by Mark Saleski Call me easily amused, by I’m a sucker for a girl who accompanies herself at the piano by whackin’ a chair with a drumstick. That was how Regina Spektor sang the sassy “Poor Little Rich Boy.” One hand for piano chords, the other for abusing a woodenRead More

by Tom Johnson This spunky singer, 19 years old at the time, was a lot smarter and had a much more mature ear than her age indicated. You May Also Like: Chairmen of the Board – Greatest Hits (1973): Forgotten Series

The last week of July was an occasion of joy and pain for the folk-rock group America. Two days after founding ex-member Dan Peek passed away at the age of 60, America released their first album since 2007’s return-to-form Here And Now. You May Also Like: Stephen Stills & JudyRead More

He sings something like Bob Dylan, plays guitar something like Mark Knopfler, but doesn’t fall into easy mimicry of either. Credit a long journey to get here You May Also Like: No related posts.

There’s a specificity to this song, by Austin, Texas-based roots rocker Eric Hisaw, that pulls you all the way into the story. You May Also Like: Eric Clapton, “Motherless Child” from ‘From the Cradle’ (1994): One Track Mind

One day back in 1996, I was on my way to work and heard this terrific song … about a kid playing in the backyard? Refusing to wear a shirt? Huh?! You May Also Like: Joe Jackson’s Rain underscored a complete modern-era return to form

There are these moments, throughout the fiery emotional aftermath of “Ashes Ashes,” where Katie Costello gives herself over to the lyric, and the sound is like a hot wind rushing past and out into the world. You May Also Like: No related posts.

Annie Dressner’s voice has a twilight poignancy, this majestic loneliness, and nowhere on her forthcoming release Strangers Who Knew Each Others Names is that more true than on its title track. You May Also Like: No related posts.

by Tom Johnson Sarah McLachlan’s angelic voice is reason enough to check out this new album. It’s certainly not to hear anything particularly new: Afterglow was just more of what Sarah does so well. The most powerful segments of the album arrived early on, with the more up-tempo material providingRead More

The cleverly titled The Case Files is the ol’ “odd and ends” collection for this under-noticed troubadour Peter Case. First making his mark with The Nerves in the 70s and The Plimsouls in the early 1980s (remember “Hanging On The Telephone” or “A Million Miles Away”?), Case has now hadRead More