Dan DeaconBromstCarpark Records By Ben Grad It's hard to see Dan Deacon's newest album, Bromst, as anything more than a collection of excellent (but similar) songs. By track four of Bromst, “Snookered,” Dan Deacon has established the pattern he'll use throughout the album: about a minute of minimalist noise buildup (in “Snookered,” a jumble of […]

Alice PeacockLove RemainsRocket Science/Adrenaline By Al Kaufman After 2005's introspective and piano-laden Who I Am, Alice Peacock moved to Nashville from Chicago and reinvented herself as a country girl with rock tendencies. There's plenty of twang on Love Remains. And there's plenty of Peacock's vocals. Strong, sexy and soulful sum them up quite well, but […]

Chris KnightHeart of StoneDrifter's Church By Al Kaufman Chris Knight should be doing Chevy Truck commercials. He's that type of guy. He's one of those straight ahead Americana type of singers; a little too country for rock radio, and way too rock for country radio. He falls into the cracks where Steve Earle and James […]

Alligators Piggy & Cups Appplehouse Records By Julia Reidy Washington State quintet Alligators’ name might be misleading. While possessing musical chops as sharp as the namesake reptiles’ teeth, the sounds they create wholly lack the suggested spiny skin and claws. Their national debut, the puzzlingly named Piggy & Cups, is pop as immaculately clean as […]

Cage The ElephantCage The ElephantJIVE By Eileen Tilson What is it with dirty Southern musicians raised in churches, catching success in England? Is there something our U.K. buddies can hear before we all catch on? Kings of Leon, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, found their success across the ocean, before getting any love at home, and […]

Great Lake SwimmersLost ChannelsNettwerk By Alexandra Edwards Scattered amongst the St. Lawrence River, there exists an archipelago known as the 1000 Islands.  The islands (numbering 1,793, to be precise) straddle the border between Canada and the U.S. They're dotted with castles and picturesque houses; some sit on chunks of land rising only far enough out […]

The Starter KitsBacksliding BabyGhostmeat Records By Al Kaufman The Starter Kits is essentially Mikey Dwyer. Dwyer has played bass and drums with various bands over the last 10 years. But while recovering from back surgery, he found he had a lot of time on his hands and was able to pump out a nice batch […]

Venice Is SinkingAZAROne Percent Press By Chris Homer Athens’ Venice Is Sinking gets back to business on their second album AZAR. The record showcases the ambient, orchestral pop sound that Venice Is Sinking has built their reputation on. AZAR features an addictive combination of shoe-gazer rock and delicate orchestral arrangements. Hypnotic, distorted guitar riffs float […]

The Hot RodsThe Hot Rods GlassMaster Records By Al Kaufman The Hot Rods is what they is. Basically, they're a bunch of Atlanta rednecks in black Harley shirts and tattoos who listened to the Ramones a lot. They like their women hot, their beer cold, and their cars fast. Unlike 2007's Super Sport, which gave equal […]

Maria Taylor LadyLuckNettwerk By Alexandra Edwards There's something about LadyLuck, Maria Taylor's third solo album, that makes you think she's trying to go more mainstream. Maybe it's the cover art: scrubbed up and featuring a close shot of Taylor's face, the title written in a girly cursive and adorned with flowers. It looks like it'd […]

Tom NorthropDestination Love by Al Kaufman Tom Northrop loves his wife and child. Of that, nobody can deny, at least not after listening to Destination Love. Paeans of love abound in this CD, including a song for his new son Justin, called, of all things, "My Baby Justin." In fact, Justin is the reason Northrop […]

Late of the PierFantasy Black ChannelAstralwerks By Leila Regan-Porter Late of the Pier are all over the place. And it seems they like it that way. From metal guitars to post punk keyboards to glam vocals to electro beats to severe dance tendancies to avant garde stylings, the band from Castle Donnington, England have a […]

Michelle MaloneDebrisSBS Records By Al Kaufman The first four songs on Moanin' Michelle Malone's new CD, Debris, are the four best blues songs you'll hear this year. It is, quite possibly, the best four-song combination ever put together in a blues album. If someone teaches a Modern Blues 101 class, that person should start with […]

Damion Suomi Self Titled P is for Panda By Julia Reidy Atlanta art/music/charity label P is for Panda presents its first signed artist’s first full-length release: 38.4 minutes of Damion Suomi’s satisfying, alcohol-soaked tenor crooning over a traditional Americana guitar band. Though the pool hall orchestrations (“San Francisco” is a barn stomper and “Oh, Won’t […]

Glenn Tilbrook & the FluffersPandemonium EnsuesE1 Music By Al Kaufman Glenn Tilbrook's voice is mellifluous. It is both familiar and exciting. With Chris Difford in Squeeze, he created pop songs so ingenious it drew the band comparisons to a little songwriting team known as Lennon and McCartney. Alone, Tilbrook still has the voice, and he […]