Music
Billy Iuso, Trippin’ (Independent)
In an era of music when imitation is as important as innovation, Billy Iuso shows his ability to do both while maintaining a sound that has developed a solid identity […]
Big Chief Monk Boudreaux, Won’t Bow Down (f.Boo Music)
With the Wild Magnolias albums, Willie Tee created a template for Mardi Gras Indian funk that reverberates to this day, a time that finds an unprecedented number of Indians onstage […]
Charmaine Neville Band, Before the Storm (Independent)
In May 2005, the Charmaine Neville Band undertook what was to be a six-month recording project: to record her weekly performances at Snug Harbor, where Neville had performed on Monday […]
Steve Earle, I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive (New West Records)
After 25 years of running and rebelling, Steve Earle’s 14th album, I’ll Never Get Out of this World Alive, renders a sobering conclusion: “Doesn’t matter / ’cause there ain’t no […]
Branford Marsalis/Joey Calderazzo, Songs of Mirth and Melancholy (Marsalis Music)
For the past decade, the Branford Marsalis Quartet has been one of the best working jazz bands on the planet. The tightness of that unit is reflected in this duo […]
Spencer Bohren, Blackwater Music (Threadhead Records)
The inside cover of this album lists the guitars employed in its making—a 1950 Tonemaster, a 1928 National, an 1897 Bruno—the names and years that make a fetishist curse his […]
Spencer Bohren, The Blues According to Hank Williams (Valve Records)
Hank Williams died at the age of 29, leaving behind what sometimes feels like half the American country music songbook. Listening to the recordings, I’m always struck: this is a […]
Big Blue Marble, The Big Blue Marble (Lettuce Prey Records)
In indie rock years, the time between 2007 when Big Blue Marble released Natchez and now is an eternity—practically long enough for a reunion tour or a tribute band. On […]
Terranova, Tried & True (Independent)
Terranova’s an all-woman trio that walks the line between punk and metal like L7 once did, but there’s nothing that obviously marks Tried & True as female in the performance […]
Slangston Hughes and L’Daialogue DiCaprio, Dollar$ & Daialogue (Independent)
On the joint release Dollar$ & Daialogue, New Orleans emcee Slangston Hughes and Memphis rapper/producer L’Daialogue DiCaprio show they aren’t afraid to put their money where their mouths are, delivering […]
