Log In Register

Recordings

Peaking Lights

by Josh Potter July 26, 2012

Reggae, as a genre, used to be a critical punching bag for the indie music upper-crust. It was always a hypocritical pose for those whose tastes skewed to the darker emotions of postpunk to dismiss ...

Beachwood Sparks

by Mike Hotter July 26, 2012

One of the first post-grunge bands to pick up on what dudes like Gene Clark and Gram Parsons were putting down (namely, a soulful melding of country, folk and rock that some have dubbed Cosmic ...

Swamp Baby

by Josh Potter May 24, 2012

In the few short years I’ve lived in the area and reviewed local music, I can’t think of a season in which more top-shelf albums have been released in such quick succession than this spring. ...

3 comments

Jack White

by Elyse Beaudoin May 24, 2012

Jack White has finally oficially gone solo, and the timing couldn’t have been more perfect. With his divorce from Karen Elson and the White Stripes splitting in 2011, it was wise for White to find ...

Loudon Wainwright III

by B.A. Nilsson May 24, 2012

On his 1978 album Final Exam, Loudon Wainwright III exhorted his fans to “Watch me rock, I’m over 30,” an age he’d earlier insisted he’d never reach. 1995’s Grown Man kicks off with the song ...

Michael Benedict and Bopitude

by Jeff Nania May 10, 2012

Michael Benedict and Bopitude’s sophomore release comes less than a year after their debut on Planet Arts Records, and yet another serious NYC jazz cat has been added to the mix. In addition to the ...

Lee Feldman

by David Greenberger May 10, 2012

Some 40 years ago, John Simon, largely on the strength of his successful work as a producer, was signed to Warner Bros. records and made two albums for them. The beautifully written songs were coupled ...

Charles Curtis

by B.A. Nilsson May 10, 2012

Is it a gimmick? Of course it is. So was Switched-On Bach. So is Fazil Say’s rambunctious reworking of Mozart’s “Ronda alla Turca.” Do they grab the listener? They certainly do. I doubt that Charles Curtis’ ...

Follies: 2011 Broadway Revival

by B.A. Nilsson April 4, 2012

This may be the best cast album I’ve ever heard, and the only reason I equivocate is that I’m unduly fond of the show itself and thus tend to be enthusiastic from the get-go. Having missed ...

John Fahey

by B.A. Nilsson April 4, 2012

Beginning in 1958, and for seven years, guitarist John Fahey recorded for the quirky Fonotone label, which issued hand-cut records on demand. At first he recorded in Joe Bussard’s Fonotone studio; at a later point ...

Keith Pray

by Jeff Nania March 29, 2012

Keith Pray’s most recent release, Confluence, is a serious work of heavy jazz. The saxophonist features world-class talent including Peter Tomlinson on piano, Lou Pappas on bass, Jeff “Siege” Siegel on drums and guitarist Chuck ...

Arthur Rubinstein

by B.A. Nilsson March 29, 2012

Back in 1999, the $1,600, 94-CD box of pianist Arthur Rubinstein’s complete recordings nearly bankrupted BMG’s classical division. BMG had absorbed the RCA Red Seal catalogue and produced big box sets of Heifetz and Toscanini ...

Sleigh Bells

by David King March 22, 2012

Sleigh Bells’ second disc is sophomoric. The vibrant production that combined crunchy guitar work and big dropping hip-hop beats on the band’s debut Treats is nowhere to be found on Reign of Terror. Instead the ...

Brian Patneaude

by Jeff Nania March 22, 2012

All Around Us is Brian Patneaude’s ode to everyday inspiration. His tunes tell stories of experiences as diverse as his recent engagement, childhood memories, and even a brush with dental surgery. Of the eight compositions ...

Skinny Puppy

by David King March 22, 2012

Skinny Puppy reunited some years ago thanks to lucrative German industrial festival cash. Well, it turns out that Germany’s love of industrial wasn’t enough to keep the band fat and paid. And, hey, when a ...

To the Moon

by Josh Potter February 16, 2012

This past year has seen a sudden craze for pioneering French filmmaker Georges Méliès—a mere 110 years after he released his most famous film, A Trip to the Moon. Méliès and his work, of course, ...

Grimes

by Josh Potter February 16, 2012

Like assholes, everyone has an opinion—of Lana del Rey. Mine: She’s actually a David Lynch-engineered femmebot designed to plug a Twin Peaks reality TV spinoff, The Voice (of Laura Palmer). Ultimately, she’s not worth paying ...

Eyvind Kang

by Josh Potter February 16, 2012

While The Narrow Garden would probably get dumped in the “classical” rack at a record store—if those stil existed—violinist-composer Eyvind Kang comes to his solo material from a region as far removed as you might ...

The Major Lift

by The Staff February 2, 2012

I was excited for the Black Keys’ El Camino, I admit it. While the Keys lost me on Attack and Release with its awkward polish, I fell in love with them again on Brothers. Sure, ...

Cosmonauts

by Josh Potter January 25, 2012

It may sound like a contradiction in terms but, with The Demise of Daniel Raincourt, Glens Falls rock sextet Cosmonauts have managed to compress an impressively well-wrought conceptual epic into the EP format. To be ...

Ani DiFranco

by Elyse Beaudoin January 25, 2012

Folk singer Ani DiFranco’s latest album, Which Side Are You On?, sways between liberating marches and light airy tunes. DiFranco’s staccato guitar carries her live-and-let-live spirit, anti-corporate messages, and feminist ideals. Every word, from soft ...