Listen Up
Alejandro Escovedo
Listen UpNow fully recovered from a near-fatal battle with hepatitis C three years ago, Alejandro Escovedo offers up The Boxing Mirror, an opus into which all of the longtime singer-songwriter’s recent travails and triumphs are viewed...
Johnny Dowd
Listen UpOne of 2006’s most intriguing discs so far is Johnny Dowd’s Cruel Words, a combination of poetic lyrics and funky rhythms, with synths, organ, bass, and guitar. Even with the music, the performances — half spoken, half su...
Janiva Magness
Listen UpJaniva Magness has the blues. And judging by the low-cut black dress she’s wearing on the cover of her third full-length album, Do I Move You?, this voluptuous veteran with the Julia Roberts smile is as contagious as lust aro...
The New Amsterdams
Story Like a Scar (Vagrant Records)Listen Up
Before launching The New Amsterdams six years ago, Matt Pryor fronted the Get Up Kids, an almost-famous indie-rock manufacturer that recently shuttered its hometown Midwestern headquarters. The primary reason for the split: Tot...
Frankie Miller
Listen UpIt seems every generation of country music fans goes through the same controversy about whether the “traditional” sound is being overtaken by pop music influences.
Johnny Cash
Personal File (Columbia/Legacy)Listen Up
Johnny Cash sat at a microphone in his home studio with his guitar and sang these often sentimental, sometimes corny, always heartfelt songs into a tape machine, then filed them away — many of them more than 30 years ago. The...