Darin & Brooke Aldridge — This Life We’re Livin’ Label: Billy Blue Records The past year hasn’t really inspired me to open up, listen, and review many of the constant arrival of CDs that find their way to me at my pandemic hideout far away from New York City. I appreciate the effort it takes … Continue reading
Category Archives: Music
New Music: Jackson Browne – Downhill From Everywhere
Jackson Browne’s first new album in seven years sure sounds like Jackson Browne. That’s a very good thing. Nearly half a century has passed since the singer/songwriter’s sublime debut album, but he still sounds fresh as he guides us through a world we inhabit but perhaps do not always observe as keenly as we should. … Continue reading
Lisa Mills – ‘The Triangle’ Expanded (To Be Released 7/30/21)
Lisa Mills – The Triangle (Expanded Edition)(Release date: 7/30/21) There is no such thing as too much of a good thing. Especially when it comes to Southern soul music. Case in point — The Triangle (Expanded Edition), the new digital-only album from Lisa Mills, which will be released on July 30. The new edition includes … Continue reading
Country Singer Houston Bernard’s anthemic single – “Freedom”
Just in time for Independence day, Houston Bernard released “Freedom,” an anthemic and charitable single which focuses on three different story lines sharing a common message. Bernard first heard the song in early 2020 just after the world experienced the first shutdown from COVID and knew that as soon as he had the chance to … Continue reading
A Summer 2021 Must-Have Album: Sam Robbins – ‘Finally Feeling Young’
Sam Robbins’ debut record, Finally Feeling Young, is a reason to celebrate. It is evidence that all of the great music is not necessarily found in the past. He is a singer/songwriter in a classic sense; through his songs, crafted in precise honesty, he allows us to understand our own lives a little more clearly. … Continue reading
Randy Lee Riviere—’Wyoming’
Randy Lee Riviere—Wyoming Label: Wilderness Records Wyoming, the latest release from Randy Lee Riviere, is pure. It’s all about candor. Is the imagery… it just the bass line? Or, is it something more? Perhhaps Riviere’s utterly trustworthy vocals. The texture they provide are certainly enough. They provide an underlying atmosphere of openness to this collection … Continue reading
Dulcie Taylor — ‘Rediscovered’
Dulcie Taylor — Rediscovered (Label: Mesa/Bluemoon Recordings. Released March 12, 2021.) No one can penetrate with a song as effectively as singer/songwriter Dulcie Taylor. Haunting material, beautifully delivered. The latest from the dependable artist is a 6-track EP of updated versions of some of her strongest previously released material. While the “rediscovery” occurs, there is … Continue reading
New Roots Music: Jesse Brewster — The Lonely Pines
The title of one of my favorite songs captures it best: “So Much Good Right Here.” There’s no other way to (and certainly no reason not to) put it as honestly, for The Lonely Pines—the new album from Jesse Brewster (released by Crooked Prairie Records)—is such a pure experience that it deserves nothing but a … Continue reading
Brave New Music: Mason Summit’s “Snowblind”
To write a song is to share internal, sometimes unfinished business in such a way that it conveys an emotional truth and allows the listener (who is, perhaps, hearing the story or ideas for the first time) not only to participate in the storytelling as a receiver, but also to endow the song with their … Continue reading
New Music: Red Idle Rejects—’Ink and Nicotine’
Label: Oak Honest Records (Release Date: March 27, 2021) Things aren’t always what they sound like. Take, for example, the collection of new songs that comprise Ink and Nicotine, the new album from consistently energetic alt-country/Americana band Red Idle Rejects. What at first might seem a carefree, rollicking experience turns into a much more thoughtful … Continue reading
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