album reviews

James Elkington Wintres Woma (Paradise of Bachelors) When bashful guitar hero Steve Gunn played the Tea Bazaar in fall 2014, a lot of the crowd ended up buzzing about sous […]

Dan Auerbach Waiting on a Song (Nonesuch) Gotta confess, The Black Keys always felt like a put-on, but Keys guitarist Dan Auerbach is starting to win me over. Last year […]

Justin Townes Earle Kids in the Street (New West) Being Steve Earle’s son and Townes Van Zandt’s namesake unfairly provokes expectations of preternatural songwriting gifts. Happily, on Kids in the […]

Juana Molina Halo (Crammed Discs) Starting with her enchanting Segundo album, Juana Molina has cultivated such an indelible style that it might seem confusing if she deviated. Her music comprises […]

Devon Sproule The Gold String (Tin Angel) After time in Texas and England, Devon Sproule’s return to central Virginia was rightly celebrated by local fans of the Canada-born, Twin Oaks-raised […]

Kendrick Lamar DAMN. (Aftermath) After the world-beating To Pimp a Butterfly and the casual but satisfying demo album untitled unmastered., anything Kendrick Lamar put out in 2017 would have drawn […]

Sneaks It’s a Myth (Merge) Sneaks is 19-year-old Eva Moolchan. She’s from Washington, D.C., but don’t look for political rage or go-go on It’s a Myth. It’s sinewy, minimal pop […]

Thundercat Drunk (Brainfeeder) Thundercat (né Stephen Bruner) is a top-shelf guest artist, having loaned his six-string bass and falsetto to Kendrick Lamar, Kamasi Washington and Flying Lotus. With his solo […]

Novella Change of State (Sinderlyn) Perilous are the genres doggedly loyal to form in some way, like the blues or reggae. Just follow the chord progression, or chunk the guitar […]

Spiral Stairs Doris and the Daggers (Domino) After eight years, Scott Kannberg, aka Spiral Stairs, sounds rested and rejuvenated. Doris and the Daggers kicks off with “Dance (Cry Wolf),” a […]