Author: Andrew Gulden

Nine albums and 20 years into their career, Lucero has stripped down their Memphis sound and returned primarily to their guitar/rhythm/keys basics on their latest, Among The Ghosts. Despite origins in the late 1990s, much of the early songs on Ghosts have a late 80s/early 90s feel, perhaps owing to the band members’ formative years. […]

Boz Scaggs has a new release, Out of the Blues (Concord Records).  As a musically-inclined youngster, my first exposure to Boz Scaggs was seeing the dusty album cover (Hits!, perhaps?) in one of those wooden cassette crates (remember those?) Even then, it seemed “old” to me. Now, of course, we’d call it “classic,” and Scaggs’ […]

In 1988, a quartet of Canadians released The Trinity Session. In a world of boy bands and hair metal, few were ready for something as singular as Cowboy Junkies. 30 years later, with Americana staking its claim in the authenticity wing of country music, the Timmins clan may have finally found a home. Cowboy Junkies […]

California country quartet I See Hawks in L.A. has released their first album in five years – Live and Never Learn. And, with 14 songs, many of which push the five-minute mark, they have plenty of livin’ (and maybe even a little learnin’) to share. A laid-back, hippie vibe runs throughout the album, and the […]

The latest release from Coco O’Connor, This Ol’ War weighs in at a mere seven songs but packs an outsized emotional wallop. It’s full of classic country tunes and familiar topics told from less traditional perspectives.  And with Sadler Vaden (Jason Isbell) on guitar, along with Mike Rinne and Rich Brinsfield trading off on bass, […]

Chuck Westmoreland’s second album, Long Winter Rodeo, is an LP full of country-wrought rockers penned by a tavern owner who’s heard a tale or two while working behind the bar. Romantic questions abound throughout. The first two songs –  “Sharp Rocks” (“It’s a long way home if you wanna go”) and “Cryin’ Shame” (“See you […]