Cross Canadian Ragweed
Cross Canadian Ragweed has delivered great live shows for the past decade, but the band’s CDs usually don’t live up to its promise.
Much...
LaLaLand
In 2004, as Austin singer-songwriter James McMurtry was barricading himself behind a career iron curtain over the Iraq War, a more obscure musical entity...
Black Francis
What’s in a name, anyway? Would a Frank Black by any other name still be weird?
Or better yet, will he still be inextricably tied...
Darling New Neighbors
Listening to music is usually a subjective experience, but certain rules and boundaries apply to performing it. Songwriting is not for the weak of...
The Roots
The Roots’ live prowess and artistic versatility have never been fully harnessed on any of the hip-hop band’s several studio albums. Taken together, the...
Gunslingers
When this debut disc by a trio from the unlikely birthplace of San Pedro, France, arrived in a blaze of hype from muso-rockcrit-historian Julian...
Various artists
Kinky Friedman’s songs are known more for their titles than what the music sounds like. “They Ain’t Makin’ Jews Like Jesus Anymore” and “Get...
Bigelf
Bigelf's metallic circus-influenced music is a quilt of T.Rex, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, The Beatles, and Pink Floyd. It's essentially a six-pack of kick...
Various artists
As any good soundtrack should, Honeydripper helps bring the movie to life by creating, along with the scenery and the actors, the atmosphere that...
Died Pretty
Free Dirt(Aztec Records)
By Ken Shimamoto
Australian record labels have long been ahead of the curve in terms of providing bonus materials to soften the sting...
