boygenius is the supergroup trio comprised of Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus. Their debut album is the follow up to the group’s fantastic 2018 self-titled EP. At the time of its 6-song release, boygenius seemed like a real treat getting to hear these talented artists come together in one place and sound like…
Scottish-native and singer/guitarist, Alasdair Roberts has always loved the traditional folk music of his homeland, and again after two dozen or so solo and collaborative releases, he returns here with 12 traditional ballads. Recorded live in the studio over the course of two days, Grief in the Kitchen and Mirth in the Hall, a title…
At several points on this monumental 9th album from singer/songwriter Lana Del Rey, she reports that “When you know, you know.” Yet after numerous listens to this album that no less than pop superstar Taylor Swift recently described as “brilliant” and “extraordinary,” adding that her collaborator on the song “Snow on the Beach” from her…
Philip Selway, best known as the drummer in Radiohead, has released his third solo album revealing an affinity for the elegant and artful, technologically enhanced, somewhat experimental, larger than life arrangements that has long been part of his main band’s largest works. Surprisingly, Selway and producer Marta Salogni brought in Italian drummer Valentina Magaletti, due…
Gramercy Arms is a NYC musical collective brought together around the songwriting of Dave Derby, who keeps the focus of this third album locked in on polished power/pop that’s inspired, as the band bio says, “by the artistic heyday of the 70’s and 80’s-era.” Derby sings, plays guitar and occasionally holds down the bass, while…
Manzanita is the common name for a kind of small evergreen tree endemic to California which has strong medicinal properties. It is a fitting title for the newest solo album from La Luz’s Shana Cleveland as the record displays a gorgeousness that will instantly change your state of mind in one setting. The lyrics, the…
Ron Gallo has been a very well known name on the indie circuit since his solid 2017 record Heavy Meta was released. He has earned a loyal live following and shared the stage with plenty of big names like Spoon, Parquet Courts, Ty Segall, Thee Oh Sees, Wilco, and J. Mascis to just name a…
Magnolia, the debut album from jazz trio Okonski, uses a simple formula: piano, bass, and drums. But simplicity can be deceptive, and Magnolia manages to cover a lot of musical and emotional ground over its seven tracks. Bandleader Steve Okonski’s piano work is the primary focus conjures a range of moods and styles, but “meditative”…
It appears to have taken a global pandemic to get power duo Quasi back into the studio 10 years after their last release. Surrounded by numerous end-of-the-world scenarios with no touring happening, it seemed the perfect time for the combined talents of Sam Coomes and Janet Weiss to put their unique stamp on a dozen…
Yo La Tengo have been faithfully plugging along for nearly 40 years, with a new release every few years offering their assessment of what was going on in the world around us. For instance, in 2020 as the pandemic was kicking all of our asses, the trio re-assembled in their practice space following social distancing…
