Sarah Siskind Novel Red Request Records By Al Kaufman It would be easy to write Sarah Siskind off as just another hippie chick. Just read some of the liner notes on Novel: “All drums and percussion were handmade or household objects.” Or how about, “Sarah makes unique jewelry made from beads, charms and the like […]
Minus Ned Are We Finally Fitting In? Nedhead Records By Al Kaufman When guitarist Ned Bridges decided to form a band with fellow Connecticut friends Zach Guglin (vocals/drums) and Michael Martens (guitar), he probably thought the band would just break up when he took off for college. Instead, the two remaining members recruited guitarist Mark […]
Scott Weiland The Most Wonderful Time of the Year Atco/Softdrive By Al Kaufman Now that Halloween is over, Thanksgiving is really only a speed bump on the race to Christmas. And what that means is the holiday music comes out in full force. One of the most anticipated offerings this year comes from Scott Weiland. […]
Girl in a Coma Exits & All the Rest Blackheart Records By Al Kaufman If ever a band name has been a misnomer, than it is for Girl in a Coma. Yes, this trio from San Antonio grew up as Smiths fans (hence the band name), but their music is very much alive.
Memoryhouse The Years Sub-Pop By Al Kaufman The Toronto duo, Memoryhouse, released a four-song EP, The Years, on Arcade Sound a little over a year ago. On this version for Sub-Pop, they’re up to five songs (replacing “the Waves” with “Modern Normal” and “Quiet America”). They also re-recorded the remaining three songs. At this rate, […]
Ron Pope Whatever It Takes Mason-Dixon Railroad By Al Kaufman Ron Pope loves love. His love songs are strong, strident, and unabashedly sappy. There are no songs about a girl done him wrong here, only songs about how happy his girl makes him feel. Ron Pope loves two other things; his guitar and majestic songs. […]
David Jacobs-Strain Live from the Left Coast self-release By Al Kaufman At the ripe old age of 25, David Jacobs-Strain is a seasoned vet in this folk-blues guitar game, and he sounds like it. He plays that slide guitar like a girlfriend. Live from the Left Coast, recorded at the Rolling and Tumbling temporary juke […]
Wild Flag Wild Flag Merge By Al Kaufman Supergroups of any type rarely live up to their hype, but since the hype for Wild Flag was practically non-existent, and since the women in this band don’t care about such petty things, their debut album far surpasses any expectations that may have been garnered.
Army Navy The Last Place Fever Zone By Al Kaufman For a band that doesn’t have a label, and has never had a pop single, Army Navy sure has a lot of friends in high places. Frontman Justin Kennedy was in a band with his high school buddy, Ben Gibbard, before Gibbard left to start […]
Man Overboard Man Overboard Rise Records By Al Kaufman Now that Blink 182 have gone all mature with their new release, Neighborhoods, it’s good to know that there are bands like Man Overboard (who take their name from the Blink 182 song) to hold high to pop-punk, smarmy teen trophy. Man Overboard, a five-piece out of New […]
Hannah Miller O Black River Self-released By Al Kaufman “I’m not ready to settle. I’m still looking for where I belong,” purrs Hannah Miller on her fifth release, O Black River. The angelic-voiced one now calls Nashville home, but she grew up in Alabama and cut her musical teeth in Columbia, S.C. Her music has […]
Frank Turner England Keep My Bones Epitaph By Al Kaufman Frank Turner loves two things; England and rock and roll. The folk punk rocker sings about both with wild abandon on his fourth CD, England Keep My Bones. Turner sets the tone on the rousing opener, “Eulogy.” “Not everyone can be Freddie Mercury, but everyone […]
We Are Augustines Rise Ye Sunken Ships Backbeat/Turnout By Al Kaufman Too many people think that if they have had a hard life, all they need to do is write about it and people will think they are geniuses. Sure, the melody may never get going, the lyrics may be a bit clunky, “But it’s […]
Chadwick Stokes Simmerkane II Ruff Shod By Al Kaufman Chadwick Stokes is a busy guy; so busy he uses more than one name. Under the name Chadwick Urmston, he fronts the indie rock band Dispatch, and the alternative, politically-charged State Radio, a band not afraid to throw some reggae and funk into the mix. As […]
Scott H. Biram Bad Ingredients Bloodshot By Al Kaufman Scott H. Biram doesn’t give a shit. The Austinite simply wants to wail on his guitar and belt out some hillbilly blues, which is what he does on Bad Ingredients. There’s no spit-shine polish here. No long-haired, pony-tailed guy twisting knobs in the studio. It’s just […]
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