Aaron Nathans & Michael G. Ronstadt Esperanza This is the acoustic progressive folk duo’s 5th LP & it’s quite an ambitious effort. Not that their previous albums weren’t interesting, but their partnership seems to develop & rejuvenate with clarity & precision through each succeeding collection. Invariably cool performances, self-assured & confident. There are 10 well-sculpted […]
Glenn Morrow’s Cry For Help – Our Final Album Vol. 1 The band is in its 12th year & has quite a history, but I picked up Glenn Morrow decades ago when I picked up his 1986 band Rage To Live’s self-titled album. In all honesty, I got it for a few dollars at the […]
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Doug Duffey and Badd – Souvenirs This gets off to an easily digested bluesy start with a jazz undertow, ebullient & cool. Doug Duffey has a smooth delivery bluesy voice similar to the voices that came through the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. “Broken Heart & Empty Hand” has a succinct quality. Recorded with a sonorously […]
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To say the Cyrkle got off to an auspicious start would be a major understatement. This 1960s pop-rock outfit was the first American band signed by Beatles manager Brian Epstein, who named the group. (John Lennon provided the spelling.) In 1966, the Cyrkle served as an opening act at 14 U.S. Beatles concerts, including the […]
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Lara Downes & Friends – Hold These Truths This showcase begins pensively with a short piano piece, “Welcome,” & like several of the 21 cuts on this album, it’s precise & brief. The compositions vary from works written by Oscar Peterson, Willie Nelson, Charles Ives, Stephen Foster, Leonard Bernstein & Aaron Copland. It’s quite a […]
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Erin Lunsford Rhinestones Virginia-based folk/Americana singer-songwriter Erin Lunsford recently released her sophomore album, Rhinestones, exploring motifs of love, family, mental health, friendship, discouragement, and leaving home. Talking about the album, Lunsford shares, “I have fixed rhinestones in my hair, I have glued sequins to my guitar, I have tried to make my body smaller and […]
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Tipps and Obermiller – Little-Kid Heart Story songs & narratives can be the best types of songs. And Tipps & Obermiller are good storytellers. There’s a beginning, a middle & an end. Descriptive words & many places a singer can take you. “Apartment 303” opens this new album & it has a clever melody sung […]
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Allison Russell In the Hour of Chaos Allison Russell has long found comfort in collaboration. And, if you know a little about her story (raised in part by an oft-absent mother and an abusive stepfather), it makes sense – she had to form her own family in life, and she continues to do so in […]
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Molly Paddock – Before We Let The World In Peculiar voice but sufficiently charming. A bit like the late Nanci Griffith, but South Carolina’s Molly Paddock isn’t country-oriented. Her music, not her voice, has shades of Kate Bush, a pinch of Rickie Lee Jones & lots of style in between, despite the spare showcase. Her […]
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Park Hills Circle – All of a Sudden While not exactly Enya, this has a little more flex. Melodies are ethereal & atmospheric, but not as eccentric & intense as Kate Bush. This is Chicago singer Maris O’Tierney’s (guitar/synths/piano) debut album, which has a gentle, airy tone that’s all spirit & polish on her 10-cut […]
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