In the 2010’s, Elvis Costello, the iconic punk savant, has stayed active by touring most summers, but he’s only made one album since the T Bone Burnett produced, National Ransom in 2010, his most recent excursion into Americana. The other recording was the unexpected but brilliant collaboration with Questlove & The Roots, Wise Up Ghost…
Jack Tatum (who is the engine behind Wild Nothing’s studio work) toys with his sound on his latest album, Indigo. Wild Nothing was known early on for a dream pop, chillwave vibe. Each release has gradually moved away from that sound, ultimately giving Indigo a surprising sense of urgency and burst of energy. It’s a…
Whether it’s dealing with the current political climate or wrestling with their own mortality, Matt and Kim have found a sense of urgency and focus on their latest album, Almost Everyday. The Brooklyn duo started their career with a bang and lost some of their lustre with their later releases. Coasting may be too harsh…
On the warm and lovely Lightsleeper, father and son Neil & Liam Finn collaborate in a dreamy song cycle that celebrates the family connections and the ties that bind our lives to one another. Neil Finn, of course, has had a remarkable career that continues to evolve. The 60-year-old New Zealand native joined his brother…
Tony Molina doesn’t mess around with tracks. His ripping guitar mix of fuzz that was his 2013 record, Dissed And Dismissed, ran 12 songs in just over 11 minutes. His Confront The Truth EP (2016) contained 8 songs in 10 minutes. And now his new LP, Kill The Lights, offers up 10 new tunes in…
According to the bio on the artist website, the collaboration of singer/songwriter Joseph Arthur and former R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck has been organic and spontaneous from the get-go. Arthur, with over a dozen solo albums to his credit as well as a collaboration with Ben Harper and George’s son, Dhani Harrison in Fistful of Mercy,…
Britain’s Supergrass ran their course in the 90’s and 00’s. They were popular throughout the UK and Europe, but never quite got the attention they deserved elsewhere. Part of another wave of Brit-pop around the same time as Blur and Oasis, Supergrass, led by singer/guitarist/songwriter Gaz Coombes, they combined the energy of post-punk alternative, but…
When a band puts out a “best of” album it is often the sign of a big change: they’re breaking up; looking for a quick way to fulfill their contract with a label so they can sign a better contract somewhere else; or maybe just cashing in. When Snow Patrol released their Greatest Hits in…
Three friends – drag queens Mitzi and Felicia, and trans performer Bernadette – board a battered old bus named “Priscilla”. They plan to travel from Sydney across the desert to fulfill a performance engagement in Alice Springs. Mitzi’s past has come back to provide an unlikely second chance. Along the way to the Alice, the “girls” frock…
You must reach a point, one would guess, where you’ve had as much success as you need or that you expect to get, and you can stop striving for some elusive brass ring, and settle in with your friends for the sake of making music with your friends. That certainly seems to be the case…
