Music
Kim Carson, Classic Twang (Banks Street Records)
Kim Carson has great taste in country music. This much you know just looking at the track listing on her latest release. What you learn upon hearing the fourth track […]
Curren$y, Return to the Winner’s Circle (mixtape)
Curren$y, the JETS leader, is its MVP. This fact is evidenced by his latest mixtape, Return to the Winner’s Circle. Spitta…well…spits ferocious lines over 11 hip-hop standards. Here’s the catch: […]
Trademark da Skydiver, Super Villain Issue 3: Reign Supreme (mixtape)
Jay-Z had Memphis Bleek. Nas had QB Finest. Busta Rhymes had Spliff Star. They’re called “weed carriers”—“rappers” that were friends of the actual stars whose loyalty was repaid with undeserving […]
Elespee & Prospek, The Trip EP (Guerilla Publishing Co.)
On their latest collaboration, rapper Elespee and producer Prospek set off on a hallucinogenic trek through the decadent and depraved streets of New Orleans. The aptly-titled The Trip EP plays […]
International Jones, Tennis Shoes & Tuxedos (mixtape)
If you’ve listened to Fiend from his No Limit Days, then this latest mixtape will come as a surprise. Gone are his youthfully high-energy verses from his guest spots alongside […]
Various Artists, Hear Me Howling!—Blues, Ballads, and Beyond (Arhoolie Records)
For the last half-century, Arhoolie Records has recorded and released an astounding assortment of folk, blues, Tejano, brass, string band, Cajun, zydeco, sacred steel, and any other type of non-pop […]
Michel Navedo Quartet, New Orleans on My Mind (Parlour Trick Records)
Michel Navedo might be best remembered, up to now, for fronting legendary local noisers, Nipples of Isis. The release of the trumpeter’s recording New Orleans on My Mind should adjust […]
Roomful of Blues, Hook, Line and Sinker (Alligator Records)
Roomful of Blues’ latest continues a string of outstanding albums that stretches back nearly four decades. The New England-based band’s trademark sound is again evident here—lots of punchy horns and […]
Gregg Allman, Low Country Blues (Rounder Records)
Appropriately, on Gregg Allman’s first solo outing in over a decade, he’s chosen to record a CD that’s essentially a blues “tribute” album. To his credit, Allman sounds absolutely miserable […]
Exploding Star Orchestra, Stars Have Shapes (Delmark Records)
Maverick composer and cornetist Rob Mazurek formed the Exploding Star Orchestra in Chicago in 2005, drawing on some of the city’s most exciting young jazz players. Mazurek is known for […]
