New artists within the Americana community tend to hold no interest for me whatsoever. I’m pleased to report, however, that the Howlin’ Brothers are different.
Hydra, the debut record from Sweden’s Deville, starts like a good hard rock record should – with a turbocharged rush of riffs and muscle.
The follow-up to the post-breakup catharsis that is Kin, In the Weeds finds the former Snatches of Pink leader settling into life as an Americana musician.
On her third LP, Alison Chesley emphasizes the low end of her instrument’s range, creating her own vision of ambient metal.
Like most everything else on Truth & Soul, the record sounds like it was recorded in the early 70s, with horn-laced, synth-free arrangements that nurture the melodies as much as the grooves.
Jazz drummer Terri Lyne Carrington pays tribute to the 1962 LP Money Jungle, originally created by Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus and Max Roach.
The Dick Dale-on-bad coffee vibe still rumbles, but there’s a lot more going on than just angry takes on “Miserlou.”
Originally released in 2011, Yearling, the third album from Portland’s Parson Red Heads, gets a new life after being lost in the shuffle of new releases the first time ‘round.
Unsurprisingly, given the title image of a lonely soul contemplating life at 2:00 in the morning, the record revolves around ballads and low-volume tunes, all infused with warm soul.
A new album (and band) that’s a marvel of pop hooks and acidic twinkle.
The third LP since the iconic alt.rock trio’s mid-aughties reunion, I Bet On Sky moves to clear the clouds of overwhelming distortion that is the band’s usual raison d’etre and let the songs themselves shine through.
Sure enough, a certain maturity has set it. The bratty bursts of energy and snotty asides are kept in reserve these days, used when necessary, rather than scattered like dandelion seeds across a field.
How Rhys Marsh has escaped the scrutiny of the majority of music nerds worldwide is a mystery.
The band’s sixth album finds it exploring the usual facets of psychedelia of which it’s a master.
The Sheffield singer/songwriter continues his winning streak with a startling change in direction as he mostly dispenses with gentility to crank up the volume.
It’s easy enough to categorize Mangoo‘s second album Neverland as stoner rock, but to dismiss the Finnish quintet as yet another meat-and-potatoes heavy rock troop is markedly unfair.
A low key progressive rock superduo.
Thanks to the ever-growing Chaos in Tejas festival, Lone Star Staters were treated to a show we never thought we’d ever see: a Clean concert.
The Thrift knows how to write substantial tunes, and then attack them with the fervor of teenagers plugging into the amps for the first time.
Reminiscent, but not imitative, of Joe Jackson, Elvis Costello and their peers.
Recorded with producer/multi-instrumentalist Mattias Areskog, Hellberg keeps things simple, crooning over arrangements that are often little more than guitar and strings.
FOOD brings together veterans of 80s/90s indie rock.
Working with producers Dave Fridmann and Steve Albini, the Jarman brothers crank the guitars and hooks, while still folding in enough texture to give the tracks depth.
Heroes has its missteps, but overall is one of Nelson’s strongest albums in recent years.
This is a band not content to simply plow the garage punk furrow – the writing is simply too skilled, melodic and ambitious for sitting comfortably in that much-beloved but limited niche.
The Man Who Sold Himself is challenging music, no question, but that challenge is worth meeting.
Nest of Vipers refines the band’s timeless classic rock sound, giving it just enough polish to stand out from similar retro rock acts, but not enough to diminish the raw performances.
Norway’s Gazpacho continues to evolve into one of modern progressive rock’s most potent bands.
Inspired by the stories of Canadian World War I vets, Elliott BROOD digs deep into its own emotional imagination on its third full-length.
Singer/songwriter Loudon Wainwright III is as accomplished an author as you could wish for on any subject, but he’s always at his best when he turns a sardonic eye towards his own life.
The story behind Dopesmoker, the final LP in the life of pioneering stoner sludge trio Sleep, is one of perseverance not usually associated with such dedicated grass aficionados.
There’s no mistaking the debt Ringo Deathstarr owes to My Bloody Valentine.
It may come a shock to those that cower in the corner when the New York trio roars by that Wreck is damn near accessible.
One of the beautiful things about rock music is that there’s no need to reinvent the wheel every time – simply understanding a style and doing it well is enough.
Mellow Bravo never met a strain of guitar rock it didn’t like.
One of the odder phenomena in the underground rock scene in the past decade has been the rise of Southern rock bands that aren’t from the South.
It’s been five years since Love is Dead, the last record by Michael Rank‘s long-running rock & roll band Snatches of Pink. A lot can happen in five years, and apparently one of those things was the dissolution of Rank’s marriage. The result is Rank pouring out his pain, confusion and, ultimately, acceptance on Kin, the first record by his new outfit Stag.
While it would be disingenuous to say Bowery Beasts combine all the sounds of the Strip on their EP Heavy You, there’s definitely a hybrid mentality at work here.
Led by guitarist Joey Toscano, the trio lays down thick, viscous grooves that keep one foot planted in good, green earth and another on Planet X.
Good old-fashioned glam rock is alive and well – or at least its spirit is, as that’s what powers the delightfully decadent Prima Donna.
The UK quartet’s cheerful mix of Blue Cheer acid thuggery, Black Sabbath occult whimsy and Motörhead power riffing sounds tailor-made for headbangers of every stripe.
As indicated by the title, _ Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light II_ is a sequel to Earth‘s identically-named 2011 opus.
Adamson gives as much prominence to hooks and melodies as to groove and ambience, putting his cool croon front and center in the arrangements.
If you come across a band called Behold! The Monolith (complete with exclamation point), you can probably be assured you’re not going to hear flutes, choirs or a lush string section.
Ultimately, the question for American fans is: can his voice still cut it?
The songs don’t so much soar as swirl, but with a grounded center that emphasizes hooks over atmosphere.
Somewhere in the middle of Thin Lizzy and Iron Maiden, if you will.
Who knew Black Widow‘s 1970 occult rock LP Sacrifice would become such a sacred text?
Leader Rob Carlyle‘s long-simmering brainchild boasts all the sex, sin and sleaze we’d expect from the purveyors of the song “Big Fat Sexy Mama.”
We finally get domestic versions of Clark’s early albums, and they provide a clear argument that Clark should be as venerated as any better-known name of his generation.
It’s always nice when a band goes the extra mile and decides to compose songs instead of stringing together riffs.
Like a lot of artists who put a ton of hard work into making it look easy, Viola is a master of subterfuge.
On Eztica, Soriah (Enrique Ugalde to his folks) seems to emerge from some other dimension, one in which sunlight, sand and smoke intermingle, reflecting at odd angles off the droning soundwaves that flow from his throat.
Seven long years have passed since we last had a LP from the Bevis Frond. The Leaving of London makes clear what empty, empty years those were.
Basing itself around Human Switchboard’s lone 1981 album, the collection adds various studio, demo and live sessions for a fairly comprehensive portrait.
For Porcelain, Rogers moves forward from the 60s and into the early 70s, especially the Rolling Stones-style glam rock balladry of Mott the Hoople.
Austin’s Golden Bear has been quietly releasing sterling guitar pop records for several years now, with nary a ripple on the radar of the hipster faithful.
It’s been so long since the uncompromising, indefatigable Mekons have released a record that many had suspected a quiet retirement.
Though he doesn’t get the attention of his Oblivians bandmate Greg Cartwright, Jack Yarber, AKA Jack Oblivian, has a growing catalog of strong recordings as well, of which Rat City is the latest.
The Blue Obscurities may contain work that the band considers ephemera, but it makes as strong a case for Trance To the Sun’s existence as any best-of ever could.
Germany’s Dawn Band is one of those groups who love so many iterations of music that the members couldn’t decide on a single direction, and thus head off in several at once.
One could easily, and justifiably, make the argument that it’s impossible to condense Patti Smith‘s visionary 35+ year career onto one disk.
It’s strangely refreshing to hear the apocalypse transmitted with such haunting beauty.
Singer Toke Nisted makes the most of his resemblance to Rod the Mod, as the rest of the band channels the 60s European obsession with Motown and Stax through its rock & roll wringer.
It’s hard to believe that Icky Mettle, the debut LP from indie rock heroes Archers of Loaf, is nearly 20 years old.
Like the work of David Sylvian, No-Man or Mark Hollis, A Scarcity of Miracles requires patience and multiple exposures to truly appreciate.
For what’s essentially a compilation, there’s an amazing consistency here, as if all the songs were recorded in one burst of creative urgency.
Last of the Good Ol’ Days, the third record from the Latebirds, is further proof that a term like “Americana” refers more to genre than country of origin.
Equally comfortable with rocking roll, folk ramble and country snap, the quintet has its style down well enough that it can concentrate on songs.
Wobbler pledges allegiance to the classic era of progressive rock – i.e. the 70s.
Described by Johnson as the band’s “meat and potatoes pop record,” Candidate Waltz contains the most focused, melodic tunes of Centro-matic’s career.
On Darkmatter cuts like “De:Vision” and “No Time For Silence,” the trio plays as straightforwardly as possible, placing their feet firmly in the jazz fusion sandbox and letting the melodies and propulsion carry the tunes forward as much as the improvisation.
Coming up through the Australian underground is a process that doesn’t usually allow for a softer side to survive, but Corbett does it by being sensitive but unsentimental.
Green Monkey mastermind Tom Dyer promised to revive the Icons after releasing the band’s 80s recordings as Masters of Disaster, and sure enough, the Seattle troop is back with its sophomore effort Appointment With Destiny!
The sextet doesn’t break any new ground, but that’s doubtless not its intention.
Sounds like Sigur Ros, doesn’t it? Or maybe Explosions in the Sky? Or maybe both at once.
Passion is pretty much state-of-the-art 21st century prog rock, with heavy guitars powering melodies that move back and forth between minor key darkness and major chord uplift.
Regardless of stylistic permutation, though, Shine’s strong songcraft drives the tunes home with ease.
Is the Australian quartet a garage band? A psychedelic act? A noisy indie band? The answer is, of course, all of the above.
On Post Modern Nation, MoTel Aviv evokes a specific era of postpunk pop music, when guitars soared over nimble, danceable rhythm sections and the vocalist sang unabashedly to the furthest seat in the hall.
The Netherlands’ Sungrazer hands out sweet slabs of psychedelic heavy rock like pieces of warm chocolate – thick, almost sensual, but with enough air between the molecules to keep the sound from becoming oppressive.
It’s not unusual for an artist’s most popular record to contain a couple of classic singles and little else, but that’s not the case here.
Tenth Life, its ninth LP, offers ten tracks of good old-fashioned guitar rock – crunchy, loud and tuneful.
While most folks were praising the pop genius of leader Sam Prekop I always thought him inconsistent, with dangerous leanings toward the worst 70s soft rock pap.
Released to celebrate the blues pioneer’s 100th birthday, The Centennial Collection serves as one-stop shopping for newcomers to singer/guitarist Robert Johnson‘s brief but extremely important oeuvre.
Funny how one generation’s soft-rock is another’s indie rock.
The sound of Should has always tended toward the delicate, but on Like a Fire Without a Sound, the popgaze duo has crafted a record so gossamer and sedate as to be almost fragile.
Almost impossibly lovely, Street of the Love of Days speaks loudly at low volume.
Tallahassee dreampop combo Mira hasn’t existed in several years, but in, celebration of the eleventh anniversary of its debut LP, guitarist Tom Parker assembled The Echo Lingers On, a compilation of non-album cuts.
With not a melody, harmony or note wasted, Sloan is at its memorable, well-crafted best on _The Double Cross.
In case you’re wondering what could possibly justify such a cheeseball album title, The Case Files is a compilation of Peter Case‘s “demos, outtakes, one live shot & other rarities” from as recent as 2009 and as far back as the mid-80s.
Lucas has flirted with pop on most of the Gods and Monsters disks, of course, but this is the first album on which he’s carried a vision of succinct, catchy songs all the way through.
Now that Rasputina has been in existence for nearly two decades, it’s obviously time to clean out the closet.
British musician Alexander Tucker made his rep as an electronic experimentalist, but apparently the lure of the song was too strong.