Matt Ward’s hooks belie his strong messages. While he sings in a mellow rough blue-eyed soul, his acoustic guitar acts as a percussion instrument at the same time. This time around the acoustic guitar’s dominance has certainly diminished in favor of it’s electric counterpart, but somehow the more intricate songs seem strangely similar. The upbeat […]
Joe Purdy’s Tribute to Danny Federici
Longtime E Street Band organist Danny Federici passed in 2008 after a battle with cancer. Before he died, Federici and his family established the Danny Fund to educate people on the dangers of sun exposure and melanoma. The organization is also raising funds to support research in search of a cure. Los Angeles musician Joe […]
Appleseed Cast – Sagarmatha
“Post-Rock” is a term often used to describe a heavily or completely instrumental Rock sonic that may or may not employ effects and instruments not typically associated with Rock & Roll. Of course, as with any other label given to a sound, whether general or quite specific, that term has met with various forms of […]
Derek Trucks – Already Free
Virtuosos can sometimes be so esoteric that it makes them less accessible. So it has been at times with Derek Trucks. It is not his fault he is just on another plane musically. His brilliant improvisation has garnered wide acclaim but it also makes it hard for him to reach a wider audience. The release […]
The Whipsaws- 60 Watt Avenue
The Whipsaws are a bar band…. a glorious, alt. country ass kicking bar band. Just listen to the tossed off rock and roll of their sophomore effort, 60 Watt Avenue. Though Neil Young is the easiest influence to infer as the band moves from Crazy Horse style rockers to Harvest-era ballads with ease, the Whipsaws […]
Lisa Hannigan – Sea Sew
Angelic voices and classical music are like two peas in a pod. Rock, pop, and country, on the other hand, seem a bit more interested in the broken and damaged. Rock voices usually lack the purity of the biblical cherubs. There’s something about a perfect vocal that’s just the antithesis of rock. Now I didn’t […]
Darn the Damnwells
I’d just about given up on getting anything new from these guys. Yet here they are releasing a new album and darn, its good. They’ve mellowed a bit with age — would have loved a few more brawny rock anthems — but singer/songwriter Alex Dezen knows his way around a melody. His voice has just […]
I Heard the News Today, Oh Boy…
Gotta love this headline, courtesy of humor site Fark.com: Live Nation to acquire Ticketmaster for $2.5 billion, plus $700 million in convenience charges.
San Saba County – …Though Cheating Was Never an Option
To be described as an “Austin-based Alt -Country band” or an “Austin-based Indie band” is to be lumped into monikers that have become somewhat cliched in many ways. Thanks mainly to the capital city’s widely regarded reputation as a thriving home to musicians of all kinds, many bands that merely fit neatly into a single […]
Ben Kweller – Changing Horses
When it comes to hooks & songcraft, lately Ben Kweller seems like he has it down to a science. Since his self-titled record (2006), Kweller has become increasingly accessible. Somehow, he has married candy pop hooks with indie rock acclaim. He sings in a decidedly gentle pop vocal (see Josh Rouse or even Paul Simon). […]