In the grand rock and roll tradition of bands who met in art school — in this case Pratt Institute in New York City — along comes stellastar* with their…
CD Reviews
635 Articles
Ken Shane
1 Min Read
Once upon a time there was a pioneering Americana band from Belleville, Il. called Uncle Tupelo. Two of the founding members of the band were Jeff Tweedy and Jay Farrar….
Ken Shane
2 Min Read
The first Pete Yorn song I ever heard was “On Your Side,” from his debut album, Musicforthemorningafter (2001), but where I heard it was a bit unconventional — playing over…
Ken Shane
1 Min Read
In the late 1990s, Levon Helm was diagnosed with throat cancer. The radiation treatments reduced his once powerful voice to a mere rasp. Unable to make any money touring or…
Ken Shane
1 Min Read
Wilco is back, with the appropriately titled Wilco (the album), and Ken Shane is here to tell you how it stacks up against the band’s critically adored earlier work.
Robert Cass
3 Min Read
The Lemonheads’ new album, Varshons (The End Records), kicks off with Gram Parsons’s “I Just Can’t Take It Anymore,” in which the resigned, lovelorn protagonist declares, “Well, we could’ve done…
Ken Shane
1 Min Read
Some really good music has come to us from the mountains so far this year. First, from New York’s Adirondacks, we had the Felice Brothers with their brilliant Yonder Is…
Jon Cummings
1 Min Read
Purchase this CD (Amazon) George Harrison was an intensely spiritual man, but the compilation gods have never been kind to him. His first best-of Á¢€” actually a kiss-off from Apple/Capitol…
Ken Shane
1 Min Read
Before you ask, yes, they are named after Manson Family member Linda Kasabian. She achieved fame for being the getaway driver following the infamous Tate-LaBianca murders in 1969. I’m not…
Ken Shane
1 Min Read
I get a lot of albums sent to me for review. The vast majority are things that I’ve requested from publicists or record labels. Occasionally, though, a person whose taste…
Dw. Dunphy
1 Min Read
Imagine, if you will, that your joke gets taken for gospel and your testimony is mistaken for a joke. What would that do to you? It’s a question that heavy…
Ken Shane
1 Min Read
Old 97’s leader Rhett Miller has a real knack for taking lyrically dark material, and setting it to a upbeat tune. He takes that ability to a whole new level…
Dw. Dunphy
1 Min Read
Two things happened to the producer’s lot when home recording went digital. We’ll cover the second later on, but before the laptop and PC, home recorders used cassette machines that…
Robert Cass
2 Min Read
It’s been more than 25 years since Vanessa Williams became the first black Miss America. But when nude pictures of the former photographer’s assistant were published without her consent in Penthouse…
Rob Smith
1 Min Read
Cocktail Slippers, Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre (2009, Wicked Cool) Purchase this album at Amazon.com Isn’t it funny how quite often the finest practitioners of rock and rollÁ¢€”that most American of…
Jeff Giles
1 Min Read
Willy Porter – How to Rob a Bank (2009, Weasel Records) purchase this album (Amazon) In the fall of 1995, I was just getting my life back in order after…
Jeff Giles
1 Min Read
Lisa Donnelly – We Had a Thing (2009, BT Media) purchase this album (Amazon) Open your heart and close your legs They only want what makes ’em beg Get hurt…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
St. Vincent’s face graces the cover of her second full-length, Actor. The winsome singer-songwriter appears mesmerized by a bright light, her pupils white instead of black. The notion of putting…
Kelly Stitzel
2 Min Read
I have been a Tori Amos for more than half of my life. I was 14 when I first saw the videos for Á¢€Å“Silent All These YearsÁ¢€ and Á¢€Å“CrucifyÁ¢€ from…
Ken Shane
1 Min Read
The first thing that you notice about the new John Vanderslice album, Romanian Names (Dead Oceans), is the sound. The album has a definite sonic quality that is akin to…
Popdose Staff
1 Min Read
Music pundits are calling this the big rock release of the summer and predicting Green Day’s official return to the racks to be a major release for the year, so…
Ken Shane
1 Min Read
This has been a year in which two of rock’s greatest icons have released new studio albums far ahead of their usual schedule. Bruce Springsteen released Working on a Dream…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
For a band with a name like Akron/Family, it should probably come as no surprise that their new album, Set ‘Em Wild, Set ‘Em Free, is filled with themes of…
Ken Shane
1 Min Read
Perhaps you’ve heard their story. A bunch of GIs find themselves stationed in Germany in the mid-’60s. They decide to form a band, which they call the 5 Torquays. The…
Jeff Giles
1 Min Read
Matthew Barber – Ghost Notes (Outside, 2009) purchase this album (Amazon) The leadoff track of Matthew Barber’s Ghost Notes, “Easily Bruised” (download), kicks off with a sequence of sounds that…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
It’s Blitz!, the new album from New York City favorites the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, could’ve easily been named It’s Glitz! Utilizing a new stylistic approach, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs lavish…
Jeff Giles
1 Min Read
twodoggarage – A Gross Display of Penmanship (2009) purchase this album (Snocap) Less than a year after releasing its full-length debut, Pinboy, Alex Kimmell’s twodoggarage is back with A Gross…
Jeff Giles
2 Min Read
Justin Hackett – Take the Highway (2009) purchase this album (CD Baby) A few years ago, I reviewed a terrific EP from a one-man Montana band that called itself Al’s…
Jon Cummings
2 Min Read
Three years ago, Camera ObscuraÁ¢€â„¢s brilliant single Á¢€Å“Lloyd, IÁ¢€â„¢m Ready to Be HeartbrokenÁ¢€ was one of 2006Á¢€â„¢s most music-blogged tracks Á¢€” for a while there, you couldnÁ¢€â„¢t swing a dead…
Scott Malchus
2 Min Read
The mark of any great power pop album is its ability to not only stick in your head after the music has stopped, but its ability to make you want…