Now nearly thirty-five years into their career, Australian improvisational trio the Necks still insist that their initial direction was correct: follow your own instincts and you’ll never go wrong.
American indie rock trio Quiz Show – involving members of legendary DC alternative rock band Shudder To Think, Guided By Voices and The Dambuilders – has released their new single “Sound of Kissing” a powerhouse preview of their eponymous debut album, due out March 17 via Montclair, NJ -based Magic Door Record Label.
Originally released in 1967, D.B. Shrier Emerges chronicles a burst of jazz with feeling that, oddly, became the musician’s only recorded statement.
Hendersonville, NC-based Robinson is a British ex-pat who played in Roger McGuinn’s touring band, and Woltil is a Tampa Bay, FL resident who fronts power-poppers The Ditchflowers; this is their second combined effort sharing lead vocals, following 2015’s Cycle.
The box set is a treasure for Zappaphiles, and the LPs are recommended for newer disciples who want to bridge the gap between the well-known Hot Rats and Apostrophe (‘) albums.
Alt-rock post-punk duo A Cloud of Ravens present a new veiled calling card for their forthcoming Lost Hymns LP, set for release on April 28 via Nexilis Records / Schubert Music Europe. With a hopeful eye towards the light, “Requiem For The Sun” is a rich frenetic jaunt through the multiple facets of darkness we are all so eager to leave.
At eighty years young, bassist Buster Williams has a long and storied history in jazz, playing with Art Blakey, Sonny Rollins, Sarah Vaughn, Chet Baker, Carmen McRae, Chick Corea, Dexter Gordon, Betty Carter, and far too many more to list.
Though this is his first album as a leader, Zach Lober is no late bloomer – he’s had two decades of experiences as a sideperson and composer in the States and Europe.
Gramercy Arms is a revolving collective, masterminded by Dave Derby (The Dambuilders, Lloyd Cole). Inspired by the artistic heyday of ‘70s and ‘80s-era New York City, they make addictive indie pop – exquisite hook-laden melodies filled with lyrics that will have you floating back in time, remembering your favorite mistake.
It’s not hype to say that the jazz scene in London is one of the most exciting musical movements happening in the twenty-first century.
Indie pop outfit The Mystery Plan are back with their What A Day EP, a scrumptious dose of bliss-pop released via American boutique label 10mm Omega Recordings. This boisterous three-track offering highlights the lead track from the band’s forthcoming Haunted Organic Machines record – their seventh full length album and 13th major release.
Last seen as a leader with Countdown, an album of standards and covers, vibraphonist Simon Moullier makes his return to the racks with Isla.
UK indie pop outfit Jody and the Jerms are hot to trot with their new single ‘Started Something’, the first taste of their forthcoming full-length album ‘Wonder’, out in April via their own JATJ Records imprint.
UK indie rock troubadour Withered Hand presents his uplifting new single ‘Waking Up’, released on February 14 via Reveal Records, just in time for Valentine’s Day. The accompanying video was filmed on location in Portobello, Edinburgh by Juliana Capes.
Pianist Jean-Michel Pilc is well-known for eschewing setlists in performances, making up the program – and often the music – as he goes along, trusting in his sidepeople to follow.
His range of study encompasses everyone from Charlie Christian and Wes Montgomery to Pat Metheny and Bill Frisell, and it shows in both his performance and his compositions.
Though well known as a composer and a stalwart of the Chicago jazz scene, trumpeter Markus Rutz owns one advantage that trumps everything else: he sounds good.
bdrmm’s new single, “It’s Just a Bit of Blood” meanders and surges with epic dream pop— and shoegaze—drenched results. Now we have to wait til June 30th for the LP, “I Don’t Know”.
This Seattle five-piece’s first two albums, 2019’s Over the Bar and 2020’s Straight In/Straight Out so wowed Elvis Costello’s Attractions and Imposters keyboardist Steve Nieve, he supplied alluring piano to this third LP’s soulful ballad “Harder Than the Truth.”
Swing Your Lanterns channels several spirits from seventies and eighties New York, reflecting Julian’s own versatile experiences.
The appearance of the Chicago group’s second full-length Dion’s Quest is more than welcome.
The guitarist plugs his instrument into synthesizers and boards of electronics, creating a fascinating series of soundscapes that seem to have dropped in from another reality entirely
Pianist Fred Hersch is revered for his compositional, improvisational and technical talents, a jazz musician’s jazz musician. Singer/bassist/songwriter Esperanza Spalding has used her massive talent to bridge the worlds of jazz and, well, everything else.
As well as being a bandleader in his own right, bassist Ander Jormin anchors the long-running Bobo Stenson Trio. Singer, songwriter and violinist Lean Willamark has joined her fellow Swede on numerous occasions, co-leading a quartet with koto player Karin Nakagawa and Jormin’s Stenson Trio rhythm partner, drummer Jon Fält.
Shelkett’s career in the Baltimore emo scene goes back 30 years, having fronted and released albums with Blank, Cross My Heart, Dead Red Sea, and Liars Academy; this debut solo LP was produced by hardcore/punk vet J. Robbins.
Hammock and The Reds, Pinks, and Purples have each recently released music around the theme of “the void.” Hammock writes of “love in the void” while RPP sings of “life in the void.” With uncannily similar themes from music released just a few days apart, the results are outstanding and dramatically different. Dive in.
A tenor sax ace and Hammond B-3 queen team up to make feelgood soul jazz.
Chambers channels melodies and rhythms from South American, Latin American, and African sources, and makes them all come out hard bop.
Her rich voice and intimate lyrics evoke a 1970s flower-child spirit with a fresh layer of uplifting pop. Comparisons to Jennifer Harper’s motivational music include Carly Simon, Carole King and Sarah McLachlan.
After listening to even a few of Harper’s missives, it’s all too easy to fall in love with her contemplative, assured artistry. That’s especially apparent on her second album, Change Is Coming, which Harper is currently supporting.
This live set captures a summit meeting of iconoclastic musicians as it happened nearly 30 years ago at the famed and influential Montreaux Jazz Festival. The concert predates and foreshadows a classic album for fans of ’90s fusion.
The Candle and the Flame, the eight solo album from former Go-Betweens co-leader Robert Forster, was made under trying circumstances: Forster’s wife Karin was battling ovarian cancer.
Sky’s Rust transcends genres and resists categorization but it will easily appeal to fans of Romeo Rage’s influences.
A bassist and composer of some twenty-five years’ standing, Ben Wolfe has attracted as much acclaim for his compositions as for his playing, with a career in chamber music alongside his jazz work.
One of the hidden jewels of the urban Northeast, the Royal Arctic Institute returns with From Coma to Catharsis, a sequel of sorts to its prior EP From Catnip to Coma.
On their eighth album, this Auburn/Finger Lakes, NY outfit, led by husband and wife co-lead singers Terry Cuddy and Beth Beer, further sharpens the stylistic breadth shown on 2019’s Sleeping World.
New York, NY: Pop-rock artist, Actor, Elite model, popular podcast host, and all-around shero Demi Ramos has already dropped the song of the summer with the infectious indie banger “Just a Phase.”
Though better known around his home base of Baltimore than in the rest of the world, guitarist Skip Grasso clearly commands respect.
Born in Tehran, Iran to a Persian Father and an Italian Mother his family fled when Moezzi was four years old, he grew up in Salinas, CA, and attended college in Washington DC. His lifelong love affair with music was sparked by sneaking into a BB King performance as a kid and mentoring by a member of Richie Valens’ family from the Backyard Blues Band. It’s a cultural and creative journey that is reflected in the music of his latest release, Funky Papu.
Bob’s 1997 return to form, remixed and supersized.
Dismissing any notion of the conglomeration being a one-off, the quartet returns, with Scott Robinson in place of Allen Lowe, for sophomore effort No Subject.
Scottish drummer Sebastian Rochford was inspired – nay, compelled – to write the music for A Short Diary after the loss of his father, poet Gerard Rochford.
With a ton of jazz veterans and soul luminaries on her resumé, it’s no surprise Lakecia Benjamin comes across as assured and confident in her abilities and her message on Phoenix, her fourth album as a leader.
Based in Lille, France, this duo of Lola (singer/guitar/bass) and Alex (bass/guitar) worked in video production at the Academy of Cinema; since 2020, they’ve been releasing singles of their narcoleptic, sinuous dreampop, a dozen of which are collected here.
Though it’s been disputed, it’s said that composer Johann Sebastian Bach preferred the clavichord over the harpsichord or the piano as an instrument for his compositions.
Over the course of forty-odd minutes, the duo make all kinds of noises, from pick scrapes and mouthpiece burps to rumbling fret taps and haunting legato – but rarely do they descend into straightahead noisemaking.
Globus have really delivered a rollercoaster ride of an album that surpasses the already high bar set by the band.
Discovered in 2005 at age 17 by Trent Reznor — she’s opened three Nine Inch Nails tours — L.A.’s multi-talented Carré Callaway (who’s also an actress, sculptor, podcaster, and skincare product founder) has released three albums as Queen Kwong.
Clay Joule is back with a new single, Realm, again blending great music with a poignant and timely message.
For its fiftieth anniversary, groundbreaking collective Art Ensemble of Chicago staged a special concert in a country near and dear to their hearts.
On Mercy, Cale brings his classical training and avant-garde sense of pop music into the 2020s, collaborating with younger artists and generally making it clear he’s paying attention to modern music without jumping on trends.
