Heartstrings, the debut full length from Belgium punks This Means War, easily proves that the band’s self-titled EP wasn’t simply a fluke. Across nearly a dozen tracks, this five-piece, teeming with a solid pedigree of influences from Cock Sparrer to the Bouncing Souls, turn in a wonderfully catchy, anthem-ready album that has all the trademarks of a modern punk rock classic. Taking their name from a 2014 Old Firm Casuals…
Philly has a long and storied musical past, from Blue Eyed Soul (Hall & Oates) and legit Soul (Gamble and Huff) to Hair Metal, lost and lots of Hair Metal (Cinderella, Britny Fox, Tangier, Poison…). But Bluegrass is not one of the genres that usually come to mind when you think of Philadelphia. The complicatedly-named Who? What? When? Why? & Werewolves? could possibly change that. On their 7-song debut, Greatest…
Seattle Twee Pop pioneers Tullycraft (and, I’m sure they cringe at every reference to that genre name) may have taken six years between albums, but they are still in top form on this, their seventh album. The Railway Prince Hotel, like their earlier efforts, still brims over with sticky sweet melodies, trading off male/female vocals and Sean Tollefson’s endearing habit of writing too many lyrics and rushing to get them…
A generation removed from a number of brilliant Western Mass bands that mixed pop melodies and occasional hooks with a strong punk rock foundation (think Dinosaur Jr and the Pixies), Potty Mouth have managed to resurrect much of that same loud, fast smart indie rock spirit on their sophomore LP, Snafu. Following up 2015’s EP and their 2013 debut, the band (now a trio), spent much of their time away…
Long before the band Foreigner became lazy, shorthand slang for bloated, stadium dinosaurs (often and likely unfairly lumped in alongside era peers like Journey, Styx and REO Speedwagon), they were an upcoming band of British and American rockers with a knack for writing catchy, timeless songs with wildly memorable guitar riffs. In 1978, just two years into their existence and still boasting their classic line up, they played a blistering…
Chicago alt folk/Americana upstarts The Way Down Wanderers have managed to spike their music was some interesting elements on their sophomore effort, adding in snatches of jazz and pop here and there, while still remaining true to the sound that made their debut a satisfying affair. Though not vastly too different from their self-titled record, Illusions takes small steps forward both musically and lyrically for a more consistently appealing sound.…
Bands like Sweet and The Cars have long since stopped putting out any new music, but their sound still lives on powerfully strong on Jeff Whalen’s debut, 10 More Rock Super Hits. Whalen, singer/guitarist for the fantastic, albeit short-lived power pop band Tsar, has not lost a bit of the energy or the pop sensibility that made his last group so infectious. But, while Tsar mixed a bit more punk…
It would be easy to write off this latest Tom Petty Best Of as just another cynical cash grab from record labels; that is if this 38-song set wasn’t such a brilliantly-curated, meticulous collection of Petty’s best work grabbed from his solo catalogue, his long tenure with The Heartbreakers and his pre (and sometimes post) Heartbreakers gig with the band Mudcrutch. Spread out across two CDs, though the songs are…
There’s a bit of foreshadowing in the opening track from the Andy Browne Troupe’s latest LP, Elephants. On “England,” over a hypnotic synth line, Browne namechecks a slew of greats – everyone from T Rex and Bowie to The Clash and The Beatles. He could just as easily be listing off his influences as brief snatches of most can be heard throughoutElephants, a textbook example of a great rock record that…
In the rush to pander to the twin gods of Gen X Nostalgia and the booming Vinyl Resurgence, re-release mania has led to some truly questionable offerings over the past few years. 311, Godsmack, The Space Jam soundtrack… But, occasionally, inside the record label vaults, on a long-overlooked shelf, the beauty of a long forgotten album is found. Such is the case with First Band on the Moon, the third…
Luther Russell has drifted under the radar of many for the past few decades, but his 2018 double album anthology, Selective Memories helped clue in the uninitiated to his brilliant knack for writing Power Pop and Rock songs that brim with substance. His latest, Medium Cool, continues that streak, shunning trendy musical fades for a timeless set of guitar-driven, strong narrative songs that could have come out at any time…
Texas has a remarkably diverse musical heritage that spans from Outlaw Country and Rock to Tejano – making it arguable one of the most brilliantly disparate musical landscapes this country has to offer. And it seems all six members of the Dallas-based Vandoliers have soaked up every bit of those influences over the years. Their latest release, and first for Bloodshot Records, Forever, is essentially a love letter to every…
Less than a minute into Robert Ellis’ latest, brilliant effort, Texas Piano Man, you can’t shake the feeling that he’s channeling the ghost of Harry Nilsson. Who else besides Ellis, but possibly Nilsson, could manage to take the chorus “I’m fucking crazy” and turn it into a wedding-caliber love song (“Fucking Crazy”)? And that’s just one song in. Ellis puts down the guitar on his fifth LP and sits behind…
For his 10th studio album, Seth Walker dug deep inside for inspiration and managed to turn in one of his most personally vulnerable efforts to date. Covering both love and loss, lyrically he covers some of the most honest territory yet in his two-decade long career. The album kicks off with two soulful tracks, “Giving It All Away and the more funked up “Inside,” both solid tracks, but not nearly…
Although it took Jonny Polonsky more than two decades to put out five records, the LA, by way of Chicago, cult pop artist apparently harbored a bunch of songs none of us were ever privy to. As a follow up to last year’s Fresh Flesh, Polonsky is offering up 21 rarities for his patient fans and it appears the wait was worth it. This set spans the full 22 years…
Given that Deer Tick turned in two full albums in late 2017, it’s a little surprising just a month in the new year that they already have another LP ready to send out into the world (even if this recent, sudden gift of music was preceded by a four-year absence). But be thankful for small miracles. Mayonnaise, the band’s eight full length is another amazing collection of rock-tinged Americana, made…
Florida native Michael McArthur credits isolation, among other things, for the tone of many of the songs off of Ever Green, Ever Rain, his debut LP. That loneliness can heard throughout each and every track here as McArthur turns in a vulnerable, haunting collection of modern folk that brings to mind everyone from Bon Iver to Iron & Wine. There is an openness to many of these songs, like the…
Man, it must get lonely behind that drum kit. The list of musicians who put down their sticks to take center stage seems to grow every year: Dave Grohl, Phil Collins, Grant Hart, Don Henley and on and on and on… Hunt Sales, go-to sideman for Iggy Pop, David Bowie and Todd Rundgren, is just carrying on a tradition with his debut, “Get Your Shit Together.” The album is a…
While not quite in Ryan Adams/Willie Nelson territory when it comes to prolific visits to the recording studio, Graham Smith’s Kleenex Wonder Girl is certainly on a role. “White Lacuna,” was his second full length in 2018, and sixth in less than 10 years. And far from sounding like a collection of cast-offs and B-Sides, the tracks that make up this latest effort can stand strong against any of his…
In 1993, The Posies turned in one of the finest power pop records of the decade with “Frosting on the Beater.” So, it was almost a given that it’s follow-up wouldn’t stray too far from that formula. And thankfully it didn’t. The 14-track “Amazing Disgrace,” was just as accessible as it’s predecessor, if a little less optimistic in tone, likely a result of troubles within the band (drummer Mike Musburger…