The first time I heard the lead single from Margaret Glaspy’s third album, Echo The Diamond, the kicking guitar hook of “Act Natural” knocked me down, but her spirited vocal and insightful lyrics left me on the ground, stunned. And, once we tracked down the album, I was both surprised and pleased to hear how…
Be Your Own Pet has a solid history of delivering a wild and unapologetic ride through the chaotic realm of garage punk and indie rock. Mommy marks the band’s first LP in 15+ years and was written and recorded by the three founding members Jemina Pearl Abegg (vox), Jonas Stein (guitar), Nathan Vasquez (bass), and…
If you’re a fan of alternative Americana rock, there’s no chance you haven’t heard Marc Ribot’s play guitar, and I’d bet even without knowing who was playing you were blown away by how it was perfect for the moment, and yet completely outside of the box of your usual expectations. Ribot’s bio reminds us that…
Pardoner, the San Francisco-based indie rock band, has returned with their fourth album, Peace Loving People, and it’s a fantastic display of their evolving sound and songwriting prowess. Building upon the foundation they laid on last year’s excellent Came Down Different, Pardoner delivers a collection of songs here that continues to push boundaries, experiment with…
There’s a determined, purposeful up-tempo feel on Jenny Lewis’ fifth solo project, the aptly titled Joy’All. It’s as if the former child actor and former Rilo Kiley singer has decided that little is gained by holding on to past harms when you can “follow your joy’all.” But she’s not living in denial either. In the…
When Sam Jones’ documentary, Jason Isbell: Running With Our Eyes Closed, dropped earlier this year, music fans not only got an inside look into the making of the 2020 release from Jason Isbell and his band The 400 Unit, Reunions, but we also witnessed the tensions as the singer-songwriter struggled to get the words of…
In the realm of surf rock, few bands capture the spirit of the genre as brilliantly as The Bomboras. With their energetic performances and undeniable talent, the band consistently delivered a unique and captivating sound that soared in the early ’90s. However, it all came to an exhilarating end after their 1994 record, “Head Shrinkin’…
If there were really such a thing as time travel, it wouldn’t be all that hard to convince even the most astute music listener that the new album from The Lemon Twigs was a long-lost product from 1967, perhaps the one original copy hidden away in a time capsule until now. That year, the Beatles…
The National’s ninth studio album, First Two Pages of Frankenstein, derives its title from a moment deep in singer Matt Berninger’s bout with writer’s block. To break the lock, he will often grab a book off the shelf just to get some words in his head. In this case, the first two pages of Frankenstein…
On their fourth full-length album, the often-labeled psychedelic pop/rock quartet Temples, have chosen a title that comes close to describing both the breadth of their compositions and the lush musical textures they created with producer Sean Ono Lennon. With their 2019 release, Hot Motion, the quartet displayed their dexterity with a broad spectrum of rock…
