She & Him : Melt Away : A Tribute To Brian Wilson

It feels like this was bound to happen. A decree by the power pop Gods from high, even. At some point you just knew there was going to be a She & Him covers album filled with Brian Wilson covers. The Zooey Deschanel/M. Ward project has been a source of pop song comfort since their […]

Ty Segall : Hello, Hi

Ty Segall might be the busiest man in indie rock. He’s certainly one of the most prolific, dropping something new seemingly every 6 months. Whether it’s solo albums or with one of his many side projects, Segall seems to have a mind that runs 24/7. Albums spanning garage rock, psych folk, wonky synth workouts, and […]

Fischer & Forde : It’s Just Business

There’s an uninhibited joy on Fischer & Forde’s debut album It’s Just Business. The dance/disco/house LP begs you to unplug from the big machine, put on your dancing shoes, and give into the grooves. It’s the kind of album you decimate your eardrums with in the car and drive an extra couple blocks just so […]

Marine Eyes : Chamomile

Every once in a while an album works its way into your brain that truly soothes the soul and calms the buzzing mind. 2020 was a year that I subsisted on ambient and drone music. It was the kind of music that offered what my weary head and heart needed so badly, a reprieve from […]

Sankofa : BLKTCHP2

One of the most prolific Fort Wayne artists is easily Sankofa. There’s a monolithic creative force behind the man known in everyday life as Stephen Bryden. When he grabs the notebook, the mic, and puts on the fly kicks he becomes one of the finest rappers in the Midwest. With a catalog years deep and […]

Dehd : Blue Skies

Blue Skies, the latest from Chicago’s Dehd continues the band’s melody-heavy, jangly indie rock vibes they established on 2020’s Flower Of Devotion. The powerful, raspy howl of singer/guitarist Emily Kempf continues to amaze and astound, while the rhythm section of Jason Balla and Eric McGrady lay a solid foundation for the songs to spring forth […]

Birth : Born

There’s something transcendent about the album Born, the debut long player by California’s prog/psych outfit Birth. Southern California has been ground zero for a new wave of prog and psych bands in the last decade and a half, with heavyweights like Astra, Psicomagia, Monarch, Sacri Monti, and Earthless lighting the way to some kind of […]

London Odense Ensemble : Jaiyede Sessions, Vol. 1

El Paraiso Records has made a name for themselves as a label that welcomes freedom of expression and freedom of improvisation in the projects they support and release. From Causa Sui’s Pewt’r Sessions to Mythic Sunship’s Another Shape Of Psychedelic Music to Papir’s Stundum to Chicago Odense Ensemble to Ellis Munk Ensemble, these albums have […]

Camp Of Wolves : Dragoon

David Salisbury’s Camp Of Wolves has been one of those musical projects that I’ve been completely enamored with ever since I first heard Granite Creek a year and a half ago. That album rolled along like quiet melancholy; ambient and drone textures coalesced with emotional heft and vulnerability. His debut with label Soundtracking The Void […]

Adrian Belew : Elevator

Unless you’re in deep the music way, the name Adrian Belew might not ring a bell. Truth of the matter is that Adrian Belew was the secret weapon to the biggest names in music for the better part of nearly 5 decades; Frank Zappa, David Bowie, Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club, and Trent Reznor are […]