Music In Review

Chicago-based singer, songwriter and guitarist Eric D. Johnson has an artistic pendulum that constantly swings back and forth. His forays as a musician-sideman (playing on the road with Vetiver, The Shins and Califone), soundtrack composer (scoring Max Winkler’s upcoming comedy, Ceremony) and as a solo artist/bandleader have garnered Johnson respect, especially among his peers. Johnson’s […]

Potluck’s fourth studio album, Rhymes and Resin, released this summer, makes a strong case for independent Humboldt hip hop, showcasing good beats, talented rhymers and scorching guest verses to create a nicely evolved sound. 1Ton and Underrated make up Potluck — they support and complement each other. Underrated made most of the beats on the […]

Contemporary composer, musician and performer Julianna Barwick uses her vocals as an instrument, and with the assistance of loop machines constructs intricate layers that weave into unique compositions. After catching the ear of Pitchfork, who bestowed Barwick’s haunting EP Florine an honorable mention for last year’s “Best Releases,” Barwick has drawn more critical attention, including […]

Seun Kuti grew up in the liberated zone of Kalakuta in Nigeria. His father Fela Anikulapo Kuti had declared a small section of the city of Lagos to be an area where good music could be heard, cannabis could be smoked, dissident politics were welcome (so long as you didn’t criticize Fela), and sexuality wasn’t […]

Brooklyn-based R&B soul singer Charles Bradley has traveled down a hard, crooked road, eventually making a circuitous journey back to his old stomping grounds after stops in Maine, Alaska and California. Now, at the age of 63, Bradley has finally gained some recognition with his excellent, aptly-titled debut, No Time For Dreaming, accompanied by Menahan […]

Pokey LaFarge and The South City Three are a prime example of a talented, hardworking band that put in their time and are finally starting to receive their due. After touring non-stop throughout the US and UK, being declared “best new act” of last year’s Newport Folk Festival by SPIN Magazine and recording a single […]

As a longtime fan of the early ’80s rock outfit The Plimsouls, a band that delivered high-fueled power pop sprinkled with ’60s references, I was initially baffled by the frontman’s decision in 1983 to throw in the towel after only two terrific Plimsouls recordings. Instead, Peter Case returned to his folk-based roots. When T-Bone Burnett […]

At the conclusion of a long conversation with my friend Candace, a music aficionado who lives in Memphis, she recommended checking out Bosco Delrey’s Everybody Wah, which was recorded in her musically-rich city. “Who?” I wondered. She repeated the name in her deep Southern twang, adding, “It’s T. Rex mixed with hip hop.” In fact […]

It would be a disservice to simply state that singer/songwriter/musician Frank Fairfield is an anomaly. Those who have witnessed one of his several astounding local live performances armed with a banjo, parlor guitar, fiddle, his voice and one tube microphone, know he embodies each song with eccentric zeal, providing a glimpse into the raw spirit […]

It is widely known that improvisational music is not exactly popular within the larger listening audience; in short, it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. But for brave souls with a wider palate and patient ear, it can be exhilarating, its immediacy coming in spontaneous blasts and delicate waves. In the hands of some of contemporary […]

For someone as prolific as Sonic Youth guitarist/vocalist Thurston Moore, it’s a bit surprising that his new record, Demolished Thoughts, is only his third solo effort. It’s clear that Moore, who has worked with a wide range of collaborators including NY No Wave figurehead Glenn Branca, Nels Cline, Mike Watt, Christian Marclay and Richard Hell, […]

Shortly before being dismissed from Dinosaur Jr., Lou Barlow, a burgeoning yet insecure singer/songwriter, began teaming up with fellow singer/songwriter Eric Gafney on home recordings, creating Sebadoh. They released the band’s first official full-length recording, Freed Man, in 1989 (the same year Barlow left Dinosaur Jr.) on Gerard Cosloy’s Homestead label. Sebadoh joined Guided By […]