One of the best things about the Scandinavian rock explosion that started in the nineties was the lack of self-consciousness – these folks played late 60s/70s rock & roll without a shred of irony, as if they’d just discovered that pile of riffs and it was the most exciting thing that ever happened to them. Acid’s Trip is no different – the band’s blend of Detroit fury, American South melodicism and British singalong steel is powered as much by sheer enthusiasm as talent.
On his first solo LP, Seattle’s Brisbois abandons the blasting guitars of his ‘90s roots-rock outfit 4 Ft. Ramona (he’s also been in The Buckets, Acme Band, and Lava), for something drastically more hushed.
James Brandon Lewis grew up a student of George Washington Carver’s work and history. As such, the fast-rising New York saxophonist took his prenatural skills and his knowledge and created Jesup Wagon, a tribute to Carver.
Having recorded 2018’s Sixer EP as a trio, these Brooklyn shoegazers are pared down to their core duo of Ian Carpenter (vocals/guitars) and Rachel Fischer (drums) for this debut full-length.
Though best known as a fashion designer, singer/songwriter/guitarist Keanan Duffty has been a musician since the late seventies. While his fashion work has led him to work with David Bowie and the Sex Pistols (and to write the book Rebel Rebel: Anti-Style), he never let go of his desire to play music, recording several solo albums and forming Slinky Vagabond with Earl Slick, Clem Burke and Glen Matlock in 2007. Lineup changes see SV consisting of Duffty and Italian multi-instrumentalist/songwriter Fabio Fabbri on its long-awaited debut album King Boy Vandals.
Fractal Guitar 2 continues the work begun by its predecessors (Fractal Guitar and the remix version of same), layering Thelen’s minimalist melodies and challenging time signatures with a multitude of guest guitarists from the experimental sphere.
It’s been nine years since Boston-raised, now St. Petersburg, FL-based singer/pianist Sheveloff released his 2012 solo debut Exhibitionist. But this sublime second studio LP more than justifies the long wait.
Both NYC jazz staples in their own rights, the Brazilian horn player and Delaware keyboardist have long had a direct connection between their creative minds, allowing them to improvise music with an ease and comradery rare amongst musicians of any stylistic propensity.
Sometimes albums come along that make you go “What the f@ck?”, this is one such album, and it is a divine rapture of brilliance.
Mic on, reeds to lips, brief eye contact (maybe) and go – that’s the MO here. It’s self-expression unfettered by traditional structures, jazz or not.
Following up 2018’s Proper EP, this Philadelphia foursome (whose moniker was the original name of Ardmore, the Philly suburb where they first rehearsed) sound even more inspired and imposing on this debut LP.
Teenage Fanclub release the most anticipated album of 2021, and thankfully it delivers, and revels in the flaws of our ideals.
Steve Cropper has just released ‘Fire It Up’, and it is incendiary.
It’s been five years since this eccentric outfit released their fifth LP The Final Photograph, yet their former strangeness hasn’t waned.
With the date of Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day having just passed and more recent turmoil still fresh in the mind, Natalie K felt compelled to write a song that might act as a beacon of hope, a message of solidarity from half a world away. And the result is a truly haunting song.
Hello Morning might have been a long time coming, but Wax Moon have created a startlingly powerful album that shows the fruits of their labor without ever showing off.
With well-crafted songs and a clear love of anything with a guitar in it, the Nuclears eschew lunkheadedness and stomp toward a bright future.
Due out on May 7th, the latest emotional banger from Maia Sharp, the aptly titled Mercy Rising
The Invitation is a remarkable example of an artist both rejecting and welcoming trends, creating something uniquely their own in the process.
The band’s post-punk/pre-grunge attack has barely evolved in over thirty years, but that’s been to the trio’s advantage, developing into a signature sound.
Earlier this month, Husmann released a new album Seven Years of Silence, titled after the seven year hiatus the artist took from the industry.
New York’s Knoxville Girls had quite the pedigree, including former Gun Club, Cramps and Bad Seeds guitarist Kid Congo Powers, former Honeymoon Killers and Chrome Cranks axeman Jerry Teel, original Sonic Youth drummer Bob Bert and other members of the Gotham scum/noise rock underground.
As might be surmised by the title, Pandemos, the first album by Minneapolis quartet Beebe Gallini, is made up of demos recorded right before the Covid pandemic shut everything down.
Released on June 25th, a long overdue retrospective of Arthur Brown’s Kingdom Come with an impressive five disc set
Joined by fellow jazz geniuses Linda May Han Oh on bass and Tyshawn Sorey on drums, the New York native paints vivid canvases that draw on multiple iterations of jazz without overtly paying homage to any single one.
Born and bred in Argentina and residing in Miami since 2013, singer, songwriter and producer Roxana Amed carves out a distinctive space for herself in contemporary music.
“Hovering easily between post rock, shoegaze, and dream pop, this song cycle is one of the best shoegaze records I’ve heard in years. I am amazed by the immense production values and the many-layered tapestry that colors each song. I hear different things every time I listen through, and this one has been on repeat throughout the past month.”
Like Rocky Horror, the EP is extremely camp, over the top, and a ton of fun.
For his fourth LP Occasionally, the high school music teacher and yoga instructor takes a painterly approach to his music, shifting the emphasis away from improvisation and towards composition.
One of Midwestern rock & roll’s hidden treasures, Indonesian Junk (and what about that “damn, I wish I’d thought of it first” band name?) just keeps getting better.
If Daniel Blake’s previous single, “Circle Mountain”, made a few discerning music fans take notice, Jakarta is the collection of songs where he is likely to become a talking point in all of the right places.
Due for release on May 21st, ‘When I Mean What I Say’ is an album that is a long time coming, and it has been worth the wait
In the grand tradition of albums by Keith Jarrett and Paul Bley, the ivory-tickler went into the studio with nothing prepared, casting his fate to the improvisational winds.
Who knew that the south was a hotbed of free jazz? Probably every Southern jazz fan ever, but for the rest of us, the existence of a group like the Dopolarians is a delightful surprise.
Mesmerizing singer/songwriter Toni Halliday (Curve, Chatelaine) returns with music made for sync deals, but tantalizes with her alluring vocals.
Principals Scott Dense and Little Ricky reach back to sounds made before psychedelia was even a twinkle in anyone’s eye.
Merrill Garbus mixes itchy music and restless social commentary to spark a revolution of the mind.
Sometimes you just want something old school – and that’s what alto saxophonist Jim Snidero delivers on Live at the Deer Head Inn.
Whispers From the Wicker Man may be one of the more unexpected hard rock releases of the year, but it is sure to remind fans why the group first caused a stir all those years ago.
Fans of fusioneers as diverse as Return to Forever, Scott Henderson & Tribal Tech and Dan Weiss’ Starebaby will definitely find common cause here, but to say the record sounds like any of those folks is inaccurate.
While still best known for his new wave and power pop work with the Plimsouls and the Nerves (despite neither of those bands having existed in years, if not decades), Case is at his best when he’s filtering what’s now called Americana through his own unique brain.
Although their next release promises to have more of a rock edge, the mood of Sirens Go By, especially the title track, perfectly suits the uncertain and contemplative time we are in.
After eight albums with his so-called “Zen funk” band Ronin and three with his more expansive group Mobile, Swiss pianist Nik Bartsch returns to the solo format for the first time since 2002.
With one foot in the gypsy jazz of Stephane Grapelli and another in the spontaneous intensity of Albert Ayler or latter-day John Coltrane, Nagano is as comfortable with straight post bop as with free jazz, and seems to be happiest when she blends the two.
With a light guiding hand for the musicians and his own improvisational skills at their peak, Lloyd varies the mood of each song according to its thematic landscape.
Despite seemingly constant setbacks (bandmember deaths, interpersonal squabbling, singer Mike IX Williams suffering liver failure), the New Orleans band is, if anything, stronger than ever.
Essentially, their music is a party in spite of life falling apart, thus making The Divorcees the perfect post-pandemic soundtrack.
