For some reason my memory of Dori Freeman’s first album was a collection of gentle beautifully executed folk songs, showcasing Freeman’s unparalleled voice. After listening to Letters Never Read, I went back to get a better understanding of just how…
Faith Evans Ruch has a voice that’s thick and fortified enough to bottle and drink. Whether or not you know it, she’s already conquered country and blues — After It’s Said and Done was one of my favorite albums of…
I made the mistake of queuing up song after song for these playlists and it caught up with me really quickly. This is the tail end of the queue and I don’t plan on doing any more playlists for a…
Mike Wheeler’s Sunbeams All Twisted gives us a unique look into his process. While several musicians join Wheeler on the recordings, the EP is a loose collection of off-the-cuff recordings. Well beyond a sketch but clearly not the final draft,…
The Roseline have been around a while, and that shows in Blood‘s DNA. I wouldn’t call it bar rock, though it has that driving beat and sticky nostalgia that has defined many bands before them. But these songs are reserved…
Jackie Venson has been hitting the road and shredding it up for quite some time. Venson’s songs have a gentle charm that is accented by her face-melting blues solos. While each of Venson’s successive recordings has highlighted her guitar work,…
We can’t build time machines, but sometimes a band does such a good job of hitting the nail on the head that it’s just as good. The Duke of Surl does just that — enthusiastically and confidently transporting us back…
Nick Ferrio is no stranger to this blog. His previous album, Amongst the Coyotes and Birdsong, was one of my favorite albums of the year, even though it didn’t make it to the top 10 (sorry.) Trust me — it’s…