For years and years, Sonic Youth’s Daydream Nation was the record I went to when the mood struck for some ugly & hypnotic guitar. Dirty now sits in that spot. Actually, it’s the second disc of the deluxe-edition set from 2003: full of b-sides and, more important, a ton ofRead More

Once you’ve heard Willie Nelson’ You Don’t Know Me: The Songs Of Cindy Walker, a strong album of covers, it’s easy to see where Nelson gets his knack for songwriting: He obviously studied Walker’s template and then took it in his own direction. What’s surprising here is that an albumRead More

When this New Hampshire vocalist first arrived with the debut project Red Door Sessions, she was all of 13-years-old. Inevitably, the attention surrounding Brisson was as much (maybe more) about her age as her, well, her voice. Chloe Brisson returns, four years later, with an album that makes the caseRead More

Their emblematic lead single, “Listen to Your Love,” is everything you need to know about Mona: A stirring, arena-rock riff; a howling, transfixing frontman; a propulsive, punky chorus. So, OK, this might be ground already well trod by Kings of Leon. Still, there’s something intriguingly authentic about this project, recordedRead More

A lost gem by the late, great lead guitarist for Parliament-Funkadelic, Hazel’s 1977 debut album features a trio of well-selected covers set amidst of series of thunderously groovy originals featuring many of his fellow P-Funk All Stars. Highlights include the trippy reverie of Hazel’s take on the Mamas and theRead More

Anchored by the longtime trio of vocalist/guitarist Tim Kasher, bassist Matt Maginn and guitarist/vocalist Ted Stevens, Cursive’s latest long player is a bit of surprise — a Big Idea Project. While the emo-punk band has always explored its share of thorny issues (religion, narcissism, drowning in hell’s flames), here theyRead More

Two major figures from the first generation of Finland’s modern jazz musicians saxophonist Juhani Aaltonen and pianist Heikki Sarmanto have played together for nearly fifty years, recording some thirty albums together in a variety of settings along the way. With that much history between them, you’d think that they’d haveRead More

As with the Symbiosis album that it follows, Red Sparkle is a Jeff Hamilton small combo setting where its drummer leader can make his presence known without having to be overbearing. That’s because he’s a master stylist behind the kit, whether he’s swinging on “Ain’t That A Peach” or “TooRead More

Every music fan has moments they hold dear. Maybe it was the time they performed “that” song at a concert. Or maybe it was a song what happened to be playing when an important relationship began. Perhaps most simple is when we hear a particular artist for the first timeRead More

A fizzy combination of Cocteau Twins-style dream-pop and stamping R&B grooves, Poliça is a meeting of the musical minds by electronica producer Ryan Olson (Gayngs) and vocalist Channy Leaneagh. Together, they’ve fashioned an album in the forthcoming Give You The Ghost that is both haunting and hooky — like next-genRead More