by Tom Johnson The second installment in Stevens’ planned 50-piece “states” series took aim at Illinois. As a follow-up to 2004’s stunning Seven Swans, it struggles a bit, but is a rewarding and entertaining listen. Stevens’ music is pretty much entirely acoustic — banjos, guitars, piano. Those who want anotherRead More

by Tom Johnson Do we need another Radiohead cover? Hasn’t everything been said about Radiohead by artists from every corner of the music world? You May Also Like: Richard Turgeon, “Better With You” (2022): One Track Mind Richard Turgeon, “Learning to Fly” (2020): One Track Mind

I love to read negative reviews of albums put out by aging rock stars. They’re predictable in a comforting sort of way. A big chunk of them say that the artist hasn’t been any good since the “blah blah” release. You May Also Like: How Neil Young’s Complex, Hypnotic ‘Greendale’Read More

by Mark Saleski If they had a jazz big band playing on that old TV show “Lost In Space,” this would be the one. Take a sort of big band lineup, but then mix in some 1960’s spacey keyboards and some truly wacky vocals. Sun Ra and his Arkestra wereRead More

I wanted to love this. I originally heard the “pre-release” mp3s that slipped out, and I was enthused at what appeared to be a return to the “classic” Radiohead sound of OK Computer and The Bends. You May Also Like: Radiohead Saw the Future With ‘OK Computer,’ Then Became ItRead More

More on our series on “weird-assed trios”… Tenor saxophonist Jonathan Lindhorst and guitarist Ryan Butler went down to the Village Vanguard in New York five years ago to catch a Paul Motian Trio show, and got to meet with Motian Trio members Bill Frisell and Joe Lovano afterwards. The wholeRead More

by Fred Phillips In the circle of music fans that I normally find myself in, mentioning Poison is usually not a good idea. Bands with poof hair and makeup — unless, of course, it’s corpse paint — will usually get you laughed out of the conversation. You May Also Like:Read More

While the all-girl Luscious Jackson made all kinds of concessions by including then-hip back beats and low-key rhymes, Manny still aspires to a groovy article of faith. (It’s something they shared with the Beastie Boys, who ran the label this album appeared on.) Even now, there’s an involving adventurousness hereRead More

Being from the town of Tulsa, Oklahoma, Falkner Evans might be a jazz pianist, but he’s travelled through other styles of music before settling there permanently, even served as a member of country swing band Asleep At The Wheel in the early 80’s. Since around the turn of the millennium,Read More

We had the “official” start of summer a little over a week ago, by I’ve always felt that the 4th of July weekend was when summer stepped into its full bloom. You May Also Like: Lisa Germano’s ‘Happiness’ Broke Out of the John Mellencamp Roots Rut John Mellencamp’s ‘Freedom’s Road’Read More