Cheap Trick : All Washed Up

I’m pretty sure that every young rock n roller coming up in the Midwest and beyond had a Cheap Trick phase. It was a rite of passage, really. You were already exposed to the At Budokan version of “I Want You To Want Me”, as well as hearing “Surrender” ad nauseum enough to grow to […]

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 […]

Wolfmen Of Mars : The Obsolete Illusion

I think the first time I’d ever heard Wolfmen of Mars was on a compilation called SNDTRK, which came out back in 2016 on the now long dead Disco Cinematic Recordings. There was a who’s who of heavy synth artists on that album including Slasher Film Festival Strategy, Xander Harris, Repeated Viewing and an East […]

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. […]

Carlton Melton : Live Hebden Bridge & Enschede 2023

Carlton Melton, one of the West Coast’s premier psych rock explorers, have been at it now for going on two decades. Andy Duvall(drums and guitar), Clint Golden(bass), Rich Millman(guitar/synth), and Anthony Taibi(synth/guitar) have created their own world of psychedelic swirls, monolithic drones, scuzzy blues, and widescreen jams with a view out of the dusty windshield […]

Foo Fighters : Are Playing Where??? Vol. I

When was the last time a Foo Fighters album was really all that good? At first they were the little band that could, with the drummer from Nirvana trying to do his own thing after Kurt Cobain checked out permanently. That debut was culled from 4-track recordings that the drummer in question, Dave Grohl, recorded […]

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 […]