As the album title suggests, Lissie has stripped down the songs to their essence. It's just her voice and piano. It's like putting a lion in a cage and calling it a cat. She should let herself out.
The Saw Doctors are the first band I remember seeing live that wasn't a David Bowie cover artist. On Live in Galway, the band bring their A-game, showing why they're the most beloved and enduring Irish rock outfit not led by Bono.
Left Lane Cruiser's new album arrives later this spring. In the meantime we have a small taste of its almighty might, musical muscle via a deep appreciation of a good friend and cosmic character, "Two Dollar Elvis".
Oncologist and avant-garde pioneer Karen Haglof returns with a tuneful, probing collection of songs that further re-establish her as an intriguing voice in rock.
Lost in Kiev tells PopMatters that "'Lifelooper' evokes a future where we can create avatars of ourselves. A future that somehow proposes to transform our lives into an infinite loop or a perfect circle."
Strand of Oaks' new album Eraserland is going directly for the stomach. It's about career worries. It's about aging. Basically, it's about all the insecurities.
The Seduction of Kansas finds Priests progressing beyond their abrasive punk roots into a genre-defying force, fluent in the slick soundscapes of St. Vincent and the Talking Heads as well as the grain and grit of Portishead and Nine Inch Nails.
On Side Effects, Austin's White Denim continue to mine an odd combination of retro styles to create a record that is wildly and refreshingly unpredictable.
Nigerien desert blues guitarist Mdou Moctar's new album Ilana: The Creator is wholly based on his considerable skill as a rock guitarist and songwriter rather than on trying to get in on current trends.
Recovery, rebuilding, reclaiming and the fight for personal independence at the core of the energetic new single "Cut the Rope" from Bay Area quartet, the Happys.
