For those who loved country before Music Row smothered it in studio laquerwork or who are just fans of flavorful southern music with short attention spans, here’s the skinny on singer/songwriter Justin Townes Earle’s studio debut “The Good LIfe”: as soon as it hits shelves March 25, pick it up.
“Bleeder,” the first studio album by Louisville-based pop-rock quartet, The Fervor, has moments of brilliance, but suffers from a bit of an identity crisis.
Filed by Casey Phillips VARIOUS ARTISTS. "Dick Clark's American Bandstand 50th Anniversary." Time-Life. Let's just get this out of the way, this is a greatest hits collection covering 31 years (1956-1981) of popular music, so don't expect lots of
Filed by Casey Phillips INFRADIG. "Ecstatic Everywhere." Harmonized Records. A lot of bands say their music doesn't fit in a genre, but Scenic City's electronic experimentalists, Infradig, seem almost apologetic about it. "You don't feel like
Filed by Casey Phillips BRIAN BLAYLOCK. "Lonely Man Blues." Independent. The Scenic City is certainly no stranger to good bluegrass, but with a musician like Brian Blaylock around, the statement isn't just good, "considering he's from
Filed by Casey Phillips THE EVERYBODYFIELDS. "Nothing is OK." Ramseur Records. Usually, when the phrase "more of the same" rears its ugly, redundant head, the concern is that an artist has somehow fallen prey to a routine of bad habits. When
Filed by Ben Doak Omigod you guys! Legally Blonde made it to Broadway! Even with all the embellishments inherent in a big stage adaptation, "Legally Blonde: The Musical" offers more substance than a light, low-fat caramel latte. In other words,
Filed by M. Trevor Higgins The Kings of Leon myth is the stuff of critical drool and four star reviews: The scraggly looking Followills, sons of a Southern preacher, drive across the country with their roadie/cousin Nacho playing jangly rock about
Filed by M. Trevor Higgins Arcade Fire sets the tone for their second album with the first line of the first song. “I walked down to the ocean/After waking form a nightmare/No moon no pale reflection/Black mirror Black Mirror.”“Neon
Filed by M. Trevor Higgins There is little to dislike about on “Yours to Keep,” the solo debut from Strokes guitarist Albert Hammond Jr. The songs aren’t earth shattering, as well, but sometimes the earth doesn’t need to be
Filed by M. Trevor Higgins Here are a few staff picks for the top albums of this past year. You can hear these discussed on this week's MUSICcast. M. Trevor Higgins picks:"Boys and Girls in America," The Hold Steady. Vagrant Records. Imagine a
Filed by M. Trevor Higgins Artist: Magnolia Electric Co.Album: Fading TrailsLabel: Secretly CanadianIn the headphones: Recorded at four different studios, this is a collection of songs that were originally intended to be five separate albums.
Filed by M. Trevor Higgins Bobby Bare Jr. shares many common features with friend and My Morning Jacket frontman Jim James. Both are shaggy Southerners with wailing voices that can fill a grain silo. On Bare’s latest he borrows plenty
Filed by M. Trevor HigginsOld Crow Medicine Show are throwbacks, for sure, but I’d hardly call them revivalists. On “Big Iron World” the string-band crafts a truly contemporary album despite covering Woody Guthrie and singing
Filed by M. Trevor Higgins Randall Bramblett is best known for his work in the name of others. You can hear him on projects by Greg Allman, Bonnie Rait, Widespread Panic, Steve Winwood, Levon Helm, Govt. Mule and Sea Level. Bramblett seems
