Category Archives: Music

Tiny Ruins’ Olympic Girls

Hollie Fullbrook has an arresting, husky alto that makes her singing stand out immediately. Add that to her multi-faceted songwriting talents and a New Zealand “accent” that’s going to sound pretty exotic to American ears, and Olympic Girls, her first … Continue reading

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Mats Eilertsen Trio’s And Then Comes The Night

One of the highlights of 2018 for me was a visit to the Royal Albatross Centre on the Otago Peninsula near Dunedin, New Zealand. It’s the site of a breeding colony – one of only two known in the world … Continue reading

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Deer Tick’s Mayonnaise

After the critical and popular success of their 2017 self-titled double release Deer Tick Vol. 1 and Deer Tick Vol. 2, the Rhode Island rockers are back with a beguiling compilation. Mayonnaise is a companion piece to those previous two … Continue reading

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The Transgressors’ They Made Her a Criminal

They Made Her a Criminal by the Austin-based Transgressors, is sort of new and sort of not, depending on how you count these things. But its somewhat twisty release history pales in comparison to the deliciously tortured music this four-piece … Continue reading

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Various Artists’ Ragas Live Retrospective, 2011-2017

The ancient musical form of the Indian subcontinent known as raga is experiencing a renaissance in New York. It’s been going on for at least a decade now, and in 2011 performers descended on a New York City radio station … Continue reading

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The Beatles’ The Beatles and Esher Demos

Well here we are again, celebrating another 50th anniversary of a ground-breaking Beatles LP with a deluxe, remastered reissue. This time it is the double LP The Beatles, otherwise known as The White Album, the first proper album the Beatles … Continue reading

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Jakob Bro at The Old Church, Portland, Oregon, 28 October, 2018

The music that Danish guitarist Jakob Bro makes with his trio is paradoxical, such that much better music writers than I have difficulty describing it. He’s currently working with two Americans, bassist Thomas Morgan and drummer Joey Baron, with whom … Continue reading

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Bert Jansch’s Just A Simple Soul

Bert Jansch was one of the most iconic and influential folk musicians to come out of the U.K. in the 1960s. It’s shocking that it’s taken until now for the release of a career retrospective, but very welcome indeed is … Continue reading

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Hazel Dickens & Alice Gerrard’s Sing Me Back Home: The DC Tapes, 1965-1969

The first time I listened to this CD with headphones, I nearly fell out of my chair when the second track, “Tell Me That You Love Me” began. I don’t believe I’d ever heard this old song before, although perhaps … Continue reading

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Jakob Bro’s Bay of Rainbows

One of my favorite recordings of 2016 was the Jakob Bro trio’s Streams, which made me a big fan of this Danish guitarist. It also introduced me to the up-and-coming American bassist Thomas Morgan – who lately is on seemingly … Continue reading

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