Washington DC’s Mary Timony is synonymous with fun punk rock, having been part of Helium and Wild Flag.  Her newest project, Ex Hex is, not surprisingly, a blast to listen to and their debut Rips does exactly that, it rips! The opening track “Don’t Wanna Lose” is driven by Laura Harris of The Aquarium’s drumming as much as Timony’s power-chord […]

Kat Edmonson was born to perform. From a young age, the Brooklyn-via-Houston singer-songwriter devoured her mother’s retro records and films, often seeing herself as a contemporary of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Strangely, her first exposure to a mass audience took place in 2002 as a contestant on Season 2 of American Idol. Although she was abruptly eliminated in the […]

In 2002, Battles, an experimental, instrumental rock band from New York, was formed, and they have released two terrific albums (2007’s Mirrored and 2011’s Gloss Drop) that were bold and heart-racing fun. Also in 2002, the second installment of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Two Towers, was released and along with it was the terrific score by acclaimed […]

Early in 2013, The History of Apple Pie released their debut album, Out of View, a collection of songs that saw the London, UK band dabble in indie pop to indie rock. Out of View was essentially a nod to the American pop and rock music of the ’80s, ’90s, and early 2000s that they grew up listening to (hence the name of […]

One of the most interesting records you’ll hear all year is  Slant of Light from the Philadelphia duo of Mary Lattimore and Jeff Zeigler.  Lattimore is a harpist who has played with Thurston Moore, Kurt Vile, Jarvis Cocker, and Sharon Van Etten. Zeigler is a multi-instrumentalist who’s performed with The War On Drugs, and A Sunny Day in Glasgow.  Slant […]

I was so happy to have the opportunity to hear WiL’s new record a few weeks before its release. This guy has a large and dedicated fan base, and writes some of the greatest acoustic folk/country tunes in Canada. Starting off in the mid-90s as a cover-song singing pub act, WiL found his voice and a deal with EMI Records. […]

I was remarking to my wife last week if any band or artist had, this year, produced a dreamier album than Dream Boat’s The Rose Explodes, which Rich reviewed last week. Just as I utter those words, Electric Youth, the young electronic, synth-pop duo from Los Angeles and Toronto, released Innerworld in advance. Whereas Dream Boat’s record is haunting and […]

Most artist bios have glorious descriptions of the act, and you have to take them with a large salt grain. Not that they’re incorrect, but sometimes you have to wonder if you can believe the hype. I got this CD (yay, a CD!) in the mail from Linus Entertainment and just listened to it before reading the accompanying bio. I […]

This Wednesday, long-time New York City quintet, Millsted, will release HARLEM, an eight-song LP of in-your-face, hardcore punk rock. This will be their album, although the band, in different arrangements, has been rocking NYC’s underground music scene for well over a decade. Their politically charged music has created a niche following in the city that never sleeps, but with their […]

This weekend, here are six albums we recommend streaming, ranging for an iconic singer-songwriter to up-and-coming indie bands. With her 11th studio effort, Lucinda Williams is offering fans a treat with the double album, Down Where the Spirit Meets the Bone. Have a listen on NPR. Another music stalwart returns. The Vaselines are back with their first album in four […]

The garage rock resurgence has been a formidable musical force with the likes of Ty Segall, Mikal Cronin, and The Oh Sees putting out stellar work at almost a frenetic pace.  King Tuff, the in-your-face alter ego of Vermont-based, multi-instrumentalist Kyle Thomas, joined the fray with his excellent self-titled debut album in 2012.  Like his peers, Thomas delivers fuzzy guitar […]

On her debut solo album as Kind Cousin, Allison Bohl DeHart has crafted a little gem of an album with Tremendous Hem. An album that has taken years to develop and perfect, Tremendous Hem is an ode to the many influences in DeHart’s growth as a singer and songwriter. Throughout the ten tracks, the album echos of her childhood roots […]

Every Saturday, prog/jam band Fasba Fpel releases a new LP of about 40 minutes of music.  How do they accomplish this? By releasing everything they play. A lot of stuff that would end on other bands cutting room floors end up front and center for these guys.  They’re looking to release 100 free albums in 2015, too and they claim […]

Last week, dance pop duo The Juan MacLean released their fourth album In A Dream.  Their style of house and techno is really infectious and hard not to groove to.  In ADream features singer Nancy Whang absolutely killing it from her first lines in the chorus in “A Place Called Space” and John Malean doing some incredible stuff as well. […]

There have been several reviews in advance of Mike Hadreas’ third album under the moniker, Perfume Genius, applauding the Seattle singer-songwriter for, Too Bright, his latest album on Matador Records, and rightfully so. From start to finish, the album is breathtaking yet ambitious. It avoids, for the most part, the formulaic approach of popular pop music, but instead ebbs and […]

Next Tuesday sees a load of new music dropping and many of them are streaming right now for free. Some albums you might wish to check out include: Leonard Cohen highlights this weekend’s stream. The legendary Canadian will release Popular Problems, his thirteenth studio album. NPR and CBC Music have it. Tweedy, which comprises of Jeff Tweedy, his son Spencer, […]

Athens, Georgia’s Dream Boat has continued to impress us every time we hear something new from them. Their single “Way Out” was incredible, and they ended up on our favourite discoveries list.  This week, they released The Rose Explodes.  Dream Boat is the project of Page Campbell and Dan Donohue.  In the past, Campbell played in Hope For Agoldensummer and […]

First, full credit for today’s feature by Amerigo Gazaway goes to Andrew Miles, who resides in London, UK and is probably as big of a music geek, if not more so, than Kevin, Rich, Michael, Christina, Darren, and me. He flagged these two albums to a group of common friends and music fans, and I’ve been playing them quite frequently. Amerigo […]

When Vancouver’s Claire Elise Boucher – better known as Grimes – exploded on the indie scene in 2012 with her critically-acclaimed Visions, her success helped pave the way for several, young women artists to share their electronic-infused synth-pop music. Earlier this year, Caila Thompson-Hannant of Montreal, a.k.a. Mozart’s Sister, shared her terrific debut album. Now Calgary-born, Toronto- and London-based Elizabeth Lowell […]

Listen if you like: Deer Tick, Brown Bird, The Devil Makes Three, Langhorne Slim For the last few years, I’ve called Joe Fletcher one of the hardest working men in music.  He’s released two albums with his band, Joe Fletcher and the Wrong Reasons, Bury Your Problems, and White Lighter, he’s constantly touring and performing, and recently he moved from Rhode […]