Veteran blues rocker James Montgomery has put together a varied, solid collection of songs on From Detroit to the Delta.  As the album title implies, the collection ranges in styles from uptown to urban to a Delta crossroads. Originally from Detroit but based in Boston, harmonica player and singer Montgomery has been a presence on the blues […]
Frank Turner- Last Minutes and Lost Evenings
“because there’s no such thing as rock stars/ there’s just people who play music/ and some of them are just like us/ and some of them are dicksâ€- Frank Turner Just who is Frank Turner? This is the question that confronts the audience on a retrospective like Last Minutes and Lost Evenings. As applied […]
Monday Morning Video: True Believers
Let the guitars ring out, the True Believers have reunited! Back in the mid-1980’s, the legendary Austin band scorched a blazing trail as they criss-crossed the country with their three guitar attack. A solid debut album was released. A follow-up album was recorded but was lost for years in record company limbo. The frustrations mounted […]
Reed Turner – Ghosts In the Attic
I do love me a good murder ballad sometimes. Â Cocaine Blues, popularized by Johnny Cash and later George Thorogood, is maybe my favorite. Â I’m pretty enamored now, though, with a cut off the new Reed Turner release, Ghosts In the Attic. Â The song, Killed That Girl (‘Cause She Was Killing Me) has just the right […]
The Wisdom of Rock and Roll
I expect that most of us have been inspired by a song lyric at one time or another. From the Beatles’ “and in the end the love you take is equal to the love you make” to the Lumineers’ “the opposite of love is indifference,” these lyrics offer distinct perspectives on the lives that we […]
Readers’ Pick: Best Album of 2012: I See Hawks In L.A., “New Kind of Lonely”
Congratulations to I See Hawks in L.A. for winning the annual Twangville Readers’ Pick award for 2012. This always turns out to be a bit of a popularity contest which is fine by us and why we follow up with our Editors’ Picks so that everyone gets a fair shot. The nominees this year were […]
Monday Morning Video: Kingsley Flood
Along with the download that I posted in my January playlist last week, the fine folks from Kingsley Flood shared this video of the song “Strongman” from their recent cd release party in Washington D.C. If nothing else, watch at the 2:00 minute mark as drummer Travis Richter attempts to atomize his drums. Now THIS […]
Bill Mallonee – Amber Waves
Bill Mallonee’s 50th release (that is not a typo by the way) is one of his most impassioned. I realize that is a bold statement when the referenced artist has such a large body of work. The lyrics on “Amber Waves” are full of pain and loss. However, there is an underlying hope in these […]
Mayer’s Playlist for January 2013
ALBUMS OF THE MONTH Battles, by Kingsley Flood Battles is the sound of a band hitting stride. Kingsley Flood have always delivered rock solid songs and performances. Their latest release, however, packages their most potent songwriting to date with some equally powerful arrangements. There’s a real edge to the songs across this release. The title […]
Holly Williams – The Highway
“Why are you drinkin’ like the night is young?” Â From the opening words of the opening song on Holly Williams’ latest album, The Highway, she provides ammunition to anyone arguing that good songwriting can draw from one’s genes. Â Less like her father and half-brother, who seem to reflect the hard living and partying aspect of […]