BLACK REBEL MOTORCYCLE CLUB, Baby 81 (RCA) Now this is my kinda week! Make a note of it, the first week of May 2007 brought guitars in full effect. Leading the pack we’ve got Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Dinosaur Jr. (oh yeeah, they’re back!), Patty Hurst Shifter and even Miranda Lambert can rock it when […]
Patti Smith & More, Album Previews
PATTI SMITH, Twelve (Sony) I’m not really quite sure what to think of Patti Smith’s eleventh full length album titled, Twelve. On the one hand, its just another long time rocker making an album of other people’s hits. On the other hand, its Patti Smith and she rocks. Regardless, she was recently inducted into the […]
Joseph Arthur & More, Album Previews
Joseph Arthur and the Lonely Astronauts, Let’s Just Be (Lonely Astronaut) Recored over a three week period concluding their Fall 2006 tour, this is the first of two albums expected this year paring down the 80 or so tracks captured during these sessions. File under: alternative, indie, rock. WORTH MENTION: Nine Inch Nails, Year Zero […]
Bright Eyes & More, Album Previews
Bright Eyes, Cassadaga (Saddle Creek) Under normal circumstances, Connor Oberst aka Bright Eyes is the kind of guy I want to chaperone to the gym. Aside from his tender heart, his music is generally hit or miss for me. For many others (including one of my all time favorites, Michael Stipe), he is highly revered. […]
Ted Leo & More, Album Previews
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, Living With the Living (Touch & Go Records) If I’m telling the full truth, Jesse Malin would have been my pick of the week if I could locate a full album stream. The good news is that Ted Leo and the Pharmacists are more than second best. Fans of Spoon […]
Son Volt & More, Album Previews
Son Volt, The Search (Legacy) Their previous release, Okemah and the Melody of Riot, landed at #3 on my top ten list of 2005. Its fair to say I’m biased when talking about Son Volt. Jay Farrar and Mike Heidorn created Son Volt out of the ashes of Uncle Tupelo who along with Whiskeytown should […]
Southern Culture on the Skids, Album Preview
Southern Culture on the Skids, Countrypolitan Favorites (Yep Roc) I got the opportunity to see SCOTS last year in San Francisco for the first time. They are fantastic live. I got hit by a flying piece of fried chicken and I loved it. I don’t know much about the new album but I expect it […]
Backyard Tire Fire & More, Album Previews
Backyard Tire Fire, Vagabonds and Hooligans (O.L.E. Records) Good stuff from Athens and Asheville rooted Backyard Tire Fire. Now putting it down in Bloomington, IL the trio delivers a promising new record titled Vagabonds and Hooligans. You gotta love an album whose first verse reads: Instruments and cable ties and bottles on the floor / […]
Paolo Nutini & More, Album Previews
HOT STUFF: Paolo Nutini, These Streets (WEA) I haven’t given many of this week’s new releases a listen yet, but a preliminary dig into Scottish cat, Paolo Nutini, has me interested. I’m getting some of the same good vibes I’ve had from Amos Lee and K.T. Tunstall in the past. It has me looking forward […]
Mayer’s Playlist for Fall 2006, part 2
What Else Would You Have Me Be, Lucero (from the album Rebels, Rogues & Sworn Brothers The opening track of the band’s great new Rebels, Rogues & Sworn Brothers, shows a band reaching new creative heights. The addition of piano to this track gives the song a new-found grandeur while singer Ben Nichols’ whiskey-soaked voice […]