by Ian McCuen | Jan 25, 2017 | Album Review
Spacebomb Records has made a name for itself developing a polished sound reminiscent of ‘70s psych-soul. On this latest release, label founder Matthew E. White teams up with English singer-songwriter Flo Morrissey to deliver a batch of interesting covers, ranging from...
by Ian McCuen | Dec 19, 2016 | Album Review
There’s no doubt that Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning Hamilton: An American Musical has been one of the biggest cultural events in recent memory. The musical and its songs have been able to permeate almost every corner of pop culture, both...
by Michael Moretti | Dec 15, 2016 | Best of 2016
To begin our Best of 2016 coverage, we asked a handful of our staff writers to submit their favorite albums and songs of the year. Cliff Parks Favorite Album: The Avalanches – Wildflower The joy and pleasure this album gave me this year is incalculable. The...
by Ian McCuen | Dec 8, 2016 | Album Review
Donald Glover has been proving a lot recently that he is one of the more prolific creative minds out there today. He’s a successful stand-up and comedic performer, a skilled dramatic actor, a writer/director/producer/star of an acclaimed new television show Atlanta,...
by Ian McCuen | Nov 29, 2016 | Album Review
Of the many “comebacks” this year, A Tribe Called Quest’s is perhaps at the top of them the list. After an 18-year hiatus due to different member conflicts, the legendary hip-hop trio returned with one of its best efforts, titled We got it from Here… Thank You 4 Your...
by Ian McCuen | Nov 17, 2016 | Album Review
The mystical lead-singer and principal songwriter of My Morning Jacket, Jim James, has released a new solo album. Titled Eternally Even, it follows his 2013 solo debut Regions of Light and Sound of God and comes just a year after MMJ’s latest The Waterfall. The new...
by Ian McCuen | Nov 4, 2016 | Album Review
Conor Oberst has been around the indie scene for some time now. Most famously, he’s been the lead man of Bright Eyes since the late ‘90s, in addition to a handful of other collaborations and bands under his belt. But he’s been releasing his own solo material since the...
by Ian McCuen | Oct 27, 2016 | Album Review
Beloved Canadian poet and singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen has had a long and illustrious career. The 82-year-old returns with his 14th full-length study album, and possibly a hint at retirement. You Want It Darker is bleak and grim in tone, and exquisite in its...
by Ian McCuen | Oct 21, 2016 | Album Review
You would be hard pressed to find an artist in the indie realm that hasn’t been affected by Elliott Smith’s music in some way or another. On Say Yes! A Tribute to Elliott Smith, a collection of artists takes on the daunting task of interpreting the formidable...
by Ian McCuen | Oct 14, 2016 | Album Review
Charleston-based Shovels & Rope are back with their fifth LP. The husband and wife tandem of Michael Trent and Cary Ann Hearst specialize in an energetic brand of Americana and alt-country. Their new record, Little Seeds, comes just over a year after the birth of...
by Ian McCuen | Oct 6, 2016 | Album Review
In 2012, Justin Vernon announced he was putting his musical brainchild, the beloved and acclaimed Bon Iver, to rest on an indefinite hiatus. In the years since, he has been essentially in hiding. There were occasional collaborative efforts with the likes of Kanye West...
by Ian McCuen | Sep 29, 2016 | Album Review
I Had a Dream That You Were Mine is the debut album from the partnership of Hamilton Leithauser and Rostam Batmanglij. Appropriately named Hamilton Leithauser + Rostam, the duo has found a delightful sound together as they venture into solo careers. Leithauser’s band...
by Ian McCuen | Sep 24, 2016 | Preview
California surf rockers The Growlers make their way to the Tralf tonight. Labeled by some as “beach goth,” the group offers an eclectic mix of garage, surf, psychedelic, pop and punk elements with disco beat undertones. Following their fun, guitar-centric 2014 release...
by Ian McCuen | Sep 21, 2016 | Album Review
On their tenth album, Wilco’s arrangements are as bare as ever. Following last year’s more effervescent release Star Wars, 2016’s Schmilco is laid-back, stripped-down and acoustically driven. The band themselves described the record as “joyously negative,” an...
by Ian McCuen | Sep 10, 2016 | Preview
Another solid mix of bands is slated for Nietzsche’s. Tonight, Buffalo staple Super American headlines the evening’s 4-band lineup. Fresh off their latest single, “Sloppy Jazz,” the group brings their amped up, reformed pop punk to the table. Joining them will be...
