Music
Tank and the Bangas, Green Balloon (Verve Forecast)
We’re used to hearing detailed discussions of cheddar from hip-hop groups—making money, keeping money, spending money—but Tank and the Bangas take it to a whole new level on their sophomore […]
Nick Sanders Trio, Playtime 2050 (Sunnyside)
The cover of the Nick Sanders Trio’s third album, if you’re not already looking at it, features a little girl and her stuffed companion, both of whom are wearing gas […]
Greg Schatz, Amoebotics (Hot Spazz Records)
Greg “Schatzy” Schatz has made a name for himself as one of New Orleans’s key singer-songwriters and, ironically, he got there by tearing himself down. Schatz was among the first […]
Valerie Sassyfrass, Blast Off! A Cosmic Cabaret (Independent)
We’ve seen this before: A talented musician toils in obscurity for lo these many years, until suddenly, almost accidentally, she trips over her formula for success. But in just that […]
One South Lark, Japanese Soda / Excuses (Independent)
The ghost of the Smiths, or rather whatever’s left of Morrissey’s muse at this point, haunts this single from last summer: Track one has the punky energy of the Vapors’ […]
Noah Young, Splinter (Album Reviews)
Modern NOLA jazz bands often come in one of three flavors: your studious post-bop types, who approach the music purely from a technical perspective (lots of solo spotlights), the acid-jazz […]
Sam Price & the True Believers, Dragonfly (Independent)
Roots-rocker Sam Price leads his outfit into its first full album a little less eager to make you dance. Still, Sam’s True Believers prove plenty capable of moving feet with […]
John Fogerty: Living in His Own Head
The legacy of John Fogerty can’t be overstated when it comes to American roots music. His songs, both solo and with Creedence Clearwater Revival, sum up most of what’s great […]
Crazy Whisky, Crazy Whisky
Most traditional bluegrass is gothic as, er, hell, staring death right in the face with a firm grounding of tradition and unshakeable faith. But for the members of […]
The Dirty Rain Revelers, Spark (Independent)
Gently floating, half-asleep, somewhere between Mazzy Star’s So Tonight That I Might See, the Cowboy Junkies’ The Trinity Session, and Robert Plant and Alison Krauss’ Raising Sand is this album, […]
