Midlake : A Bridge To Far

Midlake were a much obsessed over, nearly cult-like band back in the 2000s. With singer and main songwriter Tim Smith, Midlake made two highly exalted records in Bamnan and Slivercork and The Trials of Van Occupanther. The Denton, TX-based band made an outsider art record with the former, and the latter was revered for it’s […]

Liam Kazar : Pilot Light

I came across Liam Kazar four years ago. A song of his popped up randomly while streaming music one afternoon and it made an impression. Singer/songwriter from Chicago that was a chef before concentrating on songwriting, his music is very much in the pop category. But pop like Tom Petty, Talking Heads, Wilco, and Jackson […]

Jay Som : Belong

Melina Mae Cortez Duterte, aka Jay Som, has a very distinct sound to her music. At times sparse, other times big fuzzed-out guitars, Jay Som makes indie rock that can spend equal time in big pop production and also low key and lo-fi. Her official debut as Jay Som, 2017’s Everybody Works was catchy radio-ready […]

Sloan : Based on the Best Seller

I discovered the Canadian rock band Sloan back in 1997 thanks to the Canadian music channel MuchMusic. MuchMusic came with our satellite subscription and for the bulk of 1997 I watched a lot of MuchMusic, and one of the many great Canadian bands I discovered(besides Odds, Big Sugar, and Big Wreck) was the band Sloan. […]

Jeff Tweedy : Twilight Override

Jeff Tweedy has established himself as one of the great songwriters of our time. He wouldn’t say that as he’s way too humble of a guy, but I can say it for him. He started out in Uncle Tupelo, not even 20-years old. In that band’s short 7-year stretch, Tweedy along with Jay Farrar set […]

David Byrne : Who Is The Sky?

David Byrne has made quite a career for himself since the dissolution of Talking Heads. In fact, when people talk about Talking Heads its as if David Byrne was the only “Head” that mattered and continued to create music and art at a prolific rate. Though, if you’re in the know you know that’s not […]

Alex G : Headlights

My first exposure to singer/songwriter Alex G was thru his music scores for Jane Schoenbrun’s We’re All Going To The World’s Fair and I Saw The TV Glow. I was surprisingly moved by his score to I Saw The TV Glow(as I was by the film, too). His restrained synth-heavy score felt like music you’d […]

Blonde Redhead : The Shadow of the Guest

Blonde Redhead have remained completely singular and original in their sound for over their 32 year career, forming in New York, 1993. Starting out in the no-wave and noise scene, by the 2000s the band(consisting of guitarist/vocalist/keyboardist Kazu Makino and twin brothers Simone Pace(drums/keys) and Amedeo Pace(guitar/bass/vocals/keys) had folded in elements of dream pop and […]

Turnstile : Never Enough

I’ve only heard a smattering of the Baltimore-based hardcore band Turnstile over the last few years. Not enough to have an opinion one way or the other. Lots of hype and lots of “critical acclaim”, or whatever that means. But having listened to their new album NEVER ENOUGH more than a few times the last […]

Foxwarren : 2

Andy Shauf has the kind of voice that is quite indistinguishable. When the Canadian singer/songwriter is singing, the song becomes his. Like Dylan, Bowie, or McCartney, there’s no mistaking the voice delivering the words and melodies. Albums like The Party, The Neon Skyline, and his most recent Norm have the essence of classic 70s singer/songwriter […]