Washington DC band PRIESTS put one some of the most fun live shows. Their latest EP, Bodies and Control and Money and Power, is out today on their new label, Don Giovanni Records.  Their music is fueled by political and social issues.  The single they released ahead of Bodies and Control and Money and Power, “Modern Love/No Weapon”, does continue […]

Whether you live in Ottawa, Barcelona, Johannesburg, Riyadh, Dhaka, Ulan Bator, Jakarta, Christchurch, Yamagata, Lima, San Francisco, or New York, there are two things that people tend to gravitate to – food and music. They are two things that cut across all cultures and bring together people of different nationalities and ethnicities and across all ages. Aar Maanta is one […]

While Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings and Charles Bradley have been the artists most closely associated with the resurgence of Motown and soul music, Lee Fields has quietly produced outstanding soul music – not just in the past few years but for 45 years. Like Charles Bradley, Lee Fields’ voice is powerful and dynamic and his performances are lively, entertaining, […]

Some great albums can be streamed now in advance of their releases on Tuesday, including Parquet Courts, Sunbathing Animal – CBC Music and NPR (look for a review on Wednesday) Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Only Run – NPR (review coming on Wednesday) F**cked Up, Glass Boys – CBC Music Hamilton Leithauser, Black Hours – CBC Music and NPR (review by Rich […]

Johanna Samuels Johanna Samuels, a 25 year old singer-songwriter from New York got her start playing in some of the small clubs in downtown Manhattan.  In 2012, she released a six track EP, Giant Fantasy Life, and on July 22 will release her first full-length album, Double Bind.  Today, she shares her first single off of Double Bind, “For You […]

Spanish Gold For fans of: Black Keys, My Morning Jacket, Hacienda On Tuesday, Spanish Gold released their debut LP South of Nowhere. Spanish Gold is made up of three incredibly talented individuals, lead singer Dante Schwebel of City and Colour and Hacienda, guitarist Adrian Quesada, formerly of Grupo Fantasma, and drummer Patrick Hallahan of My Morning Jacket. From the first […]

What Moon Things will release their debut self-titled LP on June 3. The New Paltz, NY band cite many influences, and their single, “Doesn’t Make Much Sense” is a mix of both punk and shoegaze influence.  Loud vocals, distortion and a lot of ambient noise, it’s a pretty interesting track and I’m intrigued to hear the whole record when it […]

For Those Who Like: John Lee Hooker, Bonnie Raitt, Dr. John Dating back to co-founding Canadian folk group The Be Good Tanyas to her solo career that has spanned more than a decade, Jolie Holland has explored almost every genre of music. On her latest album, Wine Dark Sea, Holland visits the era of blues, roots, and soul music and […]

DARK MEAN For Those Who Like: Amos the Transparent, early Death Cab for Cutie, Stars, The Uglysuit Back in February, Dark Mean from Hamilton, Ontario, released a superb four-track EP with a great name, Samuel the Phoenix. Formed in 2012, the young trio has focused on writing melodic, dreamy indie pop-folk. Similar to early Death Cab for Cutie, lead singer […]

The Walkmen have been one of my favorite bands since the first time I heard them many, many years ago.  I attended their last show ever, and wrote about their break up last year.  The members of The Walkmen have been keeping busy, however, and they have been releasing some great stuff. Lead singer Hamilton Leithauser has always had one […]

Funk, soul, and roots music are slowly creeping back into the mainstream mindset, thanks in large part to veteran musicians like Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, Charles Bradley, Lee Fields (more on him next week), Gary Clark, Jr., and a wave of Australian musicians such as Johnny Lang, The John Butler Trio, Kim Churchill, and Ash Grunwald. Canada, too, has […]

In her first three albums – Because I Was in Love, Epic, and the remarkable Tramp – the beauty in the music lied in the sheer, emotive power of Sharon Van Etten‘s voice and the subtlety of her arrangements that would soar as each song progressed. Her music, too, was personal yet familiar to many of us, often speaking about […]

I’ve really liked most things Conor Oberst has been involved with. Bright Eyes have released some fantastic albums, and his collaboration with Monsters of Folk may be one of my all time favorite records. I’ve even dug Desaparecidos. This week, Oberst released his latest solo effort, Upside Down Mountain, and it’s really, really good. The opening track, “Time Forgot”, feels […]

For Those Who Like: Sarah McLachlan, The Bright Smoke, Marissa Nadler On her debut EP, young Toronto singer-songwriter STACEY has released an extremely intimate and honest album. In each of the five tracks, there is a sense of loss, whether it is someone close or one’s innocence. The minimalist feel of the album, which involves just STACEY’s vocals and her […]

For Those Who Like: Sum 41, Diarrhea Planet Is it possible for post-punk rock to be harmony laden? In the case of San Diego band Weatherbox, the project of Brian Warren, they have just done that. On the 13-track, Flies in All Directions is an apt description for Weatherbox’s third LP, as the San Diego band has written mostly post-punk tracks, […]

Named as one of our most anticipated albums of 2014,  Are We There is the fourth album from New York based singer-songwriter Sharon Van Etten. Are We There is set to be released next week, on May 27 in North America and May 26 in Europe.  Her first three albums are some of my all-time favorites, so I immediately pre-ordered the […]

Lee Fields, the 63-year old legendary soul singer, returns with The Expressions to release his umpteenth album (his 11th studio album and he’s released countless others), Emma Jean. The album, which is named after his mother, will be officially released on June 3. If you want a sneak peak, the album is being streamed on NPR.

Cloud Caverns Long Island, New York based experimental and acoustic band Cloud Caverns are a bit of a mix of everything.  Their first full length album, Gypsy Loft was released on May 4, and is a great folk rock record.  The project of Brandon Peterson and Dan Bouza, Cloud Caverns feel a bit like what would happen if M. Ward […]

For Those Who Like: The Verve, The Great Lake Swimmers, Juan Wauters While I had heard of previous songs from Amen Dunes – the project of upstate New York native and now Brooklyn resident Damon McMahon – I was not overly familiar with his work until he opened for Mac DeMarco at The Blacksheep Inn in early April 4. Despite […]

For Those Who Like: Reignwolf, Led Zeppelin, The White Stripes Christopher Wild on his self-titled debut album, which was released on April 15, has produced a record that I hoped The Black Keys would have produced (not to say Turn Blue is a bad record) – raw, gritty, explosive garage rock that is absolutely relentless from start to finish. From the […]