CD Review: A Shoreline Dream — Recollections of Memory

CD Review: A Shoreline Dream — Recollections of Memory

A Shoreline Dream Recollections of Memory  Latenight Weeknight Records By Eileen Tilson Recollections of Memory is the second full-length album by Denver natives, A Shoreline Dream. Released on Latenight Weeknight Records, the album is a hypnotic cyclone of sound filled with ethereal effect-laden guitars, haunting vocals and dashes of electronic ambiance. The textures on this heavily instrumental album […]

CD Review: Bloodkin — Baby They Told Us We Would Rise Again

CD Review: Bloodkin — Baby They Told Us We Would Rise Again

  Bloodkin Baby They Told Us We Would Rise Again SCI Fidelity Records   By Eileen Tilson   “Let’s take a road trip, its been a while…” swoons Daniel Hutchens on the the final track of Bloodkin’s latest studio album, Baby They Told Us We Would Rise Again. Recorded in their hometown of Athens, this is the band’s […]

CD Review: Matt Duke — Kingdom Underground

CD Review: Matt Duke — Kingdom Underground

Matt Duke Kingdom UndergroundRykodisc By Al Kaufman Matt Duke stares out from the cover of his current CD with a mop-haired head, wide open puppy dog eyes, and enough scruff to make the girls think he has a dangerous side. Or maybe he's been too busy saving drowning kittens to shave. He exudes that kind of sensitivity. […]

CD Review: Griffin House – Flying Upside Down

CD Review: Griffin House – Flying Upside Down

  Griffin HouseFlying Upside DownNettwerk By Al Kaufman Many a musician has made a living playing music from the heartland. It is a sound that is full and majestic, while simultaneously speaking in the voice of the regular guy. Griffin House has thatsound down, thanks largely to producer Jeff Trott (Sheryl Crow), who called in […]

CD Review: Pierce Pettis — That Kind of Love

CD Review: Pierce Pettis — That Kind of Love

Pierce PettisThat Kind of LoveCompass Records by Al Kaufman Pierce Pettis came out of that '80s folk movement that brought us the likes of Suzanne Vega, Tracy Chapman and Bill Morrissey. Like the three aforementioned songwriters, Pettis does not waste his time navel gazing or spouting platitudes. He writes honest little stories and slices of […]

CD Review: Funeral Party – The Bootleg EP

CD Review: Funeral Party – The Bootleg EP

Funeral Party The Bootleg EP Independent Label Group By Alexandra Edwards Funeral Party, a four-piece from working class East LA, have released a promising three-song EP that showcases their considerable popularity as a backyard-party band.  The Bootleg EP may not reinvent the genre, but it definitely proves they have an aptitude for post-punk dance music.

CD Review: Love Willows – Hey! Hey!

CD Review: Love Willows – Hey! Hey!

  The Love WillowsHey! Hey!Decca by Al Kaufman It must be the dour economic times that makes people want to listen to unabashedly happy music. Last year we had the Submarines out of LA, and this year it's time for Atlanta's Love Willows. The duo of singer Hope Partlow and multi-instrumentalist and singer Ryan Wilson are […]

CD Review: Ying Quartet — Dim Sum

CD Review: Ying Quartet — Dim Sum

Ying QuartetDim SumTelarc **** by Al Kaufman Ah, these Ying kids. Three brothers and a sister make up a classical quartet consisting of two violins, a viola, and a cello. But this is not the classical music your stodgy old grandmother listens to. The CD is named Dim Sum because, like the food, these are […]

CD Review: Sharon Robinson — Everybody Knows

CD Review: Sharon Robinson — Everybody Knows

Sharon RobinsonEverybody Knows ***1/2 by Al Kaufman In her over 20 years in the music business, Robinson has penned songs for some of the biggest names; including Diana Ross, Don Henley, and Rufus Wainwright. Her biggest success came when she co-wrote the Patti LaBelle recorded "New Attitude" for Beverly Hills Cop. But if anyone in […]

CD Review: Patty Larkin — Watch the Sky

CD Review: Patty Larkin — Watch the Sky

Patty LarkinWatch the SkyVanguard ** 1/2 by Al Kaufman It's easy to imagine folkie Patty Larkin walking into the studio. Her eyes light up as bright as her fiery red hair as she views all the shiny knobs and buttons. She cuts her song (playing all the instruments herself), then plays with all the controls […]