By now you’ve seen what most of us were listening to on our MP3 or CD players last year.  So I thought I’d add my favorite live sets from last year.  1) Roger Waters: I got a chance to see The Wall at the HP Pavilion in San Jose.  Holy cow.  As far as I’m [...] more »

by Shawn Underwood

 1) R.E.M. – Collapse Into Now: OK, I’m willing to admit maybe this was a little bit of a sentimental choice for me since it may be their last album.  But darn it, I still think this is their best effort since the 80′s and 91′s Out Of Time.  The jangly guitars, the inexplicable Stipe [...] more »

by Shawn Underwood

#1. JASON ISBELL & THE 400 UNIT, Here We Rest (Lightning Rod) I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t hoping for a full-on rock assault from Isbell and crew. What I got was something better — a nuanced musical tour of his home state of Alabama. From the back porch acoustic sway of [...] more »

by Mayer Danzig

The book and movie publishing moguls tend to view releases in terms of two seasons.  There’s the “beach read” that’s an easy vehicle for light entertainment.  The winter is when serious contenders for an Academy Award are released.  The depth of cold & dark apparently being when people are contemplative instead of just wanting instant [...] more »

by Shawn Underwood

ALBUMS OF THE MONTH: Beauty, Wit & Speed, by Nathan Hamilton “Give me the mad ones, the sad ones, the ones who’ve got nothing to lose,” sings Hamilton in “Through Ether and Time” from his latest release. It is a telling comment and a great introduction to an album that deftly explores the search for [...] more »

by Mayer Danzig

The Barr Brothers are causing a buzz in the Indie world. Their self-titled debut release is a mostly acoustic journey into the duality of human emotion. They explore the context of our true feelings, and the complex emotions that make us betray them. The Barr brothers are not new on the scene, they are the [...] more »

by Chip Frazier

You have to be pre-disposed to like any album that starts out with a paean to Lawnchair Larry.  Maybe it’s just a song about a couple of fella’s similarly tempted, but Weather Ballon, the opening cut on the debut album from Austin-based Sons Of Fathers, is an apt metaphor for how quickly this record soars [...] more »

by Shawn Underwood

Here’s the latest installment of my playlist series highlighting the latest and greatest in New England music. FEATURED ALBUM C’Mon by Barnstar! There’s a lot to be said for just getting in the studio for a few days and just having fun. Now while I can’t confirm that this was the case with Barnstar, it [...] more »

by Mayer Danzig

ALBUMS OF THE MONTH: Old Mad Joy, by The Gourds The Gourds latest is a bit deceiving. The band has built a reputation as a bluegrass and backporch country band, but things aren’t always what they seem. The album open as one would expect. “I Want You So Bad” is built around an accordion and [...] more »

by Mayer Danzig

WWDCFCD.  What Would Death Cab For Cutie Do (or some other indie favorite) if they recorded an album with just bluegrass instruments?  The answer to that question is maybe the latest release from The Dang-It Bobbys, Big Trouble.  It doesn’t have a radio-friendly thumping bass, but the idea of a pop song with intelligent lyrics [...] more »

by Shawn Underwood

We here at Twangville get to hear tons of great music. We share as much of it as we can with you and just hope that you like it as much or more than we do. On a personal note, in the past year or so, I’ve had a hard time getting as excited about [...] more »

by Kelly Dearmore

ALBUMS OF THE MONTH: I Recall Standing As Though Nothing Could Fall, by Matthew Ryan If I needed proof as to why Matthew Ryan is among my favorite songwriters, I needn’t look any further than his explanation of his latest release: It wasn’t my intention to make a gloomy album. I know it will be [...] more »

by Mayer Danzig

It is hard to believe that summer is nearly over. How do I know this? I was at a music club on Saturday that had changed over their Sam Adams tap from Summer to Octoberfest. Talk about jumping the gun! Anyway, the next few weeks will unleash an abundance of great new music just in [...] more »

by Mayer Danzig

Chicago-based four-piece Maps & Atlases aren’t a math-rock band. O.K., good, we’ve got that out of the way now. Sure, there are some rather math-y elements to the band’s indie-folk informed sound, but not to the extent where those intricacies define their overall sonic contributions in the way that many would have one believe. While [...] more »

by Kelly Dearmore

Like the aunt that you only see at Christmas, some people put out a vibe that’s fun to be around.  Same thing with some records.  My case in point is the second release from Nashville-based singer-songwriter Kelsey Waldon, Anybody’s Darlin’.  I’ve listened to this record half a dozen times now and I can’t really put [...] more »

by Shawn Underwood