Our selection of the best new music across a range of genres from the week ending 15 October 2021. Leftovers, the debut album from Montreal’s Le Ren, stitches together a patchwork of personal songs about different relationships: those we share with mothers, lovers, and friends. Lauren Spear, the artist behind Le Ren, created a physical…
Swedish folk singer/songwriter and guitarist, José González brings his unique finger picking approach and take on world music to his fourth studio album on Local Valley, drawing on influences from Latin America and Africa. His fluid, often groovy approach to folk is enhanced by his six nylon stringed Spanish “classical” guitars, creating a pastoral instrumentals…
Indie folk/rock quartet The Ophelias return with a third studio album, Crocus. While the four members came together after playing the role of the “token girl” in a male band, their collaboration grew from their combined creativity marked by the unique voice of guitarist and singer/songwriter Spencer Peppet and the violin of Andrea Gutman Fuentes….
Hey What is the 13th studio album from Low, the curious noise band that juxtaposes challenging instrumentals against the sweet and often harmonious vocals of the married duo, Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker. Like much of the contemporary compositions made in “serious music” circles (think modern takes on classical), Low can sound discordant, chaotic, noisy….
With three jazzy piano albums under his belt in the last couple years, it’s no surprise by now that one of Phil Madeira’s musical heroes is jazz icon Thelonious Monk. That may be a surprise to anyone who’s only heard Madeira at his day job, playing backup to one of country music’s best-loved female vocalists…
Mudhoney, a band name that just screams Seattle “grunge,” formed in 1988 after the demise of the band Green River, setting free Mark Arm and Steve Turner as well as two guys who went on to join Pearl Jam, Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament. Vocalist and guitarist Arm and guitarist Turner quickly formed Mudhoney with…
It’s hard off the top of my head to imagine a more prolific and talented songwriter currently working today than John Darnielle, the creative talent at the heart of The Mountain Goats. (Bill Mallonee is the only other contender that comes to mind.) But of course, quantity is not the issue at hand, the concern…
In 1991, when Scottish band Teenage Fanclub first broke in No. America with their third album, Bandwagonesque, their sound was brimming with electric guitars turned up so they were humming on the edge of feeding back, brisk pop song rhythms with Beatlesque hooks and harmonies, and two strong singles in “Star Sign” and “The Concept.”…
In a case of being in the wrong place at the right time, alternative rock power trio Dinosaur Jr. had their best-selling, major label releases in the first half of the 90’s, which got them lumped in with the grunge bands of the Pacific Northwest like Nirvana and Pearl Jam. Of course, they originated on…
Originally formed in the 80’s, The Choir’s long creative partnership between singer and guitarist Derri Daugherty and drummer and lyricist Steve Hindalong continues to reap rich musical rewards on the band’s 16th studio album. While no band thrives through multiple decades without some willingness to adapt to changing musical trends, The Choir has adjusted without…
