Album Review: Willie Nelson – Ride Me Back Home (Legacy)
Four wives, seven children, 69 studio albums and 86 years on this earth. The numbers don’t lie, Willie Nelson is an institution. And his new album proves that he just gets better with time.
Album Review: The Black Keys – Let’s Rock (Easy Eye/Nonesuch)
This new Black Keys album comes five years after their previous long player. Did they wait too long, or not long enough? I’m not sure.
Album Review: The Raconteurs – Help Us Stranger (Third Man)
A mere 11 years after their previous album, The Raconteurs reconvene to bring us their third long player, Help Us Stranger.
Album Review: Chris Shiflett – Hard Lessons (East Beach/Thirty Tigers)
Foo Fighters’ guitarist Chris Shiflett sets up shop in Nashville for a quick set of country-rockers, added and abetted by Nashville’s hottest producer, Dave Cobb.
Album Review: Iron & Wine and Calexico – Years To Burn (Sub Pop)
Nearly 15 years after their first collaboration, Iron & Wine and Calexico mix it up again.
Album Review: Rickie Lee Jones – Kicks (The Other Side Of Desire/Thirty Tigers)
Rickie Lee Jones turns in her fourth (count ‘em) covers collection, and it’s a winner.
EP Review: Soaked Oats – Sludge Pop (Dot Dash/Rhythmethod)
Self-described Dunedin “sludge-pop” quartet Soaked Oats turn up with their third EP, released digitally and on 10’ coloured vinyl.
Album Review: David Bowie – Clareville Grove Demos (Parlophone)
This collection of six songs recorded as demos in early 1969 finds the young David Bowie still searching for a musical voice that will connect with an audience. That audience was just a few months away.
Album Review: Bruce Springsteen – Western Stars (Columbia)
Bruce Springsteen returns with his 19th album and first album of all new material since 2012’s Wrecking Ball.
Album Review: Neil Young & Stray Gators – Tuscaloosa (Reprise)
Neil Young’s archive series marches on with this latest concert recording from February 5th, 1973.
Album Review: The Felice Brothers – Undress (Yep Roc)
If nothing else, the Trump administration has inspired an awful lot of music lately. The Felice Brothers’ new album finds the Catskill-based band with politics on their mind and a new line-up to help get the message across.
Album Review: Faye Webster – Atlanta Millionaires Club (Secretly Canadian)
21-year-old Faye Webster has just released her third album, a record that combines her lyrics of angst and loneliness with a unique musical blend of contemporary r&b and American roots music.
Album Review: Justin Townes Earle – The Saint Of Lost Causes (New West)
Justin Townes Earle’s eighth album finds an artist hitting a new standard for himself, both in terms of songwriting and production.
Album Review: Jamila Woods – Legacy! Legacy! (Jagjaguwar)
Following up on her acclaimed 2016 debut album, Heavn, Chicago-based singer, poet, teacher and activist Jamila Woods pays tribute to her personal heroes on Legacy! Legacy!
Album Review: The National – I Am Easy To Find (4AD)
The National’s eighth long player is their most ambitious work to date with a short film and a cast of thousands involved in its creation.
Album Review: Mavis Staples – We Get By (Anti-)
With her 80th birthday just two months away, Mavis Staples continues to make soulful, funky music with a very contemporary message.
Concert Review: Chrissie Hart – Back Beat May 11, 2019
She’s sung other people’s songs on cruise ships in the Caribbean and 5-star hotels in China, now Chrissie Hart sings her own songs at Auckland’s Back Beat Bar.
Album Review: Bad Religion – Age Of Unreason (Epitaph)
After a six year hiatus, Bad Religion is back with a new set of blistering, politically-charged songs.
Album Review: Circle 60 – Sawn Off Shot Gold
Psychedelic Octopus Space Adventure, ahoy!!
Album Review: The Hip Priests – Stand for Nothing (Speedowax)
The Hip Priests have been making a racket for a little over a decade with their full-tilt, Scandi-driven rock n roll excess, but the last couple of years have seen them shift their focus away from all-drinking, all-drugging, all-shagging beasts into a singularly more political band, and it works for them.