Glide Enjoys The “Mesmerizing” New Inara George LP
Glide Mag says,”On her fifth studio LP, Inara George flips through the thirty-year-old songbook of her close friends Eliot Douglass and Philip Littell to put together a minimalistic, jazzy vocal outing. Songs of Douglass & Littell is a mesmerizing nine-song outing from a seasoned musician, connecting with music from years ago and bringing it into the present via lavender-tinted, soft pianos. ‘Undreamy Dreams’ closes […]
When You Motor Away Celebrates Heavenly’s Return
“There is much that is amazing, even magical in the album,” When You Motor Away writes about Heavenly‘s new LP. “Instead of a nostalgia trip or a tentative venture to shake of the rust, Highway to Heavenly is manifestly of a band hitting full stride as if several album into a career on a sharp ascent. The performances are energetic […]
Americana UK Hails The Hooks and Tight Sounds Of Rose’s Pawn Shop
Americana UK has a review of Rose’s Pawn Shop‘s American Seams, their fifth studio album. “American Seams,” they write, “is their Californian quilt of sound, a ten-track patchwork of country, rock, folk, and bluegrass, with a golden ratio of banjo and fiddle… a sound high on hooks and as tight as the seams of your favourite jeans.” Read the […]
NPR Highlights Souled American’s “Freeing Wheels”
NPR Music’s All Songs Considered included Souled American‘s “Freeing Wheels” on its set of the week’s best songs last week, including it on a set with tracks by Bon Iver, Tori Amos, and others. Check that out here. The song is an advance single from Sanctions, due April 17, which is the first album from the seminal alt-country pioneers since […]
Crate Digs The Weird Chemistry of Louder Than You Think
The soundtrack to Louder Than You Think: A Lo-Fi History of Gary Young and Pavement Crate Records‘ Pick of the Week on February 9. “More than a side note to the story of Pavement,” the site writes, “this compilation captures the strange, raw orbit around Gary Young — basement recordings, tape-soaked experiments, and the beautifully unstable energy that helped define […]
New Music From Fruit Bats
The midwest, particularly the part of the midwest from which Eric D. Johnson hails, is a largely flat expanse. Zipping through it on the highway, you’ll see cities and towns rise up in the distance, but blink and you’ll miss other man-made rejoinders to horizontal living dotting the landscape, hill after hill, built from the […]
LA Times Features Inara George, Who’ll Take The Songs of Douglass And Littell On Tour Soon
Inara George, writes the Los Angeles Times, has “an exquisite new album, Songs of Douglass & Littell, on which she sets aside her own songwriting to interpret nine tunes by [two] under-the-radar veterans of West Coast musical theater: searching, funny, vividly emotional songs… Think of the record as George’s take on one of Ella Fitzgerald’s classic Song Book LPs from […]
Rose’s Pawn Shop Starts Tour
Rose’s Pawn Shop is at radio now with American Seams, their fifth studio album. Country Music News International says the band is “a definitive voice in American roots music.” Americana Highways says their “music explores endurance, reinvention, & determination to chase dreams & reach higher. Their songs are open-road odes to escape, possibilities, & breaking free.” Twangville says the album is […]
Louder Than War Celebrates Heavenly’s Originality And Depth
According to Louder Than War, “It could be said that bands like The Cardigans and Belle and Sebastian took elements of and inspiration from Heavenly and their ilk and made it a commercial success – but, decent as they are, they never matched them in terms of originality, depth, zeal and idealism.” Now Heavenly is back with new album Highway To Heavenly, which […]
Americana Highways Reviews Rose’s Pawn Shop
According to Americana Highways, Rose’s Pawn Shop “drives its music through a filter of roots instrumentation stitched with cinematic folk-rock threads. The music explores endurance, reinvention, & determination to chase dreams & reach higher. Their songs are open-road odes to escape, possibilities, & breaking free.” The site has a review of American Seams, the newest release from Paul Givant and […]
Lollipop Can’t Deny Charm School
Lollipop Magazine writes, “There is an up-front, in-your-faceness about Charm School you can’t deny.” One song,”Disgrace,” gave the reviewer “a sense of industrial forward-march-or-die in a demented fun house,” while on “Scene Queen,” “singer/guitarist Andrew Sellers sounds like boredom turned up loud; he has the impassioned disassociation blues.” The full review of the EP, which is at […]
New Music From Black Nile
For Black Nile, jazz isn’t a musical genre as much as it is a language. A Black American form of communication that bridges music, visual art, and performance. An improvisational mindset that fits into nearly any genre derived from the Black experience. Brothers Aaron and Lawrence Shaw see a very different Los Angeles. Hollywood has stolen the beautiful […]
KCRW Gets Behind Inara George
KCRW featured Inara George‘s “Tiny Girl” as Today’s Top Tune last month upon its release, highlighting the story behind the song and how it represents a creative conversation that has taken place over decades. “Built on a melody written by Eliot Douglass at eighteen and lyrics later added by Philip Littell specifically for George, the song is quietly biographical — reflecting her life […]
Add To Wantlist Says You Should Add Heavenly To Yours
According to Add To Wantlist, “Heavenly’s blueprint is all over our site when we write about contemporary jangle and indie pop bands. That makes it even better to have new music by the originals, and have it come across with zero rust, a whole lot of their original appeal intact, and some new tricks picked up […]
American Pancake Likes Charm School’s Caustic Amalgamations
American Pancake thinks Charm School is abrasive… and that’s a good thing! “Like a caustic amalgam of Butthole Surfers, The Jim Carroll Band, One Day as a Lion, Tomahawk, [and] Tropical F*ck Storm, it is quite apparent that Charm School (great name given their sound) is willing to be off putting to some to get their artistic / political approach across […]
New Music From Inara George
Best known for her work in folk-pop and indie pop, Inara George is a musical shape-shifter whose voice has been celebrated for its clarity, nuance, and emotional precision. As a solo artist, she’s released acclaimed albums such as All Rise and Dearest Everybody; she is one half of The Bird and the Bee with Grammy-winning producer Greg Kurstin; and she’s a member of The Living […]
AllMusic Says Highway To Heavenly Might Be The Band’s Best Yet
AllMusic asks, “How often does a beloved group re-form after decades apart and the results are pleasantly nostalgic at best, calling up memories of good songs without actually delivering any of them? Fear not, devoted fans of indie pop legends Heavenly, their return after a long break has resulted in not only an album that captures all […]
Metal Injection Shares The New Collaborative Track By Melvins and Napalm Death
Metal Injection is on board with the new collaboration between Melvins and Napalm Death, “Rip The God.” The site says it “highlights the experimental edge of the collaboration. Speaking about the song, Shane Embury, bassist and vocalist for Napalm Death, explained: ‘The opening [Buzz Osborne] riff begins with that classic timing – a hiccup right at the end of the […]
No Depression Likes American Seams
“Even from the opening fiddle bars,” writes No Depression, “American Seams, the fifth studio album from Rose’s Pawn Shop, speaks directly to the moment. The band proves their prowess at drawing from all aspects of American music to create something timeless and enduring. After twenty years of pounding the boards, it’s not surprising that Rose’s Pawn Shop […]
New Music From Souled American
Founded in Chicago in late 1986, Souled American played alternative country before that term existed, slowcore before that term existed, and ambient Americana (a term that never existed). Between 1988 and 1995, the band released six records. Their style evolved from alt-country precursor to an ambient Americana that one critic termed “trance roots.” Though they received little attention at the […]
