Reviews

On the first two Fantastic Cat records, the quartet of singer-songwriters (Anthony D’Amato, Brian Dunne, Don DiLego, and Mike Montali) brought their own styles successfully into a band setting. However, on their third album, the cheekily titled Cat Out of Hell, Fantastic Cat feels like a long-running, well-oiled, veteran outfit. Things are more fluid as individual […]

In 2016 and 2025, Washington alt-rock innovators The Melvins toured as co-headliners with UK grindcore veterans Napalm Death under the banner Savage Imperial Death March. The tours showcased contrasting heavy styles. The Melvins, pioneers of the grunge and sludge metal movements, bring intricate riffing at various tempos and odd time signatures, while Napalm Death, pioneers […]

Having recorded her first album in 1990, Dar Williams is a folk legend. Her appeal lies in a combination of brilliant, approachable storytelling conveyed via an airy voice with a disarming sense of honesty. Her self-effacing, humble style was on full display at her April 3rd show at Seattle’s Neptune Theatre, the beautiful venue full […]

David Byrne is drinking from the fountain of youth and dosing it with joy juice. At 73, the Talking Heads frontman seems to be experiencing boundless creativity with the 2025 release of his solo album Who Is The Sky? (REVIEW) along with a supporting tour that is taking him across the world. The performances on […]

With the release of Great As Ever: Live In Philadelphia ’86, a theme is beginning to emerge in the chronological issues of this archival series. Notwithstanding how this package lives up to its title–it’s actually a reference to the loyalty of the audience from the leader of the band–Gregg Allman’s self-assurance and pride in his […]

Staying positive is an incredibly difficult skill to maintain. With all the negativity and palpable tension thickening the air, stirring up a fog so dense we sometimes forget to look at our fellow humans and share a smile, being the one to break the mold and share a technology-free moment with someone, or anything, is […]

Escapism is a fickle beast to control. When used properly, it can serve as a meditative retreat in your day-to-day life when a minute is all you need, but when it overtakes you, you become distracted and detached from your sense of reality. For Rachel Lime, the singer/songwriter/producer, time seems to be suspended in her […]

Cass McCombs has long been something of a shapeshifter. Over more than two decades, he has continued to evolve his sound while always occupying a niche in the indie rock scene. Case in point is Interior Live Oak (REVIEW), which was surely one of the better albums of 2025 and finds McCombs moving toward a […]

This past Saturday, April 4th, Zakk Wylde’s Berserker faithful infiltrated Boston’s MGM Music Hall as if it were a Viking war party, turning the room into a pressure cooker of sweat, BLS T-shirts, and denim. This wasn’t just another stop on the circuit; it was a scorched-earth revival. Black Label Society was back, hauling their […]

Springtime in the Pacific Northwest tends to feel like the scene in the film Pleasantville when everything goes from black and white to color. The months-long gloom is replaced by blossoming and new life, the feeling of fresh energy and awakening. Here in Portland, Oregon, the crowds were out on an absolutely stunning Saturday, April […]

Joe Pernice has been playing an uncompromising brand of indie music for more than three decades now. He dug into alternative country with the Boston-based Scud Mountain Boys before switching to a more indie rock/pop sound with the Pernice Brothers. But it’s his latest—and first—solo studio effort, where he strips it all down for a […]

Charley Crockett has always been a prolific artist, stretching the limits of his imaginative approach to country, which toes the line between tradition and the lofty. Recently, though, the long-standing troubadour has been releasing distinct, genre-altering releases, starting with 2025’s Lonesome Drifter and Dollar A Day, which arrived a few short months later. These two […]

The long-running, Seattle, Washington-based drone metal act Sunn O)))))) returns with their first new music in seven years, as their tenth album is a self-titled offering and their first for new label Sub Pop.  The duo of Stephen O’Malley and Greg Anderson has been performing for over thirty years, pushing avant-garde metal and noise rock […]

There has always been a warm, welcoming familiarity to Thundercat’s voice. The innovative contemporary multidisciplinary artist expresses a charming humanity through his dream-like falsetto, and more of the world takes notice as time goes by. The artist’s jovial approach to the harshness of reality and expert jazz fusion work has led him to A-list collaborations, […]

Keyboardist, vocalist, and bandleader Cory Henry won a Grammy in 2025 for his Church album, which contains a collection of songs inspired by his church upbringing and experiences in Brooklyn, NY. He has created a monthly concert series based on that musical inspiration. The series takes place on the last Sunday of each month at […]

The 2026 edition of Big Ears Festival once again turned downtown Knoxville into a dense, choose-your-own-adventure listening experience spanning four days, dozens of venues, and a lineup of almost 250 performances that leaned heavily into contrast. Across the sets from Flying Lotus to David Byrne, Reggie Watts to Dirty Three, John Scofield Trio to MJ […]

Bruce Hornsby didn’t want to record this album. After a five-year run of musically intrepid and critically acclaimed studio LPs – Absolute Zero, Non-Secure Connection, ‘Flicted, Deep Sea Vents – as well as entire albums’ worth of still-unreleased material, the virtuoso pianist suddenly found himself “creatively fried.” Despite his best, well-intentioned efforts to step away from songwriting […]

Maria Taylor started working on Story’s End—her latest LP—six years ago, beginning with a handful of quiet, stripped-down demos in her home studio. There was no real rush to follow up her 2019 self-titled effort, but fractures in both her marriage and a close friendship found her leaning back into these songs once again. The […]

On March 27, the Free Jazz Collective Irreversible Entanglements released Future Present Past, their moving and daring new LP. The spellbinding ten-song album successfully balanced the band’s dark experimentation and refreshing takes on spiritual jazz traditions with an urgent message meant to uplift and alarm, featuring a tracklist that ranges from risk-filled cacophonies, like the […]

Following so closely on the heels of the January 2026 concert piece One Moment in Time – Live In The USA, the re-release of Robin Trower’s 1975 Live! might seem a bit suspect. Instead, it serves as a template for such expansive archival projects (not just for this artist’s discography). Issued in an elaborate two-CD […]