Liam Finn’s second solo record is different, something far more conventionally pop-infused than his 2007 debut, a thrilling but almost confusingly complex outburst of creativity called I’ll Be Lightning — and that can, at first, sound like a step backward. It starts with his noticeable drift back into the shadowRead More

If there’s one song I am drawn to by the message alone, it’s this one. The cheesy late-eighties production and the plain melody does not bother me one bit. You May Also Like: How Mike and the Mechanics’ ‘The Living Years’ Helped Bridge an Emotional Gap

If you were tasked with listing the influences of JazzGuitaristPatMetheny™, some good entries might be Four and More (Miles Davis), Ornette Coleman’s Something Else!!! (Sorry, couldn’t resist), and Smokin’ At The Half Note by the Wynton Kelly Trio with Wes Montgomery. You May Also Like: Pat Metheny – ‘Dream Box’Read More

Here’s a new song and video from the forthcoming remastered special edition of Paul McCartney‘s 1980 solo project McCartney II. A never-before-released track, “Blue Sway” will be part of the set’s bonus audio disc You May Also Like: No related posts.

John Oates takes us inside the love-gone-wrong beginnings of Hall and Oates “She’s Gone,” and talks about how the birth of Oates’ son sparked a standout solo track. He also laments that doo wop never gets its due, and how he remade a signature Hall and Oates hit into aRead More

Paul Simon’s new record, his first since 2006’s dense Brian Eno-collaboration Surprise, is a career-spanning, sometimes duskily ruminative, quirk-splashed triumph — simultaneously bold in its constructions and timeless in its themes. You May Also Like: How ‘Paul Simon’ Set the Template for a Career of Dizzying Musical Exploration

It’s been a weird week, one saved by a few completely unrelated events. Saved from what? Let’s call it a dark mood You May Also Like: No related posts.

Speaking from the heart is one thing, but to sing from that tender place — to reveal just how vulnerable you are on stage — takes a different kind of courage. And Haley Dreis, the South Carolina classical fiddle player turned budding popular songsmith, has that courage. You May AlsoRead More

by Mark Saleski This is not about politics. Though I do try to keep a safe distance from it, the volume level of that particular circus has risen to something beyond deafening. You May Also Like: No related posts.

By Nick DeRiso It’s tempting to get too comfy, as Kimball Gallagher dots Orange with a series of spare, acoustic guitar-driven ruminations. It’s never long, however, before this New York City-based Boston native has amped up his dark themes of life and loss into a gritty outburst of power-pop. ThatRead More