Mac Demarco : Five Easy Hot Dogs

Mac Demarco has always made music that lingers in weird spaces. Touches of 70s soft rock, lo fi indie, and passing glances over into outsider art. Demarco writes songs that are strangely upbeat while also feeling a little seedy; like having a conversation with a stranger that starts out seemingly benign but gradually gets uncomfortable. […]

The Rutabega : Leading Up To

It’s been six long years since we last heard from South Bend’s “Carp Rock Duo” The Rutebega. The band, which consists of singer/guitarist/songwriter Joshua Hensley and drummer/spiritual guru Garth Mason, has made endearing and emotionally buzzing alternative rock for the better part of 20 years. Hensley has a knack for pulling the listener into his […]

Kevin Hambrick : Talking Birds

Kevin Hambrick has been a staple in the Midwest music scene for 20 years, leading the indie rock charge in both The Orange Opera and as a solo artist. Regardless of which project Hambrick is writing in and for, the sound is decidedly Hambrick. With his solo work Kevin Hambrick handles all the band duties […]

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 […]

Kurt Vile : (watch my moves)

Kurt Vile runs on his own frequency. He blends rock, folk, and country into something quite unique and very much his own. Jangle one minute and rocking and psychedelic the next, Vile takes Prine, Petty, and Young and blends them all together with a touch of early 90s Dinosaur Jr and Pavement. Over nine albums […]

Namen Namen : Namen Namen EP

Every once in a while a local band sends an album my way and I get the feeling they won’t be a local band for long. Fort Wayne has seen its share of amazing artists; Orange Opera, Vandolah, Thunderhawk, B-Sharps, and Heaven’s Gateway Drugs to name a few. Four-piece Namen Namen can now be added […]

Band of Horses : Things Are Great

Ben Bridwell and Band of Horses came out of the gate running. The Seattle-based indie rock band got college-age and the thirtysomething demographic swooning with their first two albums, Everything All the Time and Cease To Begin. With Bridwell’s engaging lyrics and vulnerable vocal delivery, along with catchy melodies, melancholy jangle, and shimmering guitars Band […]

Midlake : For The Sake Of Bethel Woods

Midlake came out the early 2000s indie rock scene and had a vibe all their own. They had a dark folksy sound that veered somewhere between Fairport Convention, Fleetwood Mac, and touches of Black Sabbath thrown in for good measure. The Denton, TX six-piece wrote songs that felt both medievel and futuristic. Sci-fi elements mixed […]

Spoon : Lucifer On The Sofa

I think it’s fair to say that Spoon have been one of the most reliable American rock bands in the last 20 years. While they released two great post-punk albums in the late 90s, their career in my mind truly began in 2001 with Girls Can Tell. From that point the Texas rock band started […]

Sparkle Teeth : Sparkle Teeth EP

On Dan Kinnaley’s debut EP as Sparkle Teeth, he locks into this sonically-rich musical world where early 90s fuzz intermingles with shoegaze pop and post-hardcore grit. In other words, if you grew up on bands like Polvo, Dino Jr, Lush, and find those vibes in modern bands like Protomartyr, Cloakroom, and Whirr, then Sparkle Teeth […]