Eddie 9V Down Here Atlanta’s Eddie 9V’s (vocals/guitar/12-string acoustic guitar) custom is to fill his bag of music with blues, soul, R&R, country & gospel. He succeeded. The “sound” channels the spirit of Muscle Shoals & the old Atlantic Records mortar. Gritty guitar, a thick groove & sweet vibe with Southern fried swagger, rowdiness & […]
Mike Finazzo Dear Phoebe Baltimore-based musician, singer songwriter Mike Finazzo has a new album of songs that explore the realism of disappointment and remorse, Dear Phoebe. Musically, it’s gentle and stripped down with just a man and his guitar, and occasional percussion. Invariably with this presentation style, the lyrics have to carry a high degree […]
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Dudley Taft – Fire Horse For the intense music this LP represents, the cover art is a little juvenile. I say this because the interior portraits of Dudley Taft in the 12pp lyric insert were exceptional for a cover. Alright, I got the criticism out of the way. Now onto what’s good about this. Musically, […]
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‘Freak Out!’ (60th Anniversary Edition) by the Mothers of Invention, plus Grey DeLisle and Flesh for Lulu If ever an album came out of left field, it was Freak Out!, the Mothers of Invention’s 1966 debut. The record bore little resemblance to any of that year’s other popular music, but it presaged punk and art […]
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Project Blues – Drivin’ Home To Carrie’s Café The project features several singers: Guy Forsyth, Karen Lovely, Tom Holland, & Sean Carney. Each decorates with diversified vocals, which make for an interesting ride since they sang 12 tunes while Drivin’ Home To Carrie’s Café (Dropped Sept. 5/Bear In the Chair Records/51:16). Project Blues bus in […]
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Ben Vaughn – Magnetic East: The Deer Tick Sessions Going back a few decades, there was a slew of great solo artists (some from earlier bands) who released some propulsive-sounding albums with tracks that had depth, melody & charm. There was Russ Tolman (“Marla Jane”), Bobby Sutliff (“Same Way Tomorrow”), the UK’s Graham Parker (“Maneuvers”) […]
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Noah C. Lekas “Flowers of Perennial Dissent” In the fall of 2023, Noah C. Lekas came close to losing his life. This experience eventually led him to question himself and the world around him, giving birth to a truly atypical album. Blending surrealist poetry with experimental music, Flowers of Perennial Dissent takes the listener on […]
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Kimon Kirk – Bikini Jardine – Double CD There are 15 self-produced tunes on Bikini Jardine (Dropped Oct 31/Dos Kay/CD #1-28:29/CD # 2 – 22:38) that come as a creative die-cut laminated package. The songs maintain their good ideas & clever playing, and the enthusiasm comes through with the excellent thrust of “Dashboard Hula Doll,” […]
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Brothers Osborne – Watertown The album opens and closes on the same dot on the map. The only difference is volume. Watertown is Brothers Osborne’s fifth studio album, and it is named for home: Deale, Maryland, the little water town on the Chesapeake that raised John and TJ Osborne. Anybody who grew up in a […]
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Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Origins 1971-1978 A couple of weeks ago, some tech bro (or an equally useless bot) tweeted about his love for AI music, stating that it was not just better than human-made music, but desirable for its customizability. I thought about that while listening to the new box set from Tom […]
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