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Album Review: Magnolia Memoir - Pale Fire (Score: 8/10)
Driven by the vision of graceful, cinematic-voiced Mela Lee and multi-faceted key-boardist Alexander Burke, this ever-evolving L.A. based ensemble draws equally from its quirky, soulful jazz roots and fascination for ... -
Album Review: Eric Johnson & Mike Stern - Eclectic (Score: 9/10)
You’ve got two titans from the guitar world; Johnson is the Grammy-winning progressive rocker from Texas and Stern is the epitome of modern New York City jazz and cool. This, ... -
Album Review: Risa Binder - Nashville (Score: 8/10)
This is a strong cross-section of contempo- rary country that embraces traditional roots as well. A native of Maryland—by way of N.Y.C.—vocalist Risa Binder claims to be a city girl ... -
ASCAP Writers Rule Castle
The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) invited 18 top songwriters and producers to write the hits of tomorrow at its fourth annual songwriters retreat in France. Château ... -
Producers Guild Pressures Industry To Give Credit Where It’s Due
To highlight the lack of production/engineering credit since the dawn of digital music, the Music Producers Guild has enlisted the help of producers such as Trevor Horn, Tony Visconti, Nigel ... -
Album Review: Dave Davies – Rippin’ Up Time (Score: 7/10)
God bless Dave Davies! He is touted as the inventor of grungy, feedback-driven rock & roll when all he wanted to do was create good songs. Which he does, and ... -
Album Review: Theophilus London – Vibes (Score: 5/10)
Releases like this put writers like myself in quite a quandary. Theophilus London, one of Warner’s up-and-coming hip-hop/pop phenoms, hit a home run in 2011 with Timez Are Weird These ... -
Album Review: The Bloodhounds – Let Loose! (Score: 8/10)
East Los Angeles has a long and proud tradition of bands and fans that create and love good old American rock & roll. East L.A.’s the Bloodhounds are true to ... -
Album Review: Jim White vs. Packway Handle Band – Take it Like a Man (Score: ...
Jim White is a southern-born poet, philosopher, singer-songwriter and now, producer. White has a dry and somewhat acerbic wit that he often pens in a lot of his material. In ... -
Album Review: T.I. – Paperwork (Score: 7/10)
Paperwork, T.I.’s ninth studio album, is a plea to his audience to validate his hood credibility. At this point in his career, shouldn’t the expectation be musical expansion, and less ... -
Album Review: Ultramarine – Every Man And Woman Is A Star (Score: 10/10)
In 1991 this minimalistic duo conjured up a spell of unique Canterbury techno (later dubbed “folktronica”) for a genre that was still in its infancy. This now classic album mixes ... -
Album Review: Defeat The Low – A Nervous Smile (Score: 9/10)
Yes, the owner of Rise Records is the guitarist in this band, and that should be the only time to address that, because Defeat the Low’s debut album, A Nervous ... -
Album Review: Barbara Padilla – Barbara Padilla (Score: 8/10)
In the spirit of Paul Potts and Susan Boyle, the miraculously voiced Mexican/American soprano Barbara Padilla—runner up on Season 4 of America’s Got Talent—gives it a glorious go with a ... -
Gifts Under A Grand 2014
Audio-Technica ATH-M50x A few years ago we touted the Audio-Technica M50s and their 50-year anniversary silver release. Fast-forward to 2014 and you’ve got the ATH-M50x—better ear cups for the closed-back ... -
Album Review: Shuggie Otis - Live In Williamsburg (Score: 8/10)
Seventies child prodigy Shuggie Otis has re- turned with a bang. Having re-released Inspi- ration Information and its companion Wings Of Love, Shuggie Otis Live In Williamsburg is the album ... -
Album Review: Maggie Bjorklund - Shaken (Score: 9/10)
Danish pedal steel artiste Maggie Bjorklund puts together an A-list band for this masterpiece. Bassist Jim Barr (Portishead), drummer John Covertino (Calexico), guitar- ist John Parish (PJ Harvey collaborator) and ... -
Album Review: PVRIS - White Noise (Score: 6/10)
PVRIS are a young band well on their way to making a name for themselves, but still have room to grow. For a debut release, White Noise is a decent ... -
Album Review: Black Veil Brides - IV (Score: 3/10)
On this, the fourth studio album from rock quintet Black Veil Brides, the group’s ambi- tion couldn’t be more clear. Unfortunately, they failed to deliver what could have been a ... -
Album Review: FlyLeaf - "Between the Stars" (Score: 8/10)
Devotees of multiPlatinum nu metal rockers Flyleaf may be saddened by the departure of lead singer Lacey Sturm, but it would be shameful if past memories prevented them from devouring ... -
American Federation of Musicians Blasts National Football League
The American Federation of Musicians (AFM) has blasted the National Football League (NFL) for its Super Bowl kickback plan. In what could be deemed the most colossal “pay to play” ...