Glen Campbell Ghost on the Canvas Surfdog Records By Al Kaufman Upon first listen, hearing Glen Campbell sing the line, “People don’t know when they’re looking at soul,” evokes outright laughter. There are many who would argue that, next to Pat Boone, Glen Campbell is probably the biggest American singer with the least amount […]
John Hiatt Dirty Jeans and Mudslide Hymns New West By Al Kaufman In the world of Americana music, John Hiatt is royalty. He is quite simply one of the damn best songcrafters working today. Bonnie Raitt (“Thing Called Love”), Suzy Bogguss (“Drive South”), and Aaron Neville (“It Feels Like Rain”) have all had big […]
Red Hot Chili Peppers I’m With You Warner Brothers By Al Kaufman There was a time, some twenty or more years ago, when one of the greatest things to do would be take some drugs, blast the Chili Peppers, get naked, and dance like a maniac; a drug addled, naked maniac to be precise. Fast […]
Hotel Lights Girl Graffiti Bar/None By Al Kaufman Girl Graffiti is so full of hushed tones that when the band finally breaks into the mildly upbeat “Dave Sharkey to the Dance Floor,” (with its “Sweet Jane” guitar intro) it feels like an all out frenzy, albeit the most reserved frenzy in music history. Darren Jessee, […]
The Greencards The Brick Album Darling Street Records By Al Kaufman The Aussies are doing everything they can to out-American the Americans in music. Kasey Chambers continues to make country music better than anything heard on country radio north of the equator. And, since 2003, Aussies Carol Young and Kym Warner have helmed a four-piece […]
The Front Bottoms The Front Bottoms Bar/None By Al Kaufman One thing is sure; Brian Sella and Mathew Uychich, who play acoustic guitar and drums respectively, and make up the folk-punk band The Front Bottoms, have had their hearts ripped out through their noses a few times. It’s a safe bet to assume that this […]
Hercules and Love Affair Blue Songs Moshi Moshi Records By Al Kaufman Hercules and Love Affair never got memo issued some 30 years ago that simply stated, “Disco is dead.” This is a band that likes its music to pump and thump and bump. Listen to “Answers Come in Dreams” and listen to what can […]
The War on Drugs Slave Ambient Secretly Canadian By Al Kaufman Much like Beck is essentially a folk rocker with ambient tendencies, so too are Philadelphia’s The War on Drugs. The band’s 2008 debut, Wagonwheel Blues, was more of a straight ahead rock and roots affair. Then Kurt Vile left the group for his rather […]
By Al Kaufman With The Big Roar, The Joy Formidable created the album that people in England have been waiting for years to hear. Ever since the Welsh trio offered up the 2009 eight-song EP A Balloon Called Moaning fans have been clamoring to see what the guitar-heavy shoe gazers would do with a big […]
Bon Iver Bon Iver Jagjaguar By Al Kaufman Most fans know the story by now. Justin Vernon, a sensitive (bearded, naturally) guy from Wisconsin holed himself up in a cabin in the woods with his guitar and wrote a painstakingly beautiful and intimate album about a break-up. He gave himself the moniker Bon Iver, […]
Christina Perri Lovestrong Atlantic By Al Kaufman Up until a year ago, Christina Perri was a waitress and struggling songwriter. Then one of her songs, “Jar of Hearts,” was featured on “So You Think You Can Dance” and stardom ensued. “Jar of Hearts” is just the type of song that would raise a ruckus. The […]
Antigone Rising 23 Red Blackheart Records By Al Kaufman Joan Jett is known as the the Queen of Rock and Roll and the original riot grrrl. But her label, Blackheart Records, is open to a variety of acts, especially female ones. Hence Antigone Rising. Antigone Rising call themselves a rock band. They are not; at […]
The Downtown Fiction Let’s Be Animals Photo Finish By Al Kaufman It’s probably Green Day’s fault for making punk so popular and accessible. But at least Green Day still has a chip on their shoulder. They’re still fighting the man, even if they are doing it from Broadway. All The Downtown Fiction wants to do […]
Hayes Carll KMAG YOYO Lost Highway By Al Kaufman “I’m like James Brown only white and taller,” boasts Hayes Carll on his fourth CD, KMAG YOYO. He’s not. The Arkansas native is more like Terry Allen, John Prine, or good friend Todd Snider. In other words, he writes the kind of songs that people in […]
Taking Back Sunday Taking Back Sunday Warner Brothers By Al Kaufman Everything old is new again. Taking back Sunday started in 1999 when a bunch of friends from Long Island got together to play their post-hardcore, emo rock. They had a few personnel changes, but released their first CD, Tell All Your Friends, in 2002. […]
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