Juicer : Retire The Fences

Once in a while I come across an album that hits me hard with a quiet, melancholy simplicity. It locks into gorgeous pop sensibilities while never being too sweet and sunny for its own good. Bands like Wild Nothing, DIIV, Shy Boys, and Beach Fossils to name a few lock into sounds of old and […]

Marc Moulin’s ‘Sam’ Suffy’

I first came across Belgian musician and journalist Marc Moulin back in 2014. I was visiting Neat Neat Neat Records in late April 2014 with my wife. We were there to pick up the LCD Soundsystem box set The Long Goodbye(a RSD 2014 release.) He still had a copy from the big day a week […]

The Smashing Pumpkins : Aghori Mhori Mei

There was a time when The Smashing Pumpkins were a revered, loved, slightly misunderstood but ultimately great band. Gish, Siamese Dream, and Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness were all monumental albums. Gish was the psychedelic little brother to the giants Siamese and Mellon Collie. Siamese laid the groundwork for Big Muff guitar fuzz that […]

Osees : SORCS 80

John Dwyer is a guy seemingly never at rest. His band Osees(or Oh Sees, Thee Oh Sees, The Oh Sees, The Ohsees, or OCS depending on which way the wind blows) are a revolving door of garage, noise, psych, electro rock and occasionally whiffs of prog and metal that never stays in just one lane(hence […]

“Mr. Clean”

Other names tend to pop up when you think of jazz trumpeters. Of course Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Kenny Dorham, and Louis Armstrong come to mind, as does Chet Baker and Lee Morgan. But there’s one cat that was born in Indianapolis, IN that for my money is one of the most underrated jazz trumpeters […]

J.R.C.G. : Grim Iconic…(Sadistic Mantra)

Justin R. Cruz Gallego, aka Tacoma-based musician known as J.R.C.G. defies a tag to any sort of genre. Listening to his Sub Pop debut Grim Iconic…(Sadistic Mantra) you’re hit in the chest with serious rhythmic and groove intentions. He locks into his Latin roots and lays down some seriously heady percussive trips, but on top […]

Mr. Big : Ten

At the end of my freshman year of high school the supergroup Mr. Big dropped their debut, self-titled album. Supergroup you say? Well, if you were a 15-year old fledgling guitarist that worshipped at the alter of Vai, Satriani, and Gilbert then yes, they were a supergroup. The band consisted of David Lee Roth’s former […]

Chris Cohen : Paint A Room

Chris Cohen is one of those musicians/songwriters that seems to ride a completely different wavelength than the rest of the world. As a collaborator he’s worked with everyone from Deerhoof to Ariel Pink to Cass McCombs to Weyes Blood. But as a solo artist is where his magic truly lies. His solo work feels aged […]

Thom Yorke : Confidenza

Thom Yorke has proven himself to be far more than just the singer of Radiohead. Not only is he the singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist in one of the most important rock bands to arrive from the early 90s alternative rock scene, but Yorke has released highly regarded solo albums, collaborations with the likes of Flying Lotus and Four […]

Dr. Dog : Dr. Dog

Dr. Dog have been consistently putting out records for over 20 years now. The pop/rock/soul indie stalwarts from Philly started out as lo-fi, rough-around-the-edges rockers that combined soaring 4-part harmonies, Beach Boys earnestness, the Beatles knack for genre-hopping, and a touch of The Band for good measure. There was also touches of Pavement, Guided By […]