by Tom Johnson It had been four long years since Ween graced us with a new album of weirdness. In that time, they did slip out the fantastic Shinola Vol. 1, a collection of odds and ends that includes their Pizza Hut jingle that apparently didn’t go over so wellRead More

by Tom Johnson My favorite guitarist released, at long last, his second live album in 2005. How a guitarist this amazing and talented had gone so long between live releases is beyond me. Whereas his first live album, the intriguingly titled Live, captured Frisell at the peak of his noisyRead More

by Tom Johnson I like to think of Isis as the band that Tool wishes it could be. Call me jaded, but by this time, Tool had become entangled in plots created to baffle and obfuscate rather than intrigue and draw listeners in, being what they think is clever butRead More

There are moments when bands turn a corner, where everything becomes a bit more tightened up, stronger, more prominent. Transatlanticism was that album for Death Cab For Cutie. You May Also Like: Death Cab for Cutie, “Black Sun” from Kintsugi (2015): One Track Mind Death Cab for Cutie, “No RoomRead More

There’s no denying, if you dig into the stacks, the Who’s shuddering energy – equal parts speed, raw fury and rangy emotion.

by Tom Johnson This album wasn’t initially as well received as I think it should’ve been. It wasn’t the masterpiece I was hoping for, but it was a step up from the wildly uneven 13. With the exit of guitarist/fellow-mastermind Graham Coxon, Damon Albarn pretty much had complete artistic controlRead More

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

by Tom Johnson There’s something really worrisome when you hear that any highly regarded artist is doing the soundtrack for a kid’s movie. It conjures images of Sting and Phil Collins destroying their careers and what little credibility they had left. But, you know, Paul Westerberg. I mean, come on.Read More