records [2017] Fire Note Says: Leah Senior carries on the folk singer tradition of Joan Baez and the early work of Joni Mitchell. Album Review: Australian singer/songwriter Leah Senior’s second album finds the artist traveling the quiet path of the folk song troubadour’s of years past. Recorded for the most … Read more
Offa Rex The Queen Of Hearts Nonesuch Records [2017] Fire Note Says: Vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Olivia Chaney is a true gem on this new collaboration with The Decemberists. Album Review: Anyone who’s followed Portland, Oregon’s The Decemberists over the last decade or more has likely suspected that an album like this collaboration with British folk … Read more
Finn’s Motel Jupiter Rex Victory Over Gravity Records [2017] Fire Note Says: Jupiter Rex. Thebeau has found his own voice, still connecting with those great early 80s influences, but not stuck there. Album Review: When you’ve been writing and recording music in relative obscurity for close to 30 years, as has Joe Thebeau, you reach … Read more
Nine Inch Nails Add Violence The Null Corporation [2017] Fire Note Says: Nine Inch Nails return with the second in a trilogy of EPs, indicating that Rezner still has vital musical offerings yet to come. Album Review: Trent Rezner had been hinting at a return of Nine Inch Nails, and just prior to last Christmas … Read more
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
Diesel Island Diesel Island Euclid Records [2017] Fire Note Says: St. Louis country cover band delivers an album of originals that stand-up alongside their take on Johnny Cash and Merle Haggard. Album Review: For some ridiculous reason, I find it impossible to discuss authentic, old school country music without telling two jokes. A city dweller … Read more
The Charlatans Different Days BMG [2017] Fire Note Says: Brit pop from Manchester’s The Charlatans, with some assistance from Paul Weller, Johnny Marr and Anton Newcombe. Album Review: With a band like The Charlatans, where they have overcome overwhelming odds while continuing to record music after 28 years, the fact that they are still at … Read more
Various Artists Treasure Of The Broken Land: The Songs Of Mark Heard Storm Weathered Records [2017] Fire Note Says: Twenty-five years after his death, Nashville talents come together to resurrect the music of singer/songwriter Mark Heard, and it’s a treasure. Album Review: The commercial success of tribute compilation albums usually depends on three factors: 1) … Read more
Lo Tom Lo Tom Barsuk Records [2017] Fire Note Says: Lo Tom is much more than just a friendly jam. Album Review: This 8 song debut from Lo Tom is going to feel pretty familiar to fans of David Bazan or his previous band, Pedro The Lion, which also featured TW Walsh, and Starflyer 59’s … Read more
Jason Isbell And The 400 Unit The Nashville Sound Southeastern Records [2017] Fire Note Says: Labels fail Outlaw country musicians, but Jason Isbell delivers a great record in the tradition of great roots rockers and country players. Album Review: For the record, there has long been a vein of outlaw music running through what has … Read more
Roger Waters Is This The Life We Really Want? Columbia Records [2017] Fire Note Says: Roger Waters creates a soundtrack for the resistance to Trump’s American dream, echoing his past work with Pink Floyd. Album Review: Roger Waters is angry. Let me rephrase that: Roger Waters is ANGRY! Of course, if you’ve been paying attention … Read more
King Washington Potential The End Records [2017] Fire Note Says: Inventive modern pop/rock quartet from LA, King Washington channel the best musical inclinations of the past in a hip, fresh sound. Album Review: King Washington is a talented indie-rock band from LA whose sound reveals artists that have mastered the musical vocabulary of some of … Read more
Deep State Thought Garden Friendship Fever [2017] Fire Note Says: Deep State churn up a big, fast, punk rock sound on their second album, Thought Garden. Album Review: The four-piece punk rock band Deep State, from Athens, GA, churn up a big, fast swirl of sound for their second album, Thought Garden. From the start … Read more
Fleet Foxes Crack-Up Nonesuch Records [2017] Fire Note Says: Fleet Foxes go through artistic growth on Crack-Up. Album Review: Remember back to hazy, crazy days of the summer of 2008, when people were listening to folk music again, and we all fell in love with an indie act from Seattle that was leading the pack … Read more
Todd Rundgren White Night Cleopatra Records [2017] Fire Note Says: Veteran rocker Todd Rundgren mixes it up with Robyn, Trent Rezner of NIN, some new hip-hop friends, and a host of his contemporaries as he stretches out on this experimental synth pop collection. Album Review: Disclaimer: Although I’ve written professionally (and as a hobby) as … Read more
Chris Stapleton From A Room: Volume 1 Mercury Records Nashville [2017] Fire Note Says: Chris Stapleton has arrived just in time to save country music from itself. Album Review: By the time, Chris Stapleton got around to releasing his 2015 solo debut, Traveller, he’d pretty much proved there he was an artist deeply rooted in … Read more
Gorillaz Humanz Parlophone/Warner Bros. [2017] Fire Note Says: Cartoon urban, dance/rap-core band, Gorillaz return with a mix-tape for the apocalypse. Album Review: Two cartoon bands come to mind: Gorillaz, and The Archies. Okay, The Monkees’ four characters were definitely conceived as cartoon-esque two-dimensional stick figures, but as time developed they grew as individualized, even humanized … Read more
Feist Pleasure Interscope Records [2017] Fire Note Says: Folk pop Feist expands the creative palette for her folk pop fanbase with an eclectic and creative album celebrating life’s Pleasure. Album Review: Folk/pop singer Feist first came to international attention with the breakthrough success of her songs “1234” and “I Feel It All,” from the breakthrough … Read more
Bob Dylan Triplicate Columbia Records [2017] Fire Note Says: Dylan attempts to “uncover” these familiar songs. Album Review: By now, any fan of Bob Dylan is familiar with that hilarious comment to the over-serious music journalist in the now infamous, televised 1965 press conference in San Francisco which can be found on youtube.com. Dylan had … Read more
The Afghan Whigs In Spades Sub Pop Records [2017] Fire Note Says: The Afghan Whigs’ Greg Dulli returns with a more compositionally rich and textured musical approach that echoes classical musical themes that run in tension with the demanding drums, guitars and Dulli’s compelling vocal howl. Album Review: At a time when alternative music had … Read more
Dave Perkins Fugitive Colors Lugnut Music [2017] Fire Note Says: Longtime Nashville guitarist sideman, delivers another record of strong songs, and blistering guitar work. Album Review: The first time I saw Dave Perkins play live was about 30 years ago at a summer music festival and he was promoting his first solo album on What? … Read more
Depeche Mode Spirit Columbia Records [2017] Fire Note Says: On their 14th studio album, synth pop pioneers Depeche Mode have become more predictable compared to their early work. Album Review: By now, nearly 40 years in, Depeche Mode must be the most popular and successful of the 80s bands that abandoned traditional instruments for the … Read more