Category: ESSENTIAL NEW MUSIC
Essential New Music: Nick Lowe & Los Straitjackets’ “The Quality Holiday Revue Live”
"Cooler than a polar bear’s toenails” is the latest offering of legendary Rockpile-er, Nick Lowe, and his merry bunch of
Essential New Music: The Flaming Lips’ “Heady Nuggs 20 Years After Clouds Taste Metallic 1994-1997”
How many groups can plausibly claim, “Hey man, we really nailed it on that seventh LP, right?” I mean, how
Essential New Music: Wreckless Eric’s “amERICa”
It’s been quite a while since former Stiff Records star Wreckless Eric has made a solo album, but that doesn’t
Essential New Music: Alan Vega, Alex Chilton, Ben Vaughn’s “Cubist Blues”
It’s a crazy story: Over two nights in 1994, Alan Vega (vocals), Alex Chilton (guitars, keyboards, drums) and Ben Vaughn
Essential New Music: Françoise Hardy’s “Tous Le Garcons Et Les Filles,” “Le Premier Bonheur Du Jour,” “Mon Amie La Rose,” “L’Amitie,” “La Maison Ou J’ai Grandi”
By the mid-'60s, Françoise Hardy was a star, although a reluctant one. The shy singer and songwriter had a huge
Essential New Music: Here We Go Magic’s “Be Small”
“It’s hard to stay in your room,” Luke Temple sings on last LP A Different Ship. What a perfect status
Essential New Music: Wolf Eyes’ “I Am A Problem: Mind In Pieces”
A couple of years ago, Wolf Eyes declared that they no longer play noise—they play “trip metal.” Noise was dead, they said,
Essential New Music: The Twilight Sad’s “Oran Mor Session”
A cursory search online yields any number of videos with singer James Graham and guitarist Andy MacFarlane from the Twilight
Essential New Music: Various Artists’ “Ork Records: New York, New York”
Terry Ork arguably ignited rock’s first label when he put Television’s “Little Johnny Jewel” on seven-inch vinyl in 1975. And
Essential New Music: Beat Happening’s “Look Around”
Thirty-two years after the Olympia, Wash., trio flubbed its first notes on tape, Beat Happening’s amateur appeal remains evergreen. Cherry-picked
Essential New Music: Will Johnson’s “Swan City Vampires”
Will Johnson’s bottomless well of quality songcraft has obviously not hit a lull since the demise of his quintessential guitar-rock
Essential New Music: Fuzz’s “II”
Even as an avowed Ty Segall acolyte, I’m having a harder and harder time telling his various projects apart. While
Essential New Music: St. Germain’s “St. Germain”
French producer Ludovic Navarre scored a major crossover hit with 2000’s Tourist, achieving a sensitive fusion of jazz improvisation with
Essential New Music: The Chills’ “Silver Bullets”
Chills mainstay Martin Phillipps has a lot on his mind on Silver Bullets, the beloved New Zealand outfit’s first album in