Michael Nau: Some Twist
The man behind Page France and Cotton Jones takes a somnambulant approach to his latest collection of sleepy, understated bedroom pop. *Warning: do not listen to while operating heavy machinery.
John Paul
John is a Michigan-based musician and writer. His work has appeared in PopMatters, Spectrum Culture, Cover Me Songs, Hagerty magazine and more. Follow him at @john_r_paul
Bobby Osborne: Original
Bluegrass legend Bobby Osborne teams with an intergenerational contingent of admirers to produce a fine set of traditional country and bluegrass.
Daniel Romano: Modern Pressure
Daniel Romano continues to confound expectations with yet another stylistic shift, this time into widescreen indie rock cut through with a cluttered, ramshackle charm.
ESG: Step Off
Legendary post-punk/no wave group’s 2002 album gets the reissue treatment and continues to sound as timeless as ever.
‘Hard-Boiled Hollywood’ Is a Fine Entry Point Into the World of Postwar L.A.
Film scholar Jon Lewis takes a look at some of the more infamous happenings in postwar Hollywood while also exploring the political and cultural climate of the day.
Preservation Hall Jazz Band: So It Is
Preservation Hall Jazz Band continues fusing past and present to create a contemporary, vital sound that keeps the music out of the museums and lecture halls.
John Lee Hooker: Whiskey & Wimmen – John Lee Hooker’s Finest
Adding to an already voluminous catalog of John Lee Hooker compilations, Whiskey & Wimmen offers up still more of the same without anything new to say.
Nite Jewel: Real High
Further refining her sound and losing the murk that made her previous releases blog favorites, Real High finds Nite Jewel’s Ramona Gonzalez easing just that much closer to the mainstream.
Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives: Way Out West
Musical preservationist and staunch traditionalist Marty Stuart returns with his Fabulous Superlatives for a musical exploration of the myriad sounds and styles indicative of the mythic West.
Ray Davies: Americana
The most quintessentially, idiosyncratically British of all British Invasion artists returns to a time of youthful idealism and a fascination with the American mythos that finds him exploring the titular nation in all its idioms, while also delving into his past.
Willie Nelson: God’s Problem Child
Having released a seemingly innumerable number of albums over the last half century plus, Willie Nelson shows no signs of slowing down on the excellent God’s Problem Child.
Béla Fleck: Juno Concerto
For his second foray into classical composing, banjo virtuoso Béla Fleck enlists the help of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra to bring to life the concerto inspired by his son, the titular Juno.