A patently weird, completely loveable group of retro-cool Austin hipsters, Jitterbug Vipers sounds like Norah Jones sitting in with Django Reinhardt. You May Also Like: Desmond White, “Dream Girl” from Glace (2017): One Track Mind Lina Allemano Four – ‘Pipe Dream’ (2023) Norah Jones – ‘Pick Me Up Off theRead More
Darden Smith returns with a quietly introspective love song — one that offers as many ruminative questions about the mysteries of passion as it does celebrations of how these things somehow work out anyway. You May Also Like: Why Patti Smith’s Resiliency Leads Me Back to ‘Easter,’ Time and AgainRead More
Something clicked with Bobby Whitlock connected with Eric Clapton, and their combined voices — as singers, and as writers — fired the blast-furnace of anguish and lust that was Layla. You May Also Like: ‘All Things Must Pass Away: Harrison, Clapton, and Other Assorted Love Songs’ by Kenneth Womack andRead More
Omar Dykes clearly possesses a deep-seated passion for the rumbling joys of old Howlin’ Wolf records — both his gruff howl, and the work of his flinty guitarist Hubert Sumlin. Luckily, he doesn’t let that passion turn into mimicry. You May Also Like: How ‘London Howlin’ Wolf Sessions’ Gave BoomerRead More
Actually a single-man vehicle driven by Eric Blakely, the Bottle Kids score home run after home run on Such A Thrill, which rates high on the scale as one of the greatest debut albums to sail down the street in many moons. You May Also Like: Caddy – ‘Detours andRead More
Missing longtime member Tom Pittman, but none of the knee-slapping fun, the Austin Lounge Lizards’ fizzy Home and Deranged takes on such typically topical subjects as airport patdowns, big-ego music stars, fat-cat bankers and government conspiracy theories. You May Also Like: David Philips, “Home” from Winter (2017): Something Else! sneakRead More
Gregg Rolie begins with a simmering piano signature, then slowly settles into a greasy groove — setting the stage for some of his first new music since a 2011 solo EP. Before that, Rolie last issued a full-band studio effort in 2001, with Roots. You May Also Like: Ringo StarrRead More
A tasty mixture of greasy blues rock, deranged intellect and mudhole-stomping Texas attitude, Churchwood once again illustrates what a post-punk Skip James might have sounded like had he gotten into the lysergic weirdness of 13th Floor Elevators. You May Also Like: Why Dennis Wilson’s Rough-Hewn Debut ‘Pacific Ocean Blue’ WasRead More
Making music of drama, risk and uplift, Alpha Rev sounds something like Mumford and Sons meets Coldplay — though the best of Bloom boasts an originality miles away from the latter. You May Also Like: How Johnny Cash’s ‘Hundred Highways’ Kept Adding to His Remarkable Legacy Joe Martin – ‘Étoilée’Read More
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVy-2U0bdls&w=560&h=315] Originally from the Northeast coast of Australia and now calling Texas her home, singer-songwriter Lisa Richards uncorks a bottle of confidence and darkness on Beating of the Sun. You May Also Like: Lisa Germano’s ‘Happiness’ Broke Out of the John Mellencamp Roots Rut Rusty Young – Waitin’ ForRead More
