Music
Elespee and Prospek, Quantumetaphysicadillac Music (Guerilla Publishing Company)
Like OutKast’s flagship Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik and Isaac Hayes’ soul odyssey “Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic” before it, Elespee and Prospek’s Quantumetaphysicadillac Music pushes musical boundaries and puts the urban landscape in perspective. “Morality’s a luxury […]
Voodoo Experience Highlight: Fitz and the Tantrums
In an era defined by piecemeal pop, snazzy Los Angeles sextet Fitz and the Tantrums have stirred up crowds the world over with a nouveau-soul sound that is as snappy […]
Eric Lindell, West County Drifter (M.C. Records)
A natural talent with a knack for penning vintage gems that harken back to the golden era of R&B, Eric Lindell is in top form on West County Drifter. After […]
Thomas and the People, Beneath the Trees (Independent)
Exceptional lyricist and incomparable guitarist Thomas Johnson, the gravelly-voiced leader of Thomas and the People, is an explorer and a soul-searcher whose sound veers between the lo-fi folk of Iron […]
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 […]
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 […]
Mavis Staples
“Stand flat-footed, and sing from your heart.” These were the words Roebuck “Pops” Staples used to motivate a young Mavis Staples. Together with her father and siblings, the Staple Singers […]
Alexis Marceaux, Orange Moon (Independent)
With Orange Moon, Alexis Marceaux takes an ambitious leap as a solo artist: stepping out of the prosaic, singer-songwriter nest of her capable 2009 debut, Dandelion, into the daring, cinematic […]
Conun Pappas, Jr., The Other Side of Me (Independent)
Pianist Conun Pappas, Jr.’s second album, The Other Side of Me, is filled with loneliness, despair, isolation, and Auto-Tune—lots of Auto-Tune—and just about every other lo-fi, processed effect imaginable. It’s […]
Sasha Masakowski and Musical Playground, Wishes (Hypersoul Records)
In the two years since the release of her debut, Musical Playground, Sasha Masakowski has blossomed from a fresh-faced song girl into an enchanting songstress. The 24-year-old vocalist’s follow-up, Wishes, […]
