John P. Strohm Returns with Elegiac ‘Something to Look Forward To’
Prompted by the passing of a friend, John P. Strohm returns after 16 years with an album of mid-life reflections and the pop savvy he is known for.
Prompted by the passing of a friend, John P. Strohm returns after 16 years with an album of mid-life reflections and the pop savvy he is known for.
Mare Berger’s Dreaming Blue is a richly melodic ode to love, grief and nature, and it wears its Joni Mitchell and Joanna Newsom influences well.
Vanishing Twin’s Afternoon X is a worthwhile musical journey through a wealth of different ambient, psychedelic, and groove-based sounds.
Animal Collective’s Isn’t It Now? suggests both urgency and passivity, displaying some of their best attributes but also their self-circumscribed limits.
Coming together in 2009 before naming themselves San Cisco, these three Aussie indie-poppers know what the heart wants and show it in this video premiere.
The Music of Heatmiser provides a fascinating glimpse of Elliott Smith’s early career with the band, whose music contrasts with his better-known solo work.
Tele Novella are more Brian Wilson than Hank Williams on Poet’s Tooth, a pop band with compositional sophistication waiting to get out of their Austin city limits.
The liveliness of Terra Lightfoot’s singing and playing infectiously charms her songs even when the stories told describe what may be pathological behavior.
Flat Mary Road break through with Little Realities and deliver jangly, hook-laden power-pop with a touch of Harry Chapin thrown in for good measure.
Molly Burch’s Daydreamer succeeds because of its multilevel approach. She has an enchanting voice that can be touching and stoic simultaneously.
Zzzahara’s Tender is poignant and sincere above all else but is also a fantastic and sonically relevant collection of pop rock with no time to waste.
The sophistication of Charlie Kaplan’s gorgeous LP is impressive and a reminder that sometimes the simplest, sincere gestures are the warmest and longest-lasting.