Mystic Pinball is an awesome name for a record. Just sayin’. Anyway, this is John Hiatt’s third album in as many years following The Open Road (2010) and Dirty Jeans & Mudslide Hymns (2011). But since those records found Hiatt in late career resurgence, it’s not that surprising that the 2012 edition of Mr. Hiatt […]

“you’re a two pack habit with a southern accent/ I’m a pearl snap poet with bad tattoos”- BJ Barham Burn. Flickr. Die. opens up with a gnarly southern blues guitar tone ringing out over a persistent rhythm section. Frontman BJ Barham’s first lines are “I was born in the valley of the Cape Fear River, […]

Leeroy Stagger is a Twangville artist. What makes an musician a Twangville artist you may ask? In my mind, it’s an artist we here at Twangville think (a) is awesome and (b) should be appreciated by a greater number of people. Stagger is perhaps the epitome of such an artist. A Canadian singer songwriter who […]

The Dreamer may be my favorite Rhett Miller solo record since his solo “debut” The Instigator. Released back in 2002, The Instigator was produced by Jon Brion and received a fair bit of critical acclaim and even some radio play. It’s still one of my favorite records to spin for those uninitiated to the cult […]

“Singing oh sha-la-la-la, oh sha-la-la-la, listen honey here comes my man”- “Here Comes My Man” The Gaslight Anthem is now one of those important bands. How do 4 guys from New Brunswick, NJ become ‘important’? It’s pretty simple really, you make one, and you only need one, masterpiece record. In 2008, Brian Fallon and Co. […]

In March of this year, I caught a Langhorne Slim headlining show at one of my favorite dive bars back home. I had seen Langhorne before (opening for a pretty epic DBT-Lucero double bill in Boston), so I figured it would be a good show. It wasn’t. It was extraordinary. Note: I’m still unsure if […]

I’ve been listening to Mutt for a while now and have heard numerous reactions to it, ranging from ecstatic to dismissive to ambivalent. At this point, I can understand almost all viewpoints, but personally have come down pretty firmly on the ‘ecstatic’ side. This sort of debate is about par for the course for a […]

Live Video streaming by Ustream Check out our Live Ustream event with The Mastersons! The event is scheduled to start at 2:30pm EST with a live interview and, if we are lucky, a live performance. If you have any questions for The Mastersons, email me at eli@twangville.com or comment below.

“I heard those sirens singing on FM radio, and darlin’ they won’t let me go”- James Wilson “Siren Song”. Amen brother. I can only assume that one of those sirens on FM radio were The Replacements, as they seem to be the biggest new influence on Sons of Bill. Whether it’s the production of David […]

Ok. Full disclosure, I am a huge Lucero fan. They are, to put it simply, my favorite band on the whole damn planet. I celebrate their entire catalog, from the lo-fi hiss of The Attic Tapes to the boisterous horns of their 2009 major label debut. So no, you probably won’t be shocked to find […]