Category Archives: Album Reviews

Brother JT – The Svelteness Of Boogietude

The first thing that nails you between the ears about The Svelteness of Boogietude (the new album from Brother JT – the alter ego of crazy-assed multi-instrumentalist John Terlesky) is the very-much-intended T. Rex groove that infuses many of the tracks. Heck, there’s even a tune named “T. Rex Blues” here, boys and girls. But […]

Bow Thayer & Perfect Trainwreck – Eden

Now, I’m going to say the word “banjo” pretty soon and I don’t want you to immediately go, “Oh – bluegrass!” and think you have the sound of Bow Thayer & Perfect Trainwreck’s Eden album figured out, boys and girls. ‘Cause you won’t even be close. Thayer wields a banjo, true enough (along with turns […]

The Katmen – The Katmen Cometh

It would be easy to label The Katmen as this time around’s version of The Stray Cats (especially with Stray Cat Slim Jim Phantom standing –literally – behind The Katmen’s stripped-down drum kit) but doing so would be the lazy man’s way out. Where The Stray Cats roared onto the scene in 1980, taking listeners […]

Six Strings (Of Words) From ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons

The call I’d been waiting for came in the middle of the night. Yes, I was told: Billy Gibbons, ZZ Top’s legendary guitarist/vocalist/Right Reverend of the Gritty-Assed Blues was available for an interview, but it would be brief. The band was somewhere between Tennessee and Europe in a time-warping supercharged ’33 Ford coupe (don’t be […]

Steve Earle – The Warner Bros. Years

In December of 1994, the state of Tennessee proclaimed Steve Earle a free man: he’d done prison time for possession of cocaine and heroin and had cleaned up in a treatment center. But “free”? Not really – as any addict will tell you, the term is “recovering,” not “former.” All the demons that sideswiped Earle […]

Robert Walter’s 20th Congress – Get Thy Bearings

All hail Robert Walter’s 20th Congress – back in session with their first studio album in 10 years. While keyboard master Walter has had plenty going on in the meantime (including his spot as a founding member of the Greyboy Allstars and collaborations with the likes of Stanton Moore, George Porter Jr., and Steve Kimock), […]

Donna The Buffalo – Tonight, Tomorrow, and Yesterday

Tonight, Tomorrow and Yesterday – Donna The Buffalo’s tenth studio album – is a fine example of a band continuing to evolve while maintaining a sound and vibe that they basically nailed from the very beginning. If you’re already familiar with Donna The Buffalo’s music, the only thing you need to know is Tonight, Tomorrow […]

Bill Kirchen – Seeds And Stems

65 years young this June, Telecaster master Bill Kirchen is still picking and a’ grinning like tykes a third of his age wish they could – a smooth combination of tasteful and tasty. Kirchen’s style has remained the same since he first caught the world’s ear as a founding member of Commander Cody’s Lost Planet […]

Jason Isbell – Southeastern

Jason Isbell is a brilliant observer of the gritty and the real. The scenes he describes often ain’t much to look at (that’s the bitch about honesty sometimes) but his words are beautiful. And they have never been more so than they are on Southeastern, his new solo album. You’ll hear folks say that “so-and-so […]

Boris Garcia – Live

If you’ve crossed paths with any of Boris Garcia’s four studio albums (dating back to 2005’s Family Reunion), then you already know that these guys are song crafters and talented players. But unless you’ve caught the band in a live setting, you’ve never experienced their ability to take a tune out out out to its […]