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.
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Black Lips Arabia Mountain Vice Music By Al Kaufman Every artist has that moment when they wish to be taken seriously. They make that attempt to branch out and not get pigeon-holed. The Jim Carreys and Will Ferrells of the world perform dramatic roles. The U2s release messes like Zooropa. In 2009, Atlanta’s Black Lips […]
Hank Williams III Hillbilly Joker Bruc/Sidewalk By Al Kaufman Hank III never had a good relationship with Curb Records. They thought they were signing a old-fashioned country singer that was more like his grandfather than his dad. What they got is a kid who likes punk and thrash metal more than anything else. The whole […]
Big Trouble The Very Best of Big Trouble DCM Records By Al Kaufman Back in the early ’90s, when hair was big and spandex was the attire of choice, four guys from Atlanta got together to start a band. Like most young kids at that time, they wanted to sound like Van Halen, Motley Crue, […]
Daddy A Go Go Grandkid Rock Boyd’s Tone Records By Al Kaufman Here’s why Atlanta’s John Boydston, AKA Daddy A Go Go, is important for America. While the tinny tunes of Kindermuusik and The Wiggles prepare our little ones for the sexed up, but equally soulless, Rebecca Black or Justin Bieber, Daddy A Go Go […]
R.E.M. Collapse Into Now Warner Brothers By Al Kaufman If R.E.M. came out with Collapse Into Now on the heels of 1994’s Monster, it would have been their biggest seller.It’s got all the power and passion that has been missing from the boys from Athens since Bill Berry left the band. But, alas, Collapse comes out […]
Lykke Li Wounded Rhymes Atlantic By Al Kaufman Sweden’s Lykke Li’s first CD, 2008’s Youth Novels, was nothing more than sugary girl pop. Some of that remains on Wounded Rhymes (“Rich Kid Blues” springs immediately to mind). But Li has done a bit of growing up since then. Wounded Rhymes is full of want, desperation and […]
Nerd Parade Daylight Saving Time By Ellen Eldridge Introduced by spacey, electronic messages and plodding rock, Nerd Parade’s third full-length release, Daylight Saving Time, announced spring’s arrival in a homegrown and metaphorical manner.
Have Your Say (Latest Comments)