American Aquarium “Tough Folks” (2018)
American Aquarium has been a band for 12 years. And, they're also a brand new band starting last year. Founder BJ Barham created American Aquarium in his dorm room at N.C. State back in 2006, but as of their 2018 release, their 7th studio album appropriately titled Things Change, he’s now backed by 4 entirely... Read More
Southern Culture On The Skids “Liquored Up And Lacquered Down” (2000)
Why do I love Southern Culture On The Skids? Well, first the name. Pretty descriptive. It jumped out at me in some music magazine I was reading many years ago, and I thought, yeah, that’s a band I’ve got to check out. That led me to the music, which was way better than I could...... Read More
Old 97’s “Longer Than You’ve Been Alive” (2014)
I recently saw an Old 97’s show with my friend Kenny at the Tarrytown Music Hall, an 843-seat capacity theater built in 1885, the oldest in Westchester County and one of just 6% of theaters in the U.S. built before 1900. It’s a sleepy place. I’ve been to about a dozen concerts there before, and...... Read More
Lucinda Williams “Buttercup” (2011)
Some rock singer’s voices are almost so bizarre you wonder how they even had the audacity to step up to a microphone and try in the first place. I mean, what on earth gave Tom Waits the idea that his grotesque growl could possibly ever work in popular music? Or Lou Reed? Or Joe Cocker??...... Read More
Band of Heathens “Trouble Came Early” (2016)
When a group literally brands themselves a band of heathens they better have something besides mere paganism to back it up. A song with an opening chord that sounds plucked right from ‘Street Fighting Man’ is a good place to start. The Band of Heathens are another in a seemingly endless line of quality Americana/roots-rock...... Read More
Bottle Rockets “Happy Anniversary” (2006)
What is a bar band? It’s undeniably hard to describe, even harder to define. But as Justice Potter Stewart famously declared in 1964 speaking then about pornography, I know it when I see it. Or in this case, hear it. The Bottle Rockets are... Read More
Shooter Jennings “4th Of July” (2005)
I could’ve picked a more conspicuous song today: Bruce Springsteen’s ‘4th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)’ probably would’ve been the most obvious choice. And though definitely not about fireworks and celebration, another Bruce tune, ‘Independence Day’, might’ve even fit. No go for either one (though when I get my courage up I do hope to...... Read More
Raelyn Nelson Band “Sold” (2017)
For the last of what's become four installments on the Nelson family I'll relate that I was driving somewhere recently, had the Outlaw Country station locked in on my Sirius radio (channel 60!), and heard this fierce country/punk rocker of a song, identified at... Read More
Lukas Nelson & Promise Of The Real “Set Me Down On A Cloud” (2017)
Here’s some more Lukas Nelson, this time plugged in and with band. First, about the band: Since 2015 Promise Of The Real have been the regular backing unit for a guy named Neil Young. In studio and on tour. So there’s that.... Read More
Lukas Nelson & Promise Of The Real “Just Outside Of Austin” (2017)
Sure, he’s got it in his genes. But Lukas Nelson, Willie’s 29-year-old son, has also got it in his jeans: Sex appeal and star power, to go along with unbridled talent. It’s blasphemous to suggest, perhaps, but maybe even more so than his dad. This guy... Read More