[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N04YRh9ZRk0&w=420&h=315] The Russian-born, Grammy-nominated, Knoxville-based singer-songwriter Lydia Salnikova has a little holiday treat for us all. We’re at a time when we’re hearing a lot of Christmas songs we’ve heard a million times before. You May Also Like: Dan Markell, “Carnival Game” (2021): One Track Mind Danny Elfman andRead More

There’s a broken majesty, a scraggly hopefulness, surrounding “Long Emotional Ride” — like a rebirth after a lengthy time gone. You May Also Like: ‘Burning Questions’ Found Graham Parker Still Angry, If No Longer Young

Even as so many singers today seem to be reluctant to give themselves over to the lyric, more concerned with histrionics than connecting on an emotional level, Kalen’s new EP cuts a different path. You May Also Like: Presley’s Beatles, “Can’t Help Falling In Love / Let It Be” (2020):Read More

A newly unearthed Eric Clapton track, to be included in a lavish 35th anniversary reissue of Slowhand, finds the guitarist offering his own quietly weary take on a Gordon Lightfoot deep cut. You May Also Like: Eric Clapton – Slowhand at 70 (2015) Eric Clapton, “Motherless Child” from ‘From theRead More

“Good Things Happen to Bad People,” the guitar-stoked advance song from Richard Thompson’s forthcoming long-player Electric, finds him bellowing with a bracing vigor. There’s a knife’s edge to both his singing and his playing. You May Also Like: Richard Thompson, “Broken Doll” from Still (2015): One Track Mind Linda andRead More

‘Live at Montreux’ was recorded as Patti Smith celebrated the 30th anniversary of ‘Horses,’ and features long-time collaborator Tom Verlaine.

It’s all well and good, these love songs from Paul Kelly. But then, maybe inevitably, it all goes to shit — and that’s when Spring and Fall starts to get good. You May Also Like: I-Ten – ‘Taking a Cold Look’ (1983): Forgotten Series Wes Montgomery with the Wynton KellyRead More

Andrew Bird shelves the intricate alterno-pop vibe of this year’s earlier Break It Yourself for something rootsier, and more real here — delving into Celtic forms, Americana, bluegrass, country and gospel You May Also Like: Andrew Bird’s ‘Noble Beast / Useless Creatures’ Was as Challenging as It Was Gorgeous

Emily Herndon, in her forthcoming full-length debut as May Stands Still, refuses to play to the hushed fragility that’s become the folkie-ingenue stereotype — forcing us to hear her songs in a whole new way. You May Also Like: Rob Mazurek Quintet’s hypnotic, diverse Sound Is rewarded close listens DavidRead More

Most famous for her breakout late-1980s hit “What I Am” with the New Bohemians, Edie Brickell always had an uneasy relationship with fame.