Florence Dore Hold The Spark Character studies are the focus of Florence Dore’s 3rd LP (no relation to Charlie Dore, “Pilot of the Airwaves,” “Sleep All Day”). The Nashville-born, Chapel Hill, NC-based Americana artist has quite a cast of musicians adding to the festivities. The music cruises through mists of alt/rock, twangy country-rock, fanciful acoustic […]
Reverend Freakchild – Blues & Spirituals/Hymn Hustler – 2 CDs This artist has kicked the musical can further & further down the musical road since 2001. With this ambitious framing, it’s actually his first 2 albums from 2001 & 2003 reincarnated, digitized, remastered & humanized as a new double set. Reverend Freakchild offers in one […]
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Karen Dahlstrom Love These Days Some albums immediately reveal the hand of a mature songwriter—someone who has lived, reflected, and distilled experience into craft. Love These Days, the new release from Karen Dahlstrom, is unmistakably one of those records. Its ten songs draw on traditional Americana and folk sensibilities, arranged with understated drums and bass, […]
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Singer, songwriter, and guitarist Dale Watson has been railing against mainstream country music for decades. In a 1995 number called “Nashville Rash,” for example, he complained that “I’m too country now for country, just like Johnny Cash.” Added Watson: “[It] breaks my heart to see my heroes fadin’ away / Shoulda known it when they […]
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The Milk Carton Kids Lost Cause Lover Fool It seems like The Milk Carton Kids have been around kind of forever. They’ve been a fixture on the Americana scene for 15 years, since they self-released their first album, Prologue, in 2011. But their quiet, folky sound dates back to a time well before they, or […]
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Hank Alrich – Broken River On first listen, it’s obvious Hank is from the school of musical thought as the late Chip Taylor, with a mix of Jerry Jeff Walker. He definitely has some interesting lyrical passages. The opening tune “Broken River” is troubadour perfection, followed by the upbeat & requisite narrative of “The Perfect […]
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Dale Watson – Unwanted I have kept my Dale Watson music close to Waylon Jennings & Merle Haggard. Their musical “spirits” were aligned. Watson straddles many genres & applies his expertise to each with personality & musical skill. He’s rode the median of honky-tonk, outlaw country, western swing & rockabilly. The timbre of his voice […]
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Peter Case – My Life To Live: Peter Case at McCabe’s I started listening to Peter Case with his first Geffen Records album in 1986 & knew little of his prior career in a more power-pop-oriented medium (The Plimsouls). But he was also working with the likes of T. Bone Burnett, Roger McGuinn, Van Dyke […]
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Eileen Rose – Insanitia While the melody on the opening tune “Dusty Bones” will resonate with rock aficionados because of the vintage Bruce Springsteen posture, Boston-native Eileen Rose certainly owns it with her aggressively melodic, firm grip on the performance. Part Patti Smith, & Patti Scialfa with lots of Chrissie Hynde. Wonderfully persistent & strong […]
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Mike Zito Outside Or The Eastside Fresh off a shiny 2025 Blues Music Award for Blues Rock Album of the Year (for Life Is Hard), Mike Zito does the rock-blues equivalent of a victory lap with Outside Or The Eastside, his fourth solo record. He’s in full control here—frontman, guitarist, and producer. The cast is […]
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