Mike D: Thank You

It’s been 14 years since the passing of MCA, aka Adam Yauch, of the Beastie Boys. When one third of the long-running rap group left it seemed like that was it. The Beastie Boys were done. Remaining members Ad-Rock(Adam Horovitz) and Mike D(Michael Diamond) did re-emerge 6 years later with a Beastie Boys memoir and […]

Dinosaur Jr : There Near

There’s something comforting about a new Dinosaur Jr album, because no matter what point you jumped on the J Mascis train the band will always sound like Dino Jr. Sure, the early stuff was messier, noisier, and more in line with the no wave sound of early 80s NYC. But starting with ’91’s Green Mind […]

Paul McCartney : The Boys of Dungeon Lane

When you’re an ex-Beatle and 84-years old I suppose you can do pretty much whatever you want. Paul McCartney is still hitting arenas playing in front of thousands of adoring fans, all coming from different generations. From great-grandfathers and great-grandmothers to great-grandsons and granddaughters. And given the fact that the man is old enough to […]

Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs : Mission Of Mercy

I always felt like Mike Campbell was Tom Petty’s secret weapon. Petty took the spotlight for sure, as he was the music scholar in the band. He took his love of bands like The Beatles, Bob Dylan, The Byrds and so many others and turned it into a lifelong music career. Borrowing from but never […]

Of Montreal : aethermead

Kevin Barnes has been making music as the front man/ringmaster/sole continuous member of the band Of Montreal for nearly 30 years. He emerged from the Elephant 6 Recording Company collective, along with bands like Olivia Tremor Control, Elf Power, the Apples In Stereo, and Neutral Milk Hotel. The one connecting musical DNA was 60s pop. […]

Kurt Vile : Philadelphia’s been good to me

Kurt Vile has built a solid musical career out of jangly, classic rock vibes with a touch of outsider weirdness. It’s like Tom Petty meets R. Stevie Moore with a brush of John Prine and JJ Cale for good measure. His quietly genius guitar playing and stream-of-consciousness lyrical style feels both relatable and alien at […]

Weird Nightmare : Hoopla

Alex Edkins was the guitarist and vocalist for Canadian post/punk band METZ for well over a decade. When the noisy trio decided to go on hiatus a couple years back Edkins side project Weird Nightmare became his main gig. METZ was loud, abrasive, and savored the dissonance of guitar squall, fuzzy bass lines, and brash […]

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 […]