The Cold Beat – Dumbwaiter EP
Wow! Putting Dumbwaiter on during a mundane Thursday afternoon at work was like a much needed shot in the arm. This debut release from Boston’s The Cold Beat is full of 6 songs with that worn and weathered rock-n-roll aesthetic and just enough punk rock spirit seeping through. The melodies are catchy and the choruses (Read more…)
The Only Sons – Steel Hearts
Formerly known as Ribbonpigeon, Murfreesboro, Tennessee’s The Only Sons have a new album called Steel Hearts that is full of boot-stompin’ roots/alt-country/Americana just like its predecessor, Young Lungs, was. So despite the name change, the band hasn’t switched directions on us, which is a good thing. There are two rippin’ electric guitars, the cry of (Read more…)
Certain People I Know: 4 Songs
I’m sure every other music blog has also reported this, but Certain People I Know recently posted 4 songs on their website. “Big deal,” you say. Well, Certain People I Know is a great new band featuring Bob and Damon (Braid, Hey Mercedes), Jeff (The Bomb, The Story So Far, Noise By Numbers), Matt (This (Read more…)
The Curtain Calls – No Action EP
The Curtain Calls (who were formerly called No Action) are a pop-punk-rock band from Omaha, Nebraska that just happens to feature my old friend Chris Crutcher on vocals and guitar. He (as a teenager) played in Juniper 9 with some of the guys who went on to start The Carraways and Moped Band (discography forthcoming (Read more…)
Damion Suomi – Damion Suomi
The cool kids over at P Is For Panda recently released singer-songwriter Damion Suomi’s self-titled full-length and I’ve definitely been digging his easy Americana-pop ways. The album itself is actually pretty simple and is focused around Suomi’s vocals (which are oftentimes very Michael Stipe like) and his acoustic guitar more than anything else even when (Read more…)
A Legacy Almost Lost: The Carraways
I’ve been slowing making my way through the 2500 (or so) CD’s that were boxed up in my garage for the past few years. It has actually been a fun little process. I’ve unearthed some good stuff that makes me feel way younger and makes me miss old friends. One of those bands is The (Read more…)
Attack In Black – Marriage
I really really loved Attack In Black’s last album, Marriage, and its warm and inviting rootsy post-hardcore and I was eager to hear more of it on the band’s follow-up, but their newest album, Years (By One Thousand Fingertips), is such a departure from that sound, that I wasn’t even sure it was the same (Read more…)
Review: Rodney Parker & The 50 Peso Reward – The Lonesome Dirge
Texas singer/songwriter Rodney Parker and his band the 50 Peso Reward released a pretty good country rock album last year called The Lonesome Dirge that I’ve heard no one talking about. While Parker’s songs are squarely on the pop/rock side of country, there is enough twang and enough empty Whiskey bottles that it really reminds (Read more…)
Review: Le Switch – And Now… Le Switch
Le Switch has got a good thing going for sure. Falling somewhere between the dark Will Sheff stylized Americana of Okkervil River and the twang-pop sensibilites of Rhett Miller and his Old 97’s. There is a certain wavering edge that Le Swtich’s music so precariously walks on their debut album And Now… Le Switch. It (Read more…)
