I like but don’t love Chuck Prophet. He’s one of many deep-voiced guitar-playing singer-songwriters with obvious talent, and I like many of his songs, but I haven’t found his albums captivating the whole way through. But this latest project, a cover of an entire Waylon Jennings album, I was incredibly curious. There’s a long tradition [...]

“Thank the Lord for heroin, and thank him for your soul.” How did an album with a lyric like that get by me? And it’s not like that’s the only drug poetry on Spider Bags’ “A Celebration of Hunger,” a 2007 release from Birdman Records. Just about every tune is a tribute to excess. To [...]

Last year, Joell Ortiz dropped his debut album, “The Brick: Bodega Chronicles.” It landed like, well, a brick. Nobody I know picked up on it, and that’s too bad because the album is dope. To be a good MC, you have to have the lyrical ability to constantly surprise, and you need quality production. But [...]

The Evening Descends in the first track on the unclassifiable recent release from Evangelicals, on the Dead Oceans label. From the title track, which starts off as shoegazer, stumbles awkwardly through a calliope of carnival hiccups, and ends with a spot of twee, the record throws you up against a phonic wall and never lets [...]

British Sea Power already have a rabid cult following, and if you’re part of that collection, stop reading now. There’s nothing I can write that will satisfy you. If you’re less familiar with the band, their new record, “Do You Like Rock Music,” is a pretty good place to start. It lacks the more experimental [...]

I’d never heard, or even heard about, The Feminists before they sent me their third full-length album, “Can’t Scream Loud Enough.” And that’s a shame. The Feminists are cool. Really cool. The album opener, “The Beginning of the World,” begins as a synth-driven ‘80s rocker and then makes a fascinating right turn into a quieter, [...]

The Shondes totally knocked my socks off from the jump. Shondes (Yiddish) means “outrage,” and it summarizes their pro-gay, antiauthoritarian, self-proclaimed “queercore” punk. But unlike grrrritty bands before them, The Shondes add strings and soaring melodies to their sound, adding substance and bottom beyond a simple, thumping bass. But what about the riffs, you ask? [...]

Twilight Hotel occupy that strange space in the alt-country landscape occupied by artists from Canada who make Americana rock. I’m proud to make them one of my first 2008 reviews (album release date: January 29), because they have an authentic sound that offers more variety than the typical release in this genre. Highway Prayer, the [...]

Actually, it’s one reason and five supporting arguments: Because you get to cultivate relationships with talented artists and labels who share music with you that you otherwise wouldn’t hear! 1. Finian McKean. I interviewed Finian McKean on my old site, before the RIAA threatened to separate me from my family for posting a song from [...]

Merry Christmas to all! The Cassettes offer a free EP download, all covers, including a clean version of Liz Phair’s Fuck and Run! Follow link. Pitchfork’s good for something: An Okkerville River mixtape of rarities from their 2008 tour and elsewhere! Click to download. One of the most anticipated mixtapes of the year, the great [...]