Taking stock last night, as the sun dove below the trees on the year’s longest day, it occurred to me that 2012 has already provided a harvest of good-rocking blessings. There have been tough-minded albums that helped frame a difficult age from the likes of Bruce Springsteen and Kevin Gordon,Read More

It’s like a keening angel drops in on this crinkly Talking Heads song, as David Byrne unleashes a series of classic tangled rhythms — only to be one upped by Annie Clark You May Also Like: Ever Wonder How David Byrne Fit Inside That Giant Talking Heads Suit?

Little Feat finds a welcome new focus on songwriting, versus the rangy but sometimes ultimately unsatisfying jam-based structures of more recent outings.

It’s not like Peter Buck hasn’t been busy. In fact, he’s kinda been everywhere since R.E.M. split, participating in a number of side projects You May Also Like: Steve Million – ‘What I Meant to Say’ (2021)

Edward LaRose’s painting on the cover, itself so full of ying-and-yang dualities, sets an expectant tone for Ralph Peterson’s layered and challenging new recording — and the drummer delivers. You May Also Like: How the Dr. John-Led ‘Bluesiana’ Sequel Somehow Matched the Original Cuong Vu 4-Tet, featuring Bill Frisell –Read More

Sounding something like the classic Blue Note recordings of trombonist Curtis Fuller’s youth, Down Home has an in-the-pocket joy that’s contagious. You May Also Like: Richard Turgeon, “A New Shade of Blue” (2020): One Track Mind

Self-taught Johnnie Bassett never thought much of the barriers between styles, and I Can Make That Happen is better for that. You May Also Like: No related posts.

Return to Forever, as Lenny White proudly told me, was a “jazz quartet on steroids” — with all of the muscular virtuosity and boisterous flourishes implied. Enter violinist Jean-Luc Ponty You May Also Like: Return to Forever’s Surprise ‘Returns’ Smartly Focused on the Past How ‘Stanley Clarke Band Featuring Hiromi’Read More

Peter Holsapple, long-time leader of the dB’s, joins us to discuss the band’s rocky early years, working with Mitch Easter and R.E.M., and how he and Chris Stamey reunited.

When Peter Holsapple decided to reunite with the rest of the original dB’s, they vowed to take their time. But then one year of recording then turned into two. Which turned into five. Then seven.