Young Mister – Self-Titled (Vinyl)
Over eight tracks, Young Mister – under the guidance of Steven Fiore – creates a stirring mix of Americana, contemporary folk and pop making for a remarkable debut.
Author: John B. Moore
Adam & the Ants (CD)
It’s been 36 years since the release of “Kings of the Wild Frontier,” Adam Ant’s comeback album after Malcolm McLaren lured away his entire backing band for his latest project Bow Wow Wow, and the sound is still revolutionary. It was the album that introduced the drum-heavy Brundi Beat to pop music listeners in the US, Europe and beyond and would come to best define Ant’s sound for the next…
2/3 Goat – Let it Rise (CD)
Yes, that’s the band name and no, I have no idea about the meaning or origin of the quirky moniker. But 2/3 Goat does play an impressive mix of folk and Americana on Let it Rise (the New York-based band has dubbed their sound metrobilly).
Professor Longhair – Live in Chicago
New Orleans legend Professor Longhair (ne’ Henry Roeland Byrd) may have died close to 40 years ago, but labels are still uncovering and releasing flawless live sessions the piano great recorded over the years and “Live in Chicago” is no exception. Recorded at the University of Chicago Folk Festival in 1976, this eight-track collection is one of his best posthumous sets so far.
The Road Beneath My Feet by Frank Turner (Book)
Frank Turner is a stellar musician and songwriter with an appeal that attracts folk fans just as much as punk rockers. But on the surface, despite an increasingly higher profile with each new record, he seems like an unlikely candidate for a traditional rock memoir. Just shy of a decade into his solo career, all indications are that he’s still a long way off from putting the guitar in the…
Gleasons Drift – Self-Titled (CD)
It turns out all the handwringing about the death of guitar bands was a little premature. On their fourth effort, Gleasons Drift prove riff-heavy barroom rock is still alive and thriving. Based out of the coal region of Northeast Pennsylvania, just a little north of Philly, Gleasons Drift play straight forward rock, reminiscent of everyone from The Replacements to Springsteen in his less moody periods. It’s seems pretty appropriate that…
NOFX – The Hepatitis Bathtub and Other Stories by NOFX with Jeff Alulis
“The first time I drank piss was on a fire escape overlooking downtown Los Angeles.” So begins the memoir on NOFX. If you can get past that first sentence, the payoff is worth it.
Dixie Chicks Soar with Vinyl Reissues
It didn’t exactly seem so at the time, but the Dixie Chicks were more punk rock than just about any band while Bush Jr. was in the White House. Sure they seemed like just another Saccharine Southern Country band from Texas when their major label debut “Wide Open Spaces” came out in 1998, but soon after they would start to show an admirable “Screw it, we’re going to speak our…
New Madrid – magnetkingmagnetqueen (CD)
They may be less than two years removed from their last record, Sunswimmer, but the Athens, GA band New Madrid have grown substantially confidant in that time. Their latest, magnetkingmagnetqueen, is a far more ambitious record, more experimental and it works – most of the time. The vocals may get a little lost in the swirl of guitars, (especially on a song like the sonically brutal “Shades”) but the fact…
Linton + Stewart / The Aislers Set 7”
Emotional Response has been churning out a slew of great 7”s lately, spotlighted some impressive, but oft overlooked indie pop and power pop bands. The three-song split from Linton + Stewart and The Aislers Set is more proof that their streak continues.
Jon Patrick Walker – People Going Somewhere
The actor slash musician route has always been one littered with mediocrity. Jon Patrick Walker just may be one of the few exceptions.
MODOC – Automatic And Voluntary
Thanks to a little help from current go-to producer Brendan Benson, Nashville’s MODOC (by way of Indiana) have put together their best album yet. Following up last year’s live record and 2013’s decent self-titled debut, both hinted at greater things and the payoff is definitely all over “Automatic And Voluntary.”
Rosu Lup – Is Anything Real
For the past few years, Philadelphia has been making a name for itself by churning out unpretentious punk rock, from Beach Slang and The Menzingers to Cayetana and Sheer Mag; it’s hard to escape distorted guitars in the City of Brotherly Love. Despite sharing a zip code with these bands, the four-piece Rosu Lup have opted for a very non-punk rock sound.
Let’s Go To Hell: Scattered Memories of the Butthole Surfers by James Burns (Book)
As far as I can tell, this is the only one book out there on the genre-defying traveling carnival known as The Butthole Surfers. But given the amount of research that went into Let’s Go To Hell, there is no need for anyone to ever attempt another tome on the band. The author, James Burns, who also runs the Texas band’s archive (christened “Anal Obsession,” naturally), has pulled off a…
The Dicks From Texas (DVD)
There have been countless articles and rock bios written about all of the British bands that were formed after witnessing the Sex Pistols live. Add Texas punk hardcore band The Dicks to the list. Garry Floyd saw the band at their notorious San Francisco show, eventually migrated to Austin and told anyone who would listen that he was in a band called The Dicks. Years later, he actually put that…
Jeff Buckley – You And I
Like other wildly talented young musicians who died tragically young, there is always a move to release all unheard recordings made during their lifetime. The result is not always ideal. In the case of Buckley, who drowned in Memphis in 1997 at the age of 30 with only one studio album to his name, the recordings have all been pretty impressive, including the latest, packaged as “You And I.”
Up the Chain – The Prison Break
Philly’s Up The Chain self-describe their sound as “Neighbor Rock.” I honestly have no idea what in the fuck that term means, but if their latest, “The Prison Break,” is any hint, I’m already huge fan of the genre.
Elvis Presley – the Album Collection (CD Box Set)
Dropped down like Manna from heaven (or more specifically, from the folks at Legacy Records), Elvis Presley fans across the globe can now pick up the ultimate fan set – a 60-CD collection of records from The King. Included are restored versions for 57 Presley albums originally released from RCA between 1956-and-1977 in addition to three separate discs of rarities dating back as late as the ‘50s.
Great Lakes – Wild Vision 12”
The Brooklyn-by way of Athens- indie band Great Lakes has been spent the past two decades churning out five records and managed to keep their sound evolving thanks to a collective of musicians that have come and gone with nearly each effort. Guitarist/singer Ben Crumb has been at the center of each record and for the latest, “Wild Vision,” he pulled in singer Suzanne Nienaber, bassist David Lerner, drummer Kevin…
Eureka California – Versus 12”
With their third record in as many years – and third full length since 2012 – Eureka California are proving to be the Willie Nelsons of indie pop; not a year goes by without at least something new.