Mac Demarco : Here Comes The Cowboy

Mac Demarco is the lovable weirdo of indie rock. Since the beginning, which was 2012s Rock and Roll Night Club, Demarco recorded songs that sounded like poorly stored pop songs; tracks on reel-to-reel tapes slowly molding in some nondescript storage unit in Canada. An equal mix of earnest songwriting and underlying seediness. With 2, his […]

Chris Cohen : Self-Titled

Chris Cohen seems to exist in his very own musical space. It’s a space where the Kinks Village Green Preservation Society coalesces with Johnathan Richman’s I, Johnathan and some wistful memory of a summer afternoon long ago. Cohen played with Deerhoof from 2002 to 2006(some say their best years), as well as a bevy of […]

Strand of Oaks : Eraserland

Timothy Showalter started releasing albums as Strand of Oaks back in 2009 with his debut Leave Ruin. The Indiana native(born in Goshen) put out folks-y, acoustic-heavy albums that dealt with personal issues like love, death, infidelity, and the struggle to keep it all together. His sound slowly developed into a more space-y, dreamy style that […]

Damien Jurado : The Horizon Just Laughed

For 20 years Damien Jurado has taken the slow but steady road to the crown of preeminent American songwriter. Playing in-stores, living room shows, and intimate 50-seat room gigs across the US and Europe touring in a van with just an acoustic guitar, Jurado has proven himself the musician of the people. He’s a guy […]

Shy Boys : Bell House

There’s an overwhelming exuberance that comes from The Shy Boys’ newest long player called Bell House. Rough-around-the-edges four-part harmonies intermingle with sparse garage rock compositions, bringing to mind The Feelies and the dB’s with a touch of K Records illumination. Their music has a timeless feel that gives it the feeling of finding some lost […]

Revisited : New Pale Swimmers

by EA Poorman When I first arrived in Fort Wayne, Indiana there were a few names that always came up when talking about true blue local music talent: Orange Opera, Thunderhawk, and Vandolah. It was as if these bands arrived fully formed and ready to rule the Midwest, then the world. I saw all of […]

Dr. Dog : Critical Equation

I can remember driving 5 hours one way to Louisville, Kentucky to see Wilco at Slugger Field back in late summer of 2007. My wife and I were deep into Jeff Tweedy’s world at that point. I’d lost count of all the times we’d seen the Chicago band by then, but what was one more […]

Speedy Ortiz : Twerp Verse

I’m not sure I’m smart enough to truly ever get into Speedy Ortiz. I mean, I listen to the Sadie Dupuis-fronted band and I hear really intelligently put together indie pop rock. The guitars are jangly, jagged, and possess angular riffing you’d hear in early Pavement, Archers of Loaf, and Sleater-Kinney. The songs are put […]

Best Sleep Lay It All Out On New EP ‘For Those of Us Who Know Nothing’

For some art is something that’s fun to dabble in. Taking a painting class down at the local Y and after that first session you’ve got a pretty little canvas with a pretty little flower on it. You can hang that up in the kitchen for all to see. Or maybe taking guitar lessons from […]

Landing’s “Nod” is Out Of Sight

I came to Connecticut’s Landing by way of Denmark. We met up in a pub called El Paraiso Records, had a few pints, got to know each other, and now they are fast becoming a favorite ghost that haunts my skull. Thanks El Paraiso for introducing us. I have to say I’m a bit embarrassed […]