Category Archives: Music

The Holy Modal Rounders’ Too Much Fun!

The Holy Modal Rounders’ new disc scares my dog. Now, ol’ Agnes Of Dog puts up with a lot, from Richard Thompson to Social Distortion, bagpipes to ragas to blasting guitar, with nary a whimper. Well, she does whine a … Continue reading

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John McCutcheon’s Storied Ground

John McCutcheon is one of America’s great traveling troubadours. For a quarter of a century, he has criss-crossed the country and circled the globe, delivering his signature brand of thoughtful, heartfelt folk music. In that time, he has averaged about … Continue reading

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Tahuantinsuyo’s Music of the Andes

Many residents of the Northern Hemisphere first heard the music of the Andes as performed by the group Urubamba, which played on two tracks of Simon and Garfunkle’s last studio album, Bridge Over Troubled Water. Both “Cecilia” and “El Condor … Continue reading

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Various artists’ No Electric Guitars

This is a mostly successful sampler of works by a loose-knit community of musicians in the Philadelphia area. Despite the title, it ranges from acoustic singer-songwriter fare to flat-out rockers, with a generous helping of alterna-folk and funky roots rock … Continue reading

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Red Star Belgrade’s Telescope

Bill Curry, the singer-songwriter behind North Carolina’s Red Star Belgrade, is pushing country-rock into some unexpected places. Telescope, the husband-wife duo’s third full-length CD in six years, lyrically travels some dark territory. Sonically, the group draws on influences as diverse … Continue reading

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Frog Holler’s Adams Hotel Road

Of all the groups that have gone on record since Uncle Tupelo got the alternative country movement rolling in the early 1990s, this septet from Pennsylvania may come the closest to picking up where that group left off when it … Continue reading

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Austin Lounge Lizards’ Never an Adult Moment

The Austin Lounge Lizards marked their 20th anniversary of making satiric bluegrass music with the release of their eighth record, the aptly titled Never an Adult Moment. After all these years, the Lizards have their shtick down pat, and you … Continue reading

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Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band’s Trout Mask Replica

The avant garde of one generation is often the mainstream of future generations. Thus, Yoko Ono’s ululations of the Sixties influence The B-52s’ warbling in the Eighties; Velvet Underground’s dark, jagged art-rock informs punk and postpunk bands too numerous to … Continue reading

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Heather Alexander’s Wanderlust, Life’s Flame, and Midsummer

This isn’t an easy set of reviews to write. You see, though Ms. Alexander doesn’t know it, her music and I have something of a history. It all dates back to high school, I’d say. I was young, foolish, and … Continue reading

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Wicked Tinkers’ Hammered and Wicked Tinkers

As Big Earl writes in his review of “Mississippi” John Hurt’s Rediscovered, “Do you want the long review or the short one? Here’s the short: Do yourself a favour, go out and buy this disc. Right now.” The same applies … Continue reading

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