The Cactus BlossomsOne DayWalkie Talkie Records [2022] The music of the Cactus Blossoms is a reminder that the origins of rock & roll predated the Beatles by at least a decade, and likely much longer. Black artists like Chuck Berry and Ike Turner were plugging in electric guitars and finding a vital connection between R&B, … Read more
Beach HouseOnce Twice MelodySub Pop Records [2022] In their nearly 20 years of recording, Beach House has lived into their music’s most common description as “dream pop” with each new recording. In 2018, they collaborated with producer Sonic Boom for the first time, creating 7, which many believe to be their most eclectic release to … Read more
Modern NatureIsland Of NoiseBella Union [2022] Modern Nature is at its core an exercise in folk rock meeting improvisational jazz in uncluttered rustic rural setting, brought about under the direction of singer/guitarist Jack Cooper collaborating with co-arranger Jeff Tobias, who plays bass clarinet, alto sax and adds vocals. According to Cooper, he taped this quote … Read more
St. Paul & The Broken BonesThe Alien CoastATO Records [2022] Caught live, St. Paul & The Broken Bones is a full-fledged rock & soul review fronted by the soaring tenor vocals of Paul Janaway, who registers as a cross between a backsliden Baptist revival song-leader, a blue-eyed soul singer wearing his Sam Cooke influences in … Read more
SpoonLucifer On The SofaMatador Records [2022] With the release of Everything Hits At Once: The Best of Spoon and a summer tour opening for “The Night Running” amphitheater tour, with co-bill headliners Beck and Cage the Elephant, it felt like Spoon was poised in 2019 to step up to the next level. A new single, … Read more
Big ThiefDragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You4AD [2022] No one will ever accuse Big Thief of holding anything back. In 2019, the band released two full length albums. U.F.O.F., their third album, earned a nomination for a Grammy for Best Alternative Music Album, then a little over 7 months later the released Two … Read more
Erin RaeLighten UpThirty Tigers [2022] On her third album, Nashville singer/songwriter Erin Rae is making an effort to Lighten Up, with help from her new producer Jonathan Wilson. After establishing herself as a songwriter in the Joni Mitchell school of folk/Americana, Rae works to stretch herself here, bringing that Laurel Canyon touch of psychedelia to … Read more
The War On Drugs: KEMBA Live; Columbus, OH; Friday, February 4, 2022 Fans of the band The War On Drugs’ albums, might be curious how an artist as meticulous as singer/guitarist/songwriter Adam Granduciel is reported to be in preparing his recordings for release, since he’s often described as notoriously precise about, well… everything on his band’s … Read more
Pedro The LionHavasuPolyvinyl/Big Scary Monsters [2022] Singer/songwriters have been offering proof of the truth that “what is most personal is most universal,” first posited by psychologist Carl R. Rogers in the early 60’s, since the early blues artists first complained why they “woke up this morning” with the blues. Whether it’s been James Taylor reacting … Read more
EelsExtreme WitchcraftE Works/PIAS [2022] Thirty years and 16 studio albums in, Mark Oliver Everett (aka E) and his band Eels is a known entity. After a couple solo works, Everett formed the band and the early alternative airplay hit, “Novocaine for the Soul,” demonstrated the mix of soft, toy piano pop, and harder, more aggressive … Read more
Jason Isbell And The 400 Unit w/ Adia Victoria: Palace Theatre; Columbus, OH; Thursday, January 27, 2022 For live music fans, one of the biggest challenges of the on-going pandemic has been the shut-down of concerts, but Jason Isbell repeatedly told the two-thirds full crowd in Columbus’ Palace Theatre Thursday night that he and his band, … Read more
Three Merry WidowsWhich Dreamed It? (30th Anniversary Reissue)Self-Released [2021] At the risk of dating myself, Three Merry Widows was one of the St. Louis bands in that city’s burgeoning original, live music scene in the late 80’s and early 90’s that led to numerous local acts getting major label contrasts. No doubt, the rise of … Read more
ReptaliensMultiverseCaptured Tracks [2022] Portland, Ore.-duo, Reptaliens have stepped away from the dreamy sounding synth drenched work on their two previous albums, to pick up bass and guitars and return to their initial 90’s alt rock influences. Due to the necessary isolation of the pandemic, songwriters and married collaborators Bambi and Cole Browning, were pulled away … Read more
The LumineersBRIGHTSIDEDualtone/Decca Records [2022] Aside from The Lumineers break out hit, “Ho Hey,” with the novelty impact of the regular shouts of the title,” the band’s airplay singles like “Stubborn Love” and “Ophelia” have relied on catchy melodies and the warm appeal of Wayne Schultz’s voice to lift their relatively simple folk rock songs above … Read more
Josh CatererThe SPACE SessionsPravda Records [2021] While some artists have used the shutdown of normal life due to the pandemic to hibernate in their studios and record new music, former Smoking Popes songwriter and frontman Josh Caterer has now delivered his second “live” concert album, serving up some tasty covers along with choice songs from … Read more
Elvis Costello & The Imposters The Boy Named IfEMI/Capitol Records [2022] Forty five years and 37 albums – give or take if we count all his collaborative efforts – into his career as a recording artist, Elvis Costello is a known entity, we have a good idea what to expect from him, which is usually … Read more
The Dream SyndicateWhat Can I Say? No Regrets… Out Of The Grey + Live, Demos & OuttakesFire Records [2022] Ask someone if they know the band Dream Syndicate, and if they were around back in the early 80’s you’ll likely hear something about the Steve Wynn fronted group with the female bass player, Kendra Smith, … Read more
The WombatsFix Yourself, Not The WorldAWAL [2022] While The Wombats, who got their start in Liverpool, have absorbed British pop and indie rock influences from across the last 5 or 6 decades, the trio’s brand of clever power-pop suggests a cosmic connection to acts as diverse at Big Star, Material Issue, and The Fountains of … Read more
Adia VictoriaA Southern GothicCanvasback Music [2021] The third album from Nashville-based singer/songwriter Adia Victoria, A Southern Gothic embodies everything that title suggests. Vibrating thanks to the deconstructive approach of executive producer T Bone Burnett, Victoria sings through her stories of life in a geography haunted by what the Oxford Encyclopedia describes as the paradox of … Read more
Dion Stomping GroundKeeping The Blues Alive Records [2021] It was quite a surprise in 2020 when the then 80 year old Dion Dimucci, who had pop radio hits in the late 50’s with his street-corner harmony crew, the Belmonts, and solo rock & roll classics like “Runaround Sue” and “The Wanderer,” showed up with a … Read more
ElbowFlying Dream 1Polydor Records [2021] The ninth studio album from acclaimed British band, Elbow, has the gentle, dreamy feel of a long, reflective quarantine nap. Largely composed separately, the band came together for more fully realized recording sessions at Brighton’s Theatre Royal, left empty due to the pandemic. Absent are the big, bombastic anthems of … Read more
Snail MailValentineMatador Records [2021] As the “best of year” lists – here at The Fire Note, and everywhere music fans and music critics connect – 2021 may have been a rough year due to the pandemic, but it was a great year for new music. At year’s end we saw a flurry of new releases, … Read more
Liam KazarDue NorthWoodsist Records [2021] Before moving to Kansas City in 2019, Liam Kazar had built a hefty reputation around Chicago as a band member, dating back to work with the band Kids These Days, and more recently as support player with a variety of local artists, from Tweedy (Wilco leader Jeff Tweedy with his … Read more
HushdropsThe StaticPravda Records [2021] Chicago-band, Hushdrops, are considered a supergroup around those parts, the trio perhaps better known for the folk they support in other settings. Guitarist and vocalist John San Jaun has played with Material Issue, Josh Caterer, The Webb Bros. and more, bassist Jim Shapiro was the original drummer with Veruca Salt, where … Read more
Aimee MannQueens Of The Summer HotelSuperEgo [2021] Over the course of her nearly 40 year career, Aimee Mann has pretty much done it all. In the 80’s she led the new wave band ‘Til Tuesday, composing their biggest hit, “Voices Carry,” and even sang a rare duet with Rush’s Geddy Lee. When she went solo, … Read more